My Husband's Affair My Anniversary Gift (Lily and David) novel Chapter 151

Lily was bent over a long sheet of tracing paper, graphite dust on her fingertips, when Mia knocked on the office door.

“Come in,” she called without looking up. The knock sounded small but precise the kind of interruption that always made her nerves hum.

Mia stepped in, eyes quick, face trying to say something neutral that would not leak into gossip. “Ms. Lily, I just got a call from Mr. Hardison's assistant” she said, and the words fell into the room like a stone.

Lily straightened. The pencil she was holding tightened in her fist until it hurt. “What? Why did they call” Her voice came out flat.

Mia swallowed. “Hardison’s assistant called. They say to cancel the contract with Ms. Laurent. They offered to pay if there’s any compensation, but...” She stopped. The implication hung in the air like smoke.

Lily felt the world tilt. For a moment she could not hear Mia properly; the words became muffled and far away, as if spoken from under water.

“What?” she repeated, and this time the disbelief cut deeper.

“Yes,” Mia said. “And there’s more. Mr. Hardison wants to have a dinner appointment with you. He says he needs to talk.”

Lily’s hand tightened even more. The pencil snapped with a sharp sound as she dragged it against the wall in anger; the graphite tip broke and left a black streak. The tiny fragments fell to the floor like the first broken promises of the day. Her knuckles whitened, a map of tension.

David was testing her patience, again. He had no right. He had no right to pull strings and cancel contracts and then expect her to be flattered by the attention of his mausoleum of apologies.

He had no right to make her life ripple because of his personal mess. He had no right to ask for her time like it was a favor.

“Tell them there will be no compensation,”

Lily said, each word measured and cold. Her voice was steady, but underneath it a small flame of fury burned. “If they don’t want the jewelry from us, then the contract is void. Aurora doesn’t want anything and she doesn’t have time for an appointment.”

It would take time, money, and the court would only respond to facts. But facts were what she needed now, not apologies or performances. Facts were proof that she had made a choice and had the backbone to see it through.

After she hung up, she slammed the phone onto the table with more force than necessary. The sound echoed through the studio like a bell. It was an intention set into the world: I will not be moved. I will not be bargained with.

Everything in her felt hot, like lava under skin. Not the burning that comes from grief, but an angry, energizing burn a force that made the muscles in her jaw ache and the back of her neck prickle. If she chose to explode, she could burn bridges, torch reputations, make his life a ruin. The thought was intoxicating and dangerous. She imagined him blinking into the ash of all the things he had once taken for granted. The image soothed and scared her in equal measure.

But she also knew burning things down would leave a scar on her too. Fire scarred everyone nearby. She did not want to be destroyed in her own rage. So she breathed, slow and steady, letting the heat settle into something colder and more precise.

She could either let the waves throw her back onto the rocks or she could learn to navigate the tide.

A plan formed in her mind, cold and clever. She would not merely file papers and wait for court. She would make sure everything he needed was in order so he couldn’t twist the story..