Chapter 2

Looking at the disgusting chat logs and videos on her phone, I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles turned white.

To keep her affair hidden, she had created a secret Snapchat account. The messages were incredibly graphic. The guy had even sent videos of them together to "commemorate their sweet times."

No wonder Lily's score was a 38. No wonder she had been so cold to me this past year. She had been riding someone else behind my back!

"Lily! For two years, I gave you my heart and soul. I handed over my entire paycheck. I did all the chores. I would have died for you! How could you do this to me?"

"I trusted you with everything, and you've been cuckolding me for a whole year!"

I bolted up from the couch, ready to tear open the bathroom door and drag that lying whore out. But I stopped myself just in time.

"No. I can't blow my cover yet."

I didn't know who her lover was. He used a fake handle on Snapchat: Mr. S.

To find out the truth, I had to play dumb. But until I got my answers, I was going to make Lily's life an absolute living hell.

Just then, the bathroom door opened.

Lily stepped out, wrapped in a skimpy towel. "Leo, why aren't you in bed yet? I'm ready..."

Seeing her trying to look sexy, and realizing she had looked at "Mr. S" the exact same way, a wave of intense nausea hit me.

I forced down my rage and looked at her with icy eyes. "Ready for what? Did you do the dishes? Did you vacuum the living room? Did you take out the trash? And the bathroom trash can is overflowing. Are you blind?"

Lily's seductive smile shattered. Shock and a hint of rage took its place. Her voice got high and screechy. "Leo! You—!"

"What about me?"

I cut her off ruthlessly. "I'm telling you right now, if you don't clean this entire apartment top to bottom tonight, don't even think about sleeping in my bed. Got it?"

Lily's face turned red, then pale. Her finger shook as she pointed at me, curses practically flying out of her mouth.

But then, her eyes met mine. She looked at my cold expression, and then at the massive 100,000 glowing above my head. She swallowed her rage.

She took a deep breath, forcing a smile that looked uglier than crying.

"No... no problem, Leo. You're right. From now on, I'll do all the chores. Whatever you want."

I sneered, ignored her, and walked into the bedroom, slamming the door.

Once inside, I pulled out my phone and texted a trusted friend who specialized in cyber security, asking him to trace the identity of this "Mr. S."

Because I had been doing all the housework for the past two years, Lily was completely out of practice. Within minutes, she was exhausted.

She wanted to throw the mop and quit, but the bright red 38 floating above her head kept her terrified. Her instinct to survive crushed her pride.

"No, I have to endure this! I have to make Leo protect me!"

She dragged the mop across the floor, gritting her teeth. "This stupid system won't last forever. One day, it will disappear. Once I'm safe, I will make Leo pay tenfold for how he treated me today!"

By the time she finished everything, it was almost midnight. But when she walked down to the building's dumpster to throw out the trash, she realized with horror that she had locked herself out of the apartment.

Her phone and purse were still inside the living room. She had no money, no keys, and no way to even get a cheap motel room.

It was late autumn. Wearing nothing but a thin silk bathrobe, Lily had to curl up in the corner of the hallway, shivering from the cold, fear, and exhaustion, enduring the longest night of her life.

The next morning, when I opened the door to go to work, I found her. Lily was pale, shivering in the corner of the hallway, sneezing repeatedly. She had clearly caught a terrible cold.

Seeing her miserable state, I didn't feel an ounce of pity.

"Since you have a cold, you need to move around. Chore therapy works wonders for a cold. Go wash the dishes from last night again. Oh, and scrub the toilet. It’s looking a bit yellow."

Lily snapped her head up, her eyes filled with disbelief and rage. But when she met my gaze, she lost all her strength and hung her head.

"...Okay, I'll do it now."

She knew she had absolutely zero leverage.