My Husband's Affair My Anniversary Gift (Lily and David) novel Chapter 36

“You said I could choose anyone, right?”

Lily’s voice was calm, almost teasing, but there was a glint in her eyes that set Marina on edge. The hum of conversation in the circle dimmed, people leaning closer to catch what she’d say next.

Marina’s confident smirk froze as Lily’s gaze slid, slow and deliberate, across the group—until it landed on David.

The pointed stare was unmistakable.

Marina’s breath caught. She had invited this dare to humiliate Lily, but now the tables seemed to be turning. The very thought of Lily kissing David—here, in front of everyone—made her stomach twist. This was supposed to be her night.

David, on the other hand, felt the tension in his shoulders ease. If Lily kissed him, it would spark gossip, yes, but it wouldn’t harm him. She was his wife, even if no one here knew it. In fact, it might even quell the divorce rumors.

For the first time that evening, a faint satisfaction crossed his features.

But then—

Lily smiled. Not softly, not coyly—this was a challenge.

And without looking away, she said clearly, “I choose… Mr. Grey.”

The reaction was immediate. The room erupted in cheers and knowing laughter, and David’s face darkened instantly. The air between them shifted from tense to dangerous.

Jacob, lounging in his chair, raised a brow but said nothing. His gaze flickered briefly toward David before returning to Lily, a faint, amused smile playing at his lips.

Lily leaned forward slightly, as if preparing to follow through. She could feel the burn of David’s stare on her, sharp as a blade—but before she could move an inch closer to Jacob, a strong hand clamped around her arm.

David.

He didn’t say a word. He just yanked her to her feet, his grip unyielding.

“David....” Marina’s voice cut through the noise, sharp with outrage. “What are you doing?!”

He didn’t even turn to look at her.

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the guests as they watched David drag Lily out of the circle. Marina stood rooted to the spot, her face pale with fury. She had just lost, publicly, and the whispers starting to circle the room were salt in the wound.

“What’s going on between them?” someone whispered.

“Is she his mistress?” another speculated.

“Why would he just grab her like that in front of everyone?”

The questions followed them out of the lounge like a cloud of smoke.

Lily tried to wrench her hand free, her heels clicking sharply against the polished floor. “Let go, David!”

He didn’t.

They rounded a corner, and before she could protest again, her back hit the wall with a soft thud. His frame loomed over her, his hands braced on either side.

David straightened but didn’t move away from Lily. “Stay out of this, Grey.”

Jacob’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll stay out when you explain why you just dragged her away in front of everyone. Or better yet—what exactly is your relationship with her?”

David’s jaw tightened. “That’s none of your concern.”

“It is,” Jacob countered evenly, “when you expect me to pretend I didn’t just see you manhandle my guest. And I don’t scare easily, Hardison—so I’ll ask again: what’s your relationship to her?”

The air between them thickened. Lily glanced between them, her pulse still unsteady from David’s kiss, though she kept her face neutral.

David’s next words cut through the silence like a blade.

“She’s my wife.”

Jacob blinked, stunned into stillness for half a second. “Your… wife?”

It was almost comical—almost—how quickly realization dawned in his eyes. The tension between David and Lily earlier in the night, the subtle glances, the undercurrent of something sharp between them—it all clicked into place.

He recalled a conversation with David while ago, when the man had scoffed about his “repulsive, unsightly wife” as the reason she was never seen in public. Jacob had assumed it was an exaggeration—or that the woman truly existed somewhere far from these circles.

But now, looking at Lily—poised, striking, self-possessed—Jacob could only think one thing:

What a fool.