Chloe’s knuckles whitened around her chopsticks as she glared at me, teeth nearly cracking.

During dinner, she pretended to drop the check in front of me—obviously trying to show off.

But before she could pick it back up, I snatched it first and slipped it away.

Chloe’s eyes widened. “Lily, what are you doing? That’s mine!”

Unbothered, I glanced at the name and amount on it, snapped a photo, then waved it before everyone.

“The name here is Ethan Walker’s. This is marital property. Any expenditure should be clearly accounted for—it can’t just vanish without explanation.”

I turned to Ethan.

“Darling, you’ve always reported your spending to me. Why didn’t you this time? What exactly is this for?”

Ethan’s face darkened with embarrassment. He stammered,

“Baby, I…”

“Give me back the check!” Chloe snapped.

Shoving her chair back, she stood and rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight me.

I almost forgot—she was the only woman in this clique, yet always claimed to be “one of the guys.”

She drove away any girlfriends that the men brought in, sneering and sowing discord until they broke up.

She thrived on being the only girl among men, enjoying the attention.

Too bad I wasn’t about to indulge her.

I leaned back with a cold smile. “I won’t return it. What will you do about it?”

Chloe punched me square in the face.

“Lily, I’ve put up with you long enough.”

She yanked my hair, forcing my head down.

“Just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you. Even if you’re Ethan’s wife, I’ll hit you all the same.”

Gasps sounded around us.

“Chloe, stop it—don’t go too far.”

“If Ethan sees this, he’ll go ballistic.”

“That’s his wife, for God’s sake…”

Chloe sneered over her shoulder.

“So what? You all know Ethan values his ‘brothers’ above all else. I’ve beaten up his past girlfriends plenty, and he never said a word.”

Her grip tightened, nearly ripping my hair from my scalp.

Her eyes gleamed with spite, as if to say: Even as his wife, you don’t matter.

She lowered her head and whispered where only I could hear,

“Lily, what are you so smug about? Can’t you see? When it comes down to a choice, Ethan always picks me. Every time I see you with him, it makes me sick.”

But the next second, her smug smile froze—

and a scream of agony tore from her throat.

I had pulled out my self-defense knife and driven it into her left shoulder, steady and precise.

As her face twisted in shock, I sneered coldly.

“Feeling better now?”

The onlookers, who had been waiting for drama, went wide-eyed.

Whispers broke out.

“Never thought Lily was so ruthless. She looked soft, but she’s deadly.”

“Proves you can’t underestimate anyone—especially not her.”

“Chloe’s in for it now. No way she’s walking this off.”

…

“Lily Evans, you bitch!”

Chloe Miller spat the words through clenched teeth.

The next second, my fist slammed into her, knocking out two of her front teeth. Blood poured down her chin.

“Say that again?”

Chloe clutched her mouth, unable to speak.

I had seen through her long ago—she was nothing but a paper tiger. She thought building some muscles made her as strong as a man. She rejected being a woman, always bragging “we men” this and “you women” that. She strutted in front of women and pretended in front of men.

But what she didn’t know was that I had trained at a martial arts gym since I was a child. Even my father used to say I could outfight my own brother. I never had to fear anyone bullying me.

Now that Chloe came looking for trouble, she had only run into a steel wall.

Still covering her mouth, she tried a sneak attack with her free hand. I slashed her hand with my knife, and her shriek tore through the room.

Only then did Ethan Walker snap out of his daze. He rushed over, grabbed my wrist, and shoved me back.

“Lily, that’s enough. You’ve already stabbed Chloe—what more do you want?”

The way he said it, you’d think I was the unreasonable one.

I turned to him in disbelief.

“Didn’t you see it was her who started it?”

Expressionless, I picked up a fistful of my torn-out hair from the table and shoved it at him.

“See this? Each strand costs me two thousand dollars’ worth of care. All this, ripped out because of her. Now tell me—how should this debt be settled?”

Ethan’s confidence faltered instantly. He knew I wasn’t lying.

I was an heiress, raised in wealth, with investments in every aspect of my body. I had spent fortunes on my hair alone. And everyone here had seen that Chloe struck first.

But Ethan, pale-faced, still shielded Chloe behind him, scolding me instead.

“You’re the one making a big deal out of nothing, clinging to that check. I already gave it to Chloe, why are you making things hard for her?”

“She’s been my buddy since childhood. Even for my sake, you shouldn’t have treated her like that…”

The next second, my palm cracked across Ethan’s face.

“Lily, you hit me?”

He stared at me in shock.

I met his gaze coldly.

“Now, it’s your turn to settle accounts.”

“Lily, don’t tell me you’re talking about divorce again?” Ethan gave a bitter laugh. He touched the cheek I had just slapped, then gripped my wrist tightly.

“Can’t you drop the spoiled princess act? Every time something upsets you, it’s divorce. Who else could put up with you but me?”

I shook my head with a smile.

“You’re wrong. It’s not just about divorce.”

All these years, Ethan’s rise had come entirely from my family’s resources—mine and my father’s. If he was going to leave, there was no way he’d walk away with what belonged to us. I intended to take everything back.

Ethan’s expression faltered, fear flashing in his eyes. He softened his tone.

“Baby, don’t you believe me? I really only see Chloe as a brother. We’re innocent—”

“Innocent?” I sneered.

“You mean when you popped her implant, that was innocent? Or when she clung to you and slobbered all over you in front of everyone—was that innocent?”

“Or when you handed her a check and she kissed you—was that innocent too?”

The more I spoke, the paler his face became, his shame laid bare.

Around us, the whispers started.

“So much for being a good man—he’s just a cheat.”

“‘Female buddy’? Please. I don’t buy that men and women can have such pure friendships.”

“It’s always just an excuse for flirting. No woman would tolerate it.”

That day, terrified I’d humiliate him further, Ethan suddenly dropped to his knees before me in front of everyone.

“Lily, I was wrong. I’ll do whatever you say.”

“Hit me, yell at me—fine. But Chloe’s hurt badly. Please, let me take her to the hospital. If she dies, you’ll be the one in prison.”

I sneered. I knew exactly how much strength I had used—she wasn’t going to die.

But for the sake of our years together, I gave him that much face.

“Tomorrow night then—we sign the divorce papers.”

I turned and walked out.

Ethan’s pale face turned after me, calling my name, but I didn’t pause for a second.

When the time came, Ethan never showed. Instead, Chloe sent me a video, smugly flaunting.

She was lying in a hospital bed. Ethan was feeding her soup.

“Ethan, it’s all because of you that your wife beat me like this,” Chloe whined. “I don’t care, I can’t drink it myself—you have to feed me.”

Ethan sighed and gave a doting smile.

“If my wife finds out, we’re both dead.”

But while he said that, his actions betrayed him—obedient, tender, feeding her mouth-to-mouth.

Watching their lips meet on screen, I crushed my phone in my hand.

I immediately called my father.

“Dad, that project you said you’d help Ethan with—forget it. And I want him bankrupt, as fast as possible.”

Since Ethan had broken his promise, I had no reason to keep mine. I grabbed my passport and left for an overseas trip.

By the time I came back, half a month had passed.

Ethan was in a panic, calling me nonstop, but I never answered.

My assistant finally told me the news: Ethan really had gone bankrupt.

For a week straight, Ethan hunted for me, begging me to ask my father to let him go.

I refused to see him, only passing a message through my assistant:

“Unless you agree to divorce, you’ll only sink deeper into debt.”

At last, Ethan caved.

“Fine. I’ll divorce you.”

But when I went to sign the divorce papers, Chloe was there too—already discharged.

“Chloe, I’ve done all I can to trick Lily. What more do you want before you’ll help me?”

Ethan, for once, looked humble, his voice tinged with desperation.

Chloe sneered arrogantly.

“That night at the hotel, she beat me so hard I nearly landed in intensive care. I’ve been choking on that anger ever since.”

“If you want me to help your company back on its feet, you’ll have to pay me back first.”

“I want to whip Lily twenty times myself. Agree to that, and I’ll have my cousin invest in you.”

Ethan’s eyes lit up at once. He frowned and came over to me, trying to coax me.

“Lily, just agree. It’s only a few lashes—it’s fair, isn’t it?”