Chapter 2

"Ethan! Have you lost your mind!"

Chloe wiped the wine from her face, screaming at me in a rage.

She frantically grabbed some tissues to wipe Austin’s suit. Looking at his ruined clothes, her eyes welled with tears of anger.

"Do you have any idea how much this suit cost? I bought this for Austin's birthday! How dare you ruin it!"

Austin patted her hand, his voice calm but laced with calculated hurt.

"It’s fine, Chloe. Ethan is just angry. I understand."

Hearing this, Chloe’s fury reached a boiling point.

She marched right up to me, shoving her finger in my face.

"Ethan, you cold-blooded monster! What else do you know besides work? Have you ever actually cared about me? Have you ever given me romance? Austin is a hundred times the man you are!"

I stared at her coldly, not backing down an inch.

"So your idea of romance, Chloe, is using my money to treat another man to candlelight dinners?"

Chloe choked on her words, unable to counter.

She gritted her teeth, grabbed Austin’s hand, and headed for the door.

"Let’s go, Austin! Don't waste your breath on this lunatic! Tomorrow I’m getting a lawyer. I’m going to make him spit out half of his fortune!"

Before slamming the door, she turned back to glare at me with venom.

"Just you wait, Ethan! When you’re old, lonely, and miserable, you’ll regret this day!"

The front door slammed shut with a deafening bang.

Standing in the messy living room, I took a deep breath to suppress my boiling anger.

I pulled out my phone and called my private banker.

"Cancel all secondary credit cards under Chloe Miller's name immediately. Freeze all our joint accounts. Starting right now, she doesn't get a single penny without my authorization."

After hanging up, I called my company's CFO.

"Lock down every single expense report Chloe submitted over the past three years. First thing tomorrow morning, I want a third-party auditing team to do a full investigation."

After setting everything in motion, I sat on the sofa, closed my eyes, and massaged my temples.

Chloe, did you really think my money was that easy to steal?

Since you want to play dirty, don't blame me for ruining you.

The next morning, during a board meeting, my phone vibrated like crazy.

It was Chloe.

The moment I picked up, her screeching voice echoed through the speaker.

"Ethan! You bastard! Why did you freeze my cards!"

In the background, I could hear the polite but awkward voice of a luxury store sales associate: "Ma'am, do you still want these three limited-edition bags? If the cards aren't going through, we have to release them to our other VIP customers..."

I leaned back in my leather chair, casually spinning my pen.

"What's wrong? Can't afford your bags anymore?"

I sneered. "Chloe, did you forget that all those cards are linked to my account? When I’m happy to spoil you, you’re Mrs. Miller. When I’m not, you’re nothing but a broke nobody who can't even afford a purse."

"You!" Chloe’s voice shook with rage. "Ethan, don't push me! Do you really want to burn all our bridges!"

"You burned them first."

My eyes turned cold. "Chloe, I’m giving you until the end of the day to return that ring. It belonged to my mother, and you don't deserve to wear it."

With that, I hung up and immediately blocked her number.