Maisie's legs started giving way after she'd stood in the kitchen for a while. She didn't know how long Seth had gone without a woman, but he'd been rough with her last night. Her thighs were trembling until now.

She cursed him silently, feeling like a fool. She thought she'd served herself to him on a silver platter. Honestly, she knew now why Ethan and Seth were relatives. Seth was a fake gentleman, while Ethan was a genuine asshole. They were both bastards!

She was still covered in Seth's saliva, and she felt icky. Throwing caution to the wind, she stormed out of the kitchen and headed to the bathroom.

Seth and Ethan jolted at the noise. Seth said, "She must be angry."

Ethan said, "She might be mad at you, you know?"

Seth curled his lip. "Oh?"

"It's not every day that I'm at home, yet you had to come and disrupt us."

"So, should I go?"

"Nah. You're already here, anyway. I'll buy you lunch," Ethan said.

…

Maisie took a nice, long bath. She soaked in the warm water until her body relaxed. She was almost nodding off when someone knocked on the door, jolting her awake. "Who is it?"

"Who else?" Ethan asked. "Seth and I are going out for lunch. Do you want to join us?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Bring Felicia with you." Maisie didn't want to see any of them now. She continued soaking in the tub and only woke up when the water started turning cold. She regained some energy after dozing off for a while but was still sleepy.

She left the bathroom while yawning. Then, she was spooked by the person before her. She pulled her towel tightly around her as she backed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. "Why haven't you guys left yet?"

"We were waiting for you," Seth said. "You didn't eat anything this morning and used a lot of energy last night. You'll have low blood sugar if you still don't eat."

Maisie frowned. "I'll order takeout."

"It's not nice."

"I'll cook something, then."

Seth scoffed. "Do you have the strength for that?"

That pissed Maisie. "You—"

"I found it, Seth." Ethan came out of the master bedroom. "Why did you want to see our marriage certificate?"

Seth had been leaning by the bathroom door while chatting with Maisie. When he saw Ethan come out, he straightened up, his smile fading a little. "You wanted me to help you draft a divorce agreement, right? I need to see when you guys registered."

"I could've just told you the date."

"You still remember?"

"Yeah. It's Mais' birthday."

Seth took the marriage certificate from him and checked it. His lips curled slightly, but the smile was a little colder this time. "You guys have been married for five years."

"Yeah. Does that affect the divorce?" Ethan asked.

Ethan and Maisie had pinned a photo of them to the marriage certificate. Seth traced it softly.

24-year-old Maisie had her hair in a ponytail, and her face still carried a hint of baby fat. Her eyes were bright.

The only flaw was that her head was tilted toward Ethan. Seth didn't like seeing this.

He returned the marriage certificate to Ethan and said, "If the marriage is too short-lived, you can ask her to compensate you for a portion of the wedding gifts."

Ethan laughed. "You've been with us at every step of our relationship. Shouldn't you know better than anyone how long we've been married? Did you have to look at the marriage certificate for that?"

Seth said, "I just wanted to be sure in case I was remembering it wrongly."

Ethan nodded. Then, he urged Maisie, sounding impatient, "Aren't you done yet? Seth's already waited for you for two hours."

"He can continue waiting if he wants," Maisie retorted.

Seth knocked on the bathroom door. "Are you going to stay in there forever?"

Maisie took a deep breath. She looked at the hickeys and marks all over her body, wanting nothing more than to bite him. "Wait outside."

Seth chuckled. "Alright. We'll go out. There's no need to rush."

He patted Ethan's shoulder. "Let's go to the living room."

Maisie came out of the bathroom and ran to the bedroom, changing into a simple outfit of a T-shirt and jeans. Then, she blew her hair half-dry before leaving the room.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "You haven't thrown this outfit away yet?"

It was one Maisie had often worn in college. It was plain and simple but extremely comfortable. In the past, she would put on a full face of makeup and dress presentably so she could match up her identity as Ethan's wife.

Now, however, since she'd already given up on him, she would wear whatever was comfortable. She said, "I didn't throw you away, did I? I've had you around for much longer than this outfit."

Ethan's expression darkened. "Whatever. Let's go."

"Go dry your hair completely before we leave," Seth said with a frown. "It's windy outside."

Maisie said, "It's unnecessary. It'll dry faster with the wind blowing."

"Go dry it," Seth said.

"I won't."

Ethan looked at her with her hair cascading over her shoulders and her face free of makeup. His gaze turned a little more gentle as he said, "You look better like this."

Maisie looked annoyed. "Well, it's all your fault for being such a successful businessman, Mr. Ford. If I were to leave the house looking like this every day, the media would probably make you out to be a frugal man who refuses to buy his wife something nice to wear."

He rubbed his nose without saying anything.

In truth, Maisie and Ethan's love story was a little like something out of a romance drama. During their school days, she'd been a good girl, and he'd been a bad boy. After graduation, they'd been a perfect couple who had supported each other through the difficulties of starting a business.

When Ethan had just graduated from college, he'd developed a game with a few of his coursemates. How many fresh graduates had money in their pockets? Ethan and Maisie had no choice but to rent the basement of a place in the suburbs of Shelkin City.

Food in the city was expensive, so Maisie had bought a secondhand gas stove and traveled to a market far away to buy groceries. She'd also carried the gas tank to the gas station to fill it up herself. Then, she'd cooked various dishes for Ethan.

She knew the prices of all the stalls at the market like the back of her hand. She knew which stall had discounts that day and which stall would give her a little something extra if she were to purchase above a certain amount.

Fresh fish cost five dollars a pound, so she would wait there until one of the fish died. Then, she would immediately buy it at one dollar a pound, which was the price for dead fish.

Maisie had worn the outfit she had on for three years. She'd washed it when it got dirty, and the jeans had faded from the number of washes. Even the T-shirt's material was thinner now.

Ethan seemed to also remember the difficult times they'd had when he'd been trying to start his business. He patted Seth's shoulder, saying, "I'll always remember the help you gave us at the time, Seth."

Ethan and his friends had developed their first game three years after establishing their company. Due to their inexperience, someone had tricked their source code out of them.

For the second game, they'd learned their lesson and hadn't gotten their source code stolen. However, an established gaming company had launched a game similar to the one they'd developed. Ultimately, their small company couldn't compete with the established one, leading to the failure of their game.

As for the third one, they'd finally managed to find an investor for the game, but the guy had run away halfway through. Another game had turned out to be a failure.

At the time, Ethan had basically given up on his dream. He'd wrapped his arms around Maisie as they lay on the bed in their cold basement. He'd said grimly, "I called my cousin, Mais. When he gets here, I want you to leave with him."

Maisie had almost exploded with rage. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Seth has a successful career and is handsome. Once you leave with him… life won't be so tough for you anymore."

Maisie had smacked him angrily. "What do you think I am?"

Ethan had suddenly burst into tears and held her tight. "I know I'm a failure, Mais. You're so beautiful and capable. I shouldn't be wasting your time. But when I think about how I might not see you anymore, I just want to die."

"So, you thought we could still see each other after introducing me to your cousin? What? Is it more exciting to have an affair with your cousin's woman?"

Ethan had smiled through his tears and tightened his hold on her. "Let's have ravioli for lunch, Mais."

At the time, they'd already run out of money and food. Where would the ravioli come from?

Later, Seth arrived. He'd been on a business trip to Shelkin City. When he saw the basement that was their home, he'd frowned deeply.

Then, he'd seen Maisie bustling around by the stove in her T-shirt and jeans, her hair tied up loosely. There wasn't any ventilation in the basement, and her face and hands were covered in grease. She'd still smiled brightly at him, though.

"Have a seat, Seth. I'll cook a couple of dishes while you two have some drinks."

Maisie had cooked two simple dishes—spicy fried peanuts and vegetable stir-fry. She'd used the most simple of ingredients and seasoning to prepare the tastiest dishes.

Seth drank some of the cheap wine they had and frowned at the taste. However, he had been completely sincere when he said, "I'm quite jealous of you, Ethan."

Ethan had been a little tipsy and didn't understand what he meant. He'd laughed and asked, "What's there to be jealous about? The fact that I live in a basement or that I haven't achieved anything in life?"

Seth hadn't answered.

Later, Ethan had never again brought up wanting to introduce Maisie to Seth.

Before leaving, Seth had stuffed a bank card into Maisie's hand. There'd been 100 thousand dollars inside.

She and Ethan survived for just over one year with that money. Finally, the fourth game Ethan and his friends had developed won the interest of angel investors. The first round of investment brought in over ten million dollars, and the game had been a huge hit.

It was also thanks to this game that Ethan's company had gone public, turning him into the billionaire he was now.

He now wore sharp suits and looked like an elite entrepreneur. His smile was roguish as he asked, "Have you made the call, Maisie?"

Maisie was pulled out of her memories. "What call?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to call the man you were with last night so I could meet him? Since Seth is here, invite him over, and we can have a meal together. Seth and I can help you see whether he's good enough for you."

Maisie looked Ethan in the eye for a long while. They'd known each other since they were 14 years old, and they were now almost 30. He'd been there for half of her life.

Ethan's appearance hadn't changed much from the arrogant teenager he'd been to the elite businessman he was now. His features had become more chiseled, but Maisie could still see the face of the young man who had loved her more than life itself.

Yes. She couldn't bear to part with him. It felt like Ethan was a part of her heart, mind, and soul. Now, she had to tear him away.

"Ethan." She cocked her head. She was smiling, but her gaze was filled with sorrow. "Are you hoping that I'll call him over or not?"

His roguish smile faded a little.

Maisie continued, "I know you want a divorce so you can marry Felicia."

Ethan lowered his head. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. He didn't admit or deny it.

"It's not that I'm refusing to let you go—I just want an answer. Why does it have to be Felicia?"

…

Seth chose the restaurant they went to for lunch. It was a quiet bistro that was tastefully decorated. It had a courtyard with a pond and a small footbridge. There was even a quaint little building to the side.

Maisie didn't say a word. Her eyes were red as she looked at the scenery outside. Ethan pushed the menu to her. "Why don't you pick what you want, Maisie? Anything is fine."

She didn't even look at it. "I want spicy fried peanuts and vegetable stir-fry. You guys can order the other dishes."

Those were the two dishes she and Ethan had eaten almost daily. Back then, Maisie would pick up the old leafy vegetables that the stall owners at the market had discarded. She would boil them before stir-frying them so that they would taste better.

The peanuts were from their neighbor. He owned a supermarket, and his warehouse had been flooded. All of the peanuts had gotten soaked, so he couldn't sell them anymore. He'd given them all to Ethan and Maisie.

The waitress looked like she was in a tough spot. "Our bistro doesn't have those dishes… Is there anything else you would like?"

Ethan pulled out a stack of cash from his wallet and handed it to her. "Think of something."

"Yes, sir." The waitress took the money, rolled it up, and stuffed it into her pants pocket.

Ethan pushed the menu to Seth. "You choose something, Seth."

He ordered a bottle of whiskey.

The waitress was taken aback. "Is that all?"

"Yeah," Seth said.

The dishes were soon served. There was a plate of spicy fried peanuts that had been purchased for cheap somewhere and a plate of vegetable stir-fry that had obviously been hastily prepared.

Seth opened the whiskey and poured it into a dispenser. Then, he placed two glasses before himself and Ethan.

Ethan wiped his face and smiled wryly. "Doesn't this bring you back to that winter in the basement?"

The people were the same, the dishes were the same, and even Maisie's clothes were the same.

Seth said, "It does."

Ethan's expression became a little pained. Then, he took a deep breath and raised his glass. His Adam's apple bobbed as he said, "Mais, let's… Let's end on a nice note."

Maisie pinched her thigh hard. She hated that she was weak enough that her tears just started flowing. She couldn't hold them back at all.

Ethan grabbed a few tissues and handed them to her. "Here. Dry your tears."

She tried hard not to sound like she was going to wail. "You shouldn't be so nice to me now, Ethan. Aren't you afraid I'll refuse to leave you again?"

He faltered before pressing the tissues into her hand. She threw them at him.

Ethan said, "I've already told Seth that the assets under our name, including the house and cash, will all be yours. I'll also give you half of the company's shares. You won't have to worry about money for the rest of your life."

Maisie didn't say anything.

Ethan added, "You can have Coco, too."

Coco was a stray dog they'd adopted when they were still living in the basement. It had only been about two or three months old at the time. Now, it was already 15 years old. It was in poor health and could only lie on the floor all day. It was hard for it to even walk.

They both knew its life was ending, just like their marriage and relationship.

"If there's anything else that you want, you can tell Seth about it. I'll give you anything I have," Ethan said.

Maisie sneered. "I want Felicia's life. Will you give it to me?"

As soon as the words were out, a coquettish voice rang out, "Who wants my life?"

Maisie looked up to see Felicia Green. She wore an expensive-looking outfit and was draped in jewelry. She looked… exactly like Maisie.