He Gave My Dream to Another Woman? I Took It Back with Interest! Chapter 05

He Gave My Dream to Another Woman? I Took It Back with Interest! Chapter 05

The next day, Ethan got off work early and took me to the department store.

There was nothing in particular I wanted to buy, but chances to spend Ethan’s money were rare, and I could at least use the outing to pick up a few things I might need later.

“Lily, do I look pretty in this dress?”

“You do! Ethan Daddy’s gonna love it. Can we go eat at Ethan Daddy’s house tonight?”

The moment we walked in, that familiar voice drifted straight into my ears.

Ethan’s step visibly faltered.

Natalie was standing there in a deep red coat, her long curls falling behind her ears, looking very much like one of those glamorous screen stars everyone talked about lately.

She saw me too, and her eyes curved into a bright smile.

“What a coincidence, Ethan. Claire, you’re shopping for clothes too?”

I nodded, ignored the provocation in her tone, and casually picked out a few pieces that suited me before handing them to the sales clerk.

Ethan had just started to step forward to pay when Lily suddenly wrapped herself around his leg.

“Ethan Daddy is buying clothes for Mommy, not for Aunt Claire! Aunt Claire is mean. She’s always mean to me. Don’t buy her anything!”

Her crying grew louder and louder, drawing a crowd from all around us.

“Lily, don’t say things like that.” Natalie gave her hand a token tug, but there was no real attempt to stop her.

“Isn’t Daddy buying clothes for Mommy? I’m not making things up!” Lily lifted her chin and glared at me stubbornly, her small hands still clamped tight around Ethan’s leg.

I smiled, then turned to Natalie.

“In that case, you can pay for mine.”

“After all, Ethan already hands his entire paycheck over to you.”

Ethan whipped his head toward me in shock, his mouth parting in disbelief. He could not believe I had said something like that in public.

That had never been the way I handled things before. No matter how serious it was, I had always waited until we got home and the door was closed before bringing it up.

But now I did not care about protecting his pride at all.

I shifted my gaze slightly.

“What? Did I say anything untrue?”

“Oh, right. Silly me. It wasn’t just your paycheck, was it? You gave her all the benefits too.”

In the end, Natalie was the one who could no longer stand the whispering and pointing around her. She covered Lily’s still-shouting mouth, paid in a rush, and fled.

Perfectly satisfied, I picked up my shopping bags and turned to leave.

Ethan followed behind me in silence the entire way home, his eyes drifting over me again and again.

I could feel his gaze clinging to me the whole time, but I treated him as though he did not exist.

After buying a few more household necessities, I finally went home carrying bags in both hands.

As the competition drew closer, I started getting off work later and later.

For once, Ethan had begun picking me up again.

That evening, we had barely made it home when a frantic pounding sounded at the door.

Ethan shot me a guilty look, then hurried over and yanked it open.

“Ethan… that apartment was taken back, and now Lily and I have nowhere to stay.”

“Could you let me stay here just for one night? I’ll go find another place and move out tomorrow.”

Ethan turned sideways to let Natalie in. At the same time, he scooped Lily into his arms and grabbed the huge woven luggage bag at the door, ready to carry it inside too.

I gave a soft cough.

Both of them froze.

Natalie turned to me at once, her eyes filling with tears as she spoke in a pitiful voice.

“Claire, I really have nowhere else to go. You know the Carter family has always blamed me. They won’t even let Lily and me through the door. Ethan is the only person I can turn to now…”

“Please don’t fight with Ethan because of me. If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave right now.”

Arms folded, I looked at Ethan in amusement. He had obviously planned all this with her already, yet now he stood there pretending he knew nothing.

Plenty of people had heard what happened at the department store last time. Faculty housing was already in short supply, and everyone had their eyes on those units. Yet he had used one to keep another woman.

No wonder someone had reported it.

I gave a careless wave, went back to my room, and shut the door, blocking out the sound of those exhausting tears.

She was already inside. No one had given me the right to refuse.

So why should I bother playing the villain?

After all, I might still need her help to get this divorce.