My Husband's Affair My Anniversary Gift (Lily and David) novel Chapter 30

The moment Marina spotted them, her silver dress catching the light like a blade, she began gliding toward them with a deliberate smile. Every step was measured, like a predator crossing the room.

Lily’s lips barely moved as she leaned toward David and muttered under her breath,

“Here’s your lover.”

Her tone was flat, not even sharp with jealousy—just bored, dismissive, like she’d been expecting this from the moment she stepped into the gala.

David’s fingers closed around her hand suddenly, his grip firm enough to make her look at him.

“Lily,” he said in a low, warning voice, his dark eyes narrowing slightly, “don’t create a scene here.”

She met his gaze with stubborn defiance, her chin tilting up. “You should tell your beloved that, not me. And honestly, why bring me here if she was coming too? You could’ve just told everyone she’s your wife. That would’ve saved you the trouble.”

The words hit their mark. His jaw tightened, and for a second, it looked like he might say something harsh, but he caught himself. The gala’s soft music and murmured conversations carried on around them, oblivious to the tension in their little circle.

“You know exactly why I brought you here,” David said, still keeping his voice down but no less intense. “Do you really have to make things more difficult for me every single time?”

Lily rolled her eyes again, the gesture slow and deliberate. “Difficult for you? Oh, please. I’m just standing here, holding your hand like the perfect little wife you need for the night. You’re welcome.”

He didn’t reply. Maybe because he knew she was right—at least about playing her role perfectly in the eyes of the onlookers.

From the outside, they looked like a couple sharing an intimate moment: bodies close, hands intertwined, their faces angled toward each other as though they were whispering sweet nothings.

The truth couldn’t have been further from that illusion.

Lily noticed the glances from nearby guests smiles, nods, a few whispered comments. She could almost hear the narrative forming in their heads: David and Lily look so in love. The divorce rumors must be nonsense.

Marina saw it too.

Her smile faltered for just a fraction of a second, and a tightness appeared around her eyes. That subtle change might have gone unnoticed by anyone else, but Lily caught it instantly. She recognized that brand of jealousy, it was sharp, restless, and poisonous.

Marina was furious.

In her mind, David belonged to her. She’d been telling herself that for years, ever since the first time she’d gotten close enough to touch the shine of his world.

And now, seeing people fawn over David and Lily’s “marital bliss” felt like watching someone steal her spotlight in real time.

Marina reached them, the perfume she wore heavy in the air.

“David,” she said sweetly, her eyes sliding briefly to Lily, the smile never reaching her tone. “I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”

“You did,” Lily murmured, her voice barely audible but laced with dry amusement.

David’s grip on her hand tightened in warning again, but she didn’t flinch.

When a tall man in a navy suit passed by, offering her a glass of wine, she smiled up at him in that calculated, slow way that meant she was about to make trouble.

Without hesitation, she reached for his lapel, murmured something only he could hear, and then—right there, in the middle of the gala floor—kissed him.

It wasn’t a long kiss, but it was deliberate enough for every nearby guest to see.

A ripple of murmurs spread instantly through the room, photographers subtly lifting their cameras again.

Lily turned her head toward David slowly, eyebrows raised. “Well,” she said, her voice dripping with mock sympathy, “reaping what you sowed must taste bitter.”

His jaw clenched, but he said nothing. If he reacted, it would be exactly what Lily wanted.

Still, Lily could see the anger in the tight line of his mouth, the way his hand flexed at his side. He hated losing control of the narrative, especially in public.

Marina, catching his gaze from across the room, smiled as if she’d just won something.

Lily almost laughed.

For the rest of the evening, the three of them moved in the same space, caught in an invisible tug-of-war—David trying to maintain the perfect public image, Marina trying to shatter it in her favor, and Lily standing just close enough to remind him that she was there only because she had to be.

By the time they left, the air between them was so thick with unspoken words that even the cool night breeze outside the hotel couldn’t clear it.