My Husband's Affair My Anniversary Gift (Lily and David) novel Chapter 93

“David.....!” Marina ran after him, her bare feet thudding on the polished floor. “Can’t you stay tonight? Please?”

He paused, just briefly, but when he glanced back, his expression was cold, almost unfamiliar.

“No. I have to see Mum,” he said flatly.

The tone cut deeper than she expected. For a moment, she wanted to push, to cling harder, but instinct told her not to. He hadn’t said a word about the rumors, hadn’t accused her of anything. If she tried to stop him now, if she pressed too much, what if he changed his mind?

She couldn’t risk it.

“Okay… bye,” she said softly, forcing a weak smile as she waved her hand.

David didn’t answer. He stepped outside, climbed into his car, and drove away without once looking back.

Marina stood at the gate, watching the red taillights vanish into the night.

And then, slowly the tears vanished from her face. Her lips curved upward, the corner of her mouth lifting into a satisfied smile.

Finally.

Finally the day had come. Her plan had worked.

David’s car rolled to a slow stop in front of Lily’s apartment building. He didn’t even realize where his hands had taken the wheel until he looked up at the tall gray tower. The lights of the upper floors glowed faintly, scattered like distant stars. Somewhere up there… she was.

He leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. His chest felt heavy, like a stone pressing against his ribs. He had forced her, only yesterday, to go to the gala with him. He could still hear her silence, see her blank eyes staring back. But tonight, he had promised Marina the same thing.

His jaw tightened. For the first time in a long time, he didn’t know what he was doing. He sat there for a while, the engine humming softly in the quiet street, before he finally turned the wheel and drove off into the night.

The next morning, the online storm only grew worse.

Marina had gone live on her social media. Sitting in her expensive but carefully arranged living room, wearing a soft cream sweater and no heavy makeup, she looked like she had just woken up, deliberately innocent.

“She’s protecting him. That says it all.”

“So Marina is his real wife, right? Poor thing, she looks so sincere.”

“I knew it. That other woman was just a cover-up. Marina is the one for him.”

David sat at his office desk, scrolling through the headlines. His face was blank, but his grip on the phone was so tight his knuckles whitened. He tossed it down on the desk and leaned back, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

He didn’t call Marina. He didn’t call Lily either.

He just stayed silent, letting the noise grow louder, telling himself silence was better than making it worse. But his chest twisted with unease.

Just like always, David didn’t call her. He didn’t send a message. He didn’t even show up at her door.

It wasn’t that she wanted his explanation, she had long since stopped expecting one. David never explained himself. Not when the rumors spread, not when Marina’s name came up again and again, and not when Lily had stood right in front of him, waiting for a single honest word. He never gave it. So why should she expect it this time?