2025-02-13 21:28:25Madeline saw the flicker of confusion in his eyes and smirked, mistaking it for guilt.
“Wow, Ethan. Just when I thought you couldn’t sink any lower.”
She jabbed a finger at his chest.
“I thought you were just poor. But a thief?”
“Stealing from my friend? Have you no shame?"
She folded her arms, like an arrogant hen.
“Honestly, I was already being kind asking for two million in alimony. If I take you to court, you’ll lose even more. You should be grateful for my generosity.”
Ethan snapped out of his daze.
He swatted her hand away. His voice was as cold as ice.
"Enough, Madeline."
"I have never stolen anything in my life."
She flinched for half a second but quickly recovered, tossing her hair back.
"Oh, so now you're yelling at me? You really are insane! A broke lunatic who can't even admit when he’s caught!"
Her voice rose, sharp and grating.
"Two million, Ethan. You promise to pay me, or I’ll make sure the entire Brightstar Corporation knows what kind of trash you are."
Madeline tapped her heel impatiently, enjoying the scene.
She didn’t actually care about the 2 million dollars.
She knew Ethan didn’t have a dime to his name.
Even if he sold his organs, he wouldn’t be able to pay.
But humiliating him in public? That was priceless.
Like teasing a monkey at the circus. The more it struggled, the harder the audience laughed.
And sure enough, whispers spread through the crowd of well-dressed employees.
“The man looks like a rag! He must’ve stalked his ex-wife here.”
“Can’t even afford alimony. What a broke leech!”
“Doesn’t matter the reason - a man should always pay up after a divorce.”
This was Atlantis City’s biggest corporate hub. Home to this kind of people.
This kind of materialistic people who flaunted their fake luxurious lives on social media, while mocking the poor.
Ethan ignored the murmurs.
His gaze locked onto Madeline’s, cold and eerily calm.
"Fine. Two million, right? I’ll give it to you now."
"Consider it charity."
“After that, you go your way, and I’ll go mine.”
Madeline blinked, thrown off for a moment.
Then, she burst into laughter.
“Ethan, do you seriously expect me to believe that?”
She wiped away fake tears of amusement.
“You? Two million now? Please.” She snorted. “Go sell some blood first. I can wait.”
Robert snickered from the side.
"Exactly. Stop embarrassing yourself, Ethan.”
“Tell you what—if you can actually pull out two million in cash, I’ll bark like a dog in the lobby.”
Ethan glanced at Madeline, then at Robert.
And smirked.
“Remember you said that.”
He pulled out his phone.
“The Shadow,” he ordered calmly. “Deliver two million in cash to Brightstar Corporation. 10 minutes.”
Madeline and Robert howled with laughter.
“The Shadow? Are you serious?”
“Why stop there? Why not summon the sun and moon while you’re at it?”
Robert shook his head.
"Damn, Ethan. You’ve lost your mind. Just quit while you’re ahead."
A few minutes later. The office was dead silent.
No money arrived.
Madeline tapped her foot impatiently.
"Ethan? Where’s your money? Or were you just bluffing?"
She sneered.
"You poor loser. Talk so big. If I weren’t such a nice person, I’d call the psych ward right now and have them take you away."
Ethan stayed silent, his cold gaze sweeping over Madeline and Robert.
His disgust for them burned like acid in his chest.
“Not 10 minutes yet,” he said calmly, “Wait for one more minute.”
Robert grinned, shaking his head.
“One more minute? Who do you think you are?”
“Madeline, looks like his two million is just a fantasy.”
"If I wait for a hundred years, the money won't show up."
Madeline, eager to twist the knife, wrapped her arm around Robert’s.
She planted a loud kiss on his cheek.
“Let’s go, darling. No point wasting time on this lunatic.”
They turned, laughing as they walked away.
Their voices echoing through the lobby.
Ethan didn’t flinch. He already knew the truth about the ring.
Madeline was nothing to him now.
Just then, the elevator dinged.
The doors slid open.
Exactly 10 minutes.
Not a second longer.
A man rushed out, drenched in sweat.
"Move, move! Don’t make Mr. Ethan wait!"
This is William, the general manager of Brightstar Corporation.
He stormed into the lobby, eyes scanning the room until they locked onto Ethan.
He bowed deeply. His tone almost groveling.
"Mr. Ethan, your two million in cash is here. My sincerest apologies for the delay."
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Ethan let out a short, mirthless laugh. He shook his head. "Stop your wedding?”“Madeline, I have told you. I couldn’t care less about your wedding."Madeline sneered. "Oh really?” “Then what are you doing here?” “I just told you yesterday I was getting married on Serantis Island. And today—suddenly, you’re on this ship?”“And you expect me to believe that’s a coincidence?!"Ethan’s expression was hard. "It is."Madeline barked out a laugh. "Bullshit. Everyone knows, you just wanna beg me to be back to you."Ethan sighed helplessly. "What can I say?""If I really wanted to ruin your wedding, you wouldn’t have even made it onto this ship today."Madeline let out laugh, infuriated by Ethan’s tone."Blah, blah, blah- You really think you’re something important, aren’t you? We are all your servants. Even Lewis Parker is your servant!”The guests around them couldn’t help but chuckle. Among the crowd of elites, not a single person recognized who Ethan was. Didn’t that say it all?
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“Oh, and by the way,”Madeline added with a triumphant smile,“Three days from now, Robert and I are getting married!”“So, stop sticking to me like a piece of gum, you've missed your chance!”Ethan heard this and simply gave a smile.“You’re getting married? Well, congratulations, then.”Madeline froze for a moment, thrown off by his calm response.She had expected a different reaction, something full of rage or jealousy.Anything but this kind of nonchalance!The emptiness of his response only made her angrier.She was excepting him losing control because of upset.As the exact reaction wasn’t coming.“Keep pretending! Let’s see how long you can keep up the act!”Madeline smirked, eyes brimming with contempt.In her mind, Ethan was just putting on an act—clinging to his last shred of dignity.And the calmer he appeared, the more it irritated her.Ethan frowned.“Do you finally get nuts?”He had been trying to avoid a pointless argument, but her arrogance was getting annoyed.Madelin
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“By the way, darling,”Madeline suddenly asked, blinking in confusion.“The Carnival cruise has never docked at Atlantis before. Why now?”It was true.A ship of that caliber only stopped at the biggest coastal cities on the West Coast.Why would it suddenly choose to dock in a place like Atlantis?Robert’s expression remained composed.“From what I’ve heard, Lewis Parker is personally welcoming a mystery guest.”Madeline’s jaw dropped.“Someone important enough to make Lewis Parker show up in person?!”And that person was here, in Atlantis?“That, I don’t know.”Robert shrugged.Madeline’s mind was racing.“Does that mean… we’ll get to see them?!”She asked excitedly.“Of course,”Robert said smoothly.“At the very least, you’ll definitely meet Lewis Parker himself.”Then, puffing out his chest, he added boastfully,“In fact, he’ll personally congratulate us on our wedding.”Madeline nearly melted in excitement.“Oh, Robert! You’re amazing! I love you so much!”In that moment, she wa
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Edith’s voice was so loud, someone peeked out from upstairs.A sleepy, annoyed voice cut in.“Mom, what’s going on?”It was Madeline.Still groggy from sleep, but the moment she saw Ethan, her eyes flew wide open.“Fuck, Ethan?! What are you doing here?”She stomped down the stairs, coming to stand beside her mother.Pointed at Ethan like she’d just caught him red-handed.“Maddy, thank God you’re here!”Edith clutched her chest, her voice trembling with fake innocence.“Ethan robbed me! He stole the beautiful necklace you gave me!”Madeline’s expression darkened. She let out a sharp breath through her nose.“Ethan, really? You just can’t let go, can you?”“We’re divorced, and yet here you are, still clinging to the past! You poor dog.”Ethan stuffed his hands in his pockets, tilting his head slightly.A cold smirk played at his lips as he silently watched their performance.“That necklace you stole from me, right? Madeline?”Madeline sneered.“Yeah, I took it. So what?”“That was the
