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.

Seth had asked Maisie why she could tolerate all of Ethan's past flings but not Felicia. It was because she couldn't understand it.

Ethan's past flings had included sexy and innocent women, but he'd never been serious about them. As long as he didn't want to marry them, she could force herself to bear with them.

Felicia was different, though. She was Maisie's twin sister.

This was what Maisie couldn't understand. She and Felicia looked identical. Why was it that Ethan insisted on having Felicia?

She was disgusted by the sight of Ethan and Felicia being affectionate with each other before her. Suddenly, a glass of juice appeared before her. "You should drink this. Don't drink any alcohol."

Maisie laughed derisively. "Your cousin-in-law has changed, Seth. Why do you keep trying to boss me around?"

He pursed his lips and took her whiskey glass away.

"Give that to me." She held out a hand.

He didn't move.

She repeated, "Give it to me."

Seth watched her for a while before nodding. "Fine. I'll just carry you home if you get drunk." He glanced at her body. "You're not all that heavy, anyway."

Maisie acted like she didn't hear him. "Ethan."

She filled her glass before frowning. Then, she grabbed the dispenser from Seth. There was a large amount of whiskey in it, but she downed it.

After that, she flung the dispenser onto the floor, shattering it. "I agree to get a divorce, Ethan. From today onward—no, from this moment onward—we're over."

She turned and left. To her surprise, she ran into someone at the door, almost falling. Seth hurriedly caught her.

She turned to look at his seat and asked, "Can you teleport or something?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Watch out."

The newcomer was apologetic. "Sorry for being late, Maisie."

The whiskey was getting to Maisie, so she couldn't see who the newcomer was. She remembered calling Ethan's best friend, Jeremy Lloyd, before arriving at the bistro, though.

Jeremy was Ethan's junior in college and had started the company with him. Now, he was the company's deputy CEO and one of Ethan's best friends.

Maisie felt lightheaded, almost as if she were standing on a cloud. "Oh, you're here…"

Jeremy chuckled. "I wouldn't dare stand you up, Maisie."

Her smile widened, and she held out a hand. "Come on. Lend me a hand."

Jeremy didn't think much of this. He was about to hold her hand, but she was tugged backward before their hands could touch.

She staggered backward, feeling like she'd fallen against a wall. It hurt, and her head spun. "Why's the room shrinking? The wall was there, wasn't it? What is it doing here now?"

Jeremy could tell she was drunk. He knew Seth and said, "Hi, Seth."

Seth nodded and frowned as he leaned back slightly to hold on to Maisie.

"Why's Maisie so drunk, Seth?" Jeremy asked.

"You know what, Jeremy?" Maisie looked up from Seth's arms with a grin. "Your best friend's new wife is over there."

She pointed in Ethan and Felicia's direction.

Jeremy was flabbergasted when he saw Felicia. Was he seeing double?

He asked, "What's going on here, Ethan? Are you playing 'Find the Difference' or something?"

Ethan didn't look too pleased. "What are you doing here?"

Jeremy was confused by that. "Didn't you and Maisie ask me to be here? She kept telling me to hurry up, too."

"Maisie called you?"

"Yeah." Jeremy could tell something was up but didn't know what. He scratched his head in confusion. "I can't tell which Maisie is the one who called me, though."

Seth had no idea what Maisie was up to, so he helped her stand up. "Wake up, Maisie."

She squinted, her face red. "What's up?"

Seth asked, "Did you ask Jeremy to come here?"

"Jeremy… Oh, right. Yeah, I did." She turned and fell into Jeremy's arms. Then, she said happily, "You wanted me to call my man over, didn't you, Ethan? He's here now."

Ethan's expression shifted. He pushed Felicia away and shot to his feet, dragging Maisie to him. "What the hell are you doing, Maisie?"

She struggled to break free. "It hurts. Let me go…"

"You'd better make yourself clear. What the hell do you mean?"

Maisie laughed again. "You wanted me to introduce you to my new man, so I did. Now, you're mad. You're so hard to please, Ethan…"

Ethan's expression changed drastically, and he dragged Maisie out with him.

Jeremy hurriedly said, "Don't be like this, Ethan. Maisie can't handle your strength…"

Ethan stopped and turned to look at him. "I'll settle the score with you later."

Jeremy was baffled. "What in the world is going on with you two? Why are you being so weird?"

He wanted to run after them to get some answers, but Seth stopped him. He asked, "Have they gotten into a fight, Seth?"

"Yeah, so don't go over. Let them handle this themselves."

"Ethan doesn't look right, though. I've never seen him like that before. It's scary."

Seth smiled faintly. "Don't worry. He wouldn't harm a hair on Maisie's head even if he were to make Earth explode."

…

Maisie struggled to keep up with Ethan. He was basically dragging her behind him. She couldn't walk anymore when they reached the bistro's entrance, so she grabbed hold of the pillars beside it, refusing to let go.

Ethan had no choice but to stop. "You'd better explain yourself, Maisie. What's going on between you and Jeremy?"

She was still out of it. "Don't you already know the answer? Why are you still asking me?"

He let out an exasperated laugh. "You're still lying to me.

"What makes you think that?"

"There's nothing between you two," he said confidently. "I saw how lost he was earlier—he obviously knows nothing about this."

Maisie looked at him and snorted. "You know better than me what men are like, Ethan. It's always more fun to sleep with your buddy's wife, isn't it? I…"

She couldn't talk anymore. The whiskey had done her in.

Suddenly, she was swept off her feet. Before she even realized what was going on, Ethan had lifted her into his arms.

She flailed like a fish out of water. "What are you doing, Ethan? Where are you taking me?"

"You want to be a slut, don't you? I'll take you to a brothel so you can be satisfied there."

"Let me go! You're an asshole, Ethan!"

He didn't say anything. Instead, he threw her into the backseat of the car before locking the doors. When he started the car, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his neck from behind.

Maisie didn't have any strength, so it was more like she was hugging him from behind and resting on his shoulder. She kept her arms around his neck and said, "If you dare do anything to me, I'll bite you…"

He kissed her hard, and it hurt. Before she could bite him, he did it first. Then, she felt him pull her to the driver's seat.

She didn't know how he'd done it, but he'd lifted and placed her between his chest and the wheel. She was straddling him. They'd been together for so many years that they knew each other's bodies like the backs of their hands.

Maisie suddenly got the urge to do something nasty, so she ground herself against his groin, immediately feeling it form a tent in his pants.

She laughed and cocked her head. Then, she looked into his eyes and said, "Look at how shameless you are, Ethan."

He breathed heavily and gripped her waist tightly, pushing her down onto him. "You wanted to bite me, didn't you? Come on, then. I'm waiting."