Chapter 4

The room fell dead silent.

Sienna's expression turned incredibly ugly. Keeping her mouth shut, she forcefully pushed me down onto a chair and sat beside me, refusing to say another word.

See? Just one sentence that bruised her ego, and she was throwing a tantrum.

She never thought she was in the wrong. Or maybe she believed that even if she was, I would always forgive her.

I signaled the waiter to bring me a clean plate and silverware, then began to eat the appetizers slowly and elegantly.

Seeing that I didn't start screaming or throwing plates, Sienna’s friends gradually relaxed and started chatting again.

"Honestly, Sienna, you trained your husband so well."

"Right? Way better than my guy. My husband throws a fit if I even go to a bar with girls."

"You better cherish him, Sienna."

"There are plenty of pretty boys out there, but finding one this obedient is rare."

One of the women winked at Sienna. Sienna snapped at her to shut up, but a smug, uncontrollable smile spread across her face.

She loved being put on a pedestal. And because of their compliments, her attitude toward me softened.

"Babe, let's go home after we finish eating," Sienna whispered, leaning her head onto my shoulder affectionately.

I turned my head to look at her, and in doing so, I caught the furious, jealous glare from the young boy sitting next to her.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" I pointed at him casually.

"Oh, he's just my friend's younger brother. He insisted on tag-along tonight. Right, Chloe?"

The woman named Chloe immediately caught Sienna’s desperate signal and nodded quickly. She pulled the boy closer and laughed nervously.

"Yeah, my baby brother! Ethan, don't overthink it. Sienna is a good woman, you're lucky to have her."

The boy remained silent, letting Chloe drag him, but his burning eyes never left my face.

A friend's younger brother. A "brother" who was practically melting into my wife's lap just minutes ago.

I smiled, choosing not to expose them. I turned directly to the boy.

"Little brother? How old are you? What’s your name?"

"I'm not your brother," the boy spat, his voice trembling with anger. "My name is Jaxon Miller. I'm an adult, which means I can do whatever the hell I want!"

With that, his intense gaze shifted back to Sienna, but she just buried her face deeper into my chest to avoid him.

"An adult," I nodded, agreeing with him. "Since you're an adult, you should know what boundaries are."

Jaxon seemed startled by the sudden, sharp edge in my eyes, but he quickly recovered, puffing out his chest.

"Who cares about boundaries?"

"I only know one thing: the brave ones get to enjoy the world first!"

I burst out laughing. I pushed my chair back, stood up, and clapped mockingly.

"Well said."

Sienna's face flushed a deep crimson, then turned pale. She grabbed my hand and practically dragged me out of the VIP booth, leaving her friends frozen in place.

The moment we got into the car, Sienna finally exploded, pointing her finger right at my nose.

"Ethan Hayes! What the hell was that?! Are you accusing me of cheating?!"

"How dare you doubt me?! We’ve been together for so many years, and you don't even trust me?"

"Why don't you ever remember the good things I did for you? If it weren't for me, you—"

I slammed on the brakes. The last trace of a smile vanished from my face. My eyes turned ice-cold as I turned to stare at her.

"If it weren't for you, what?"