Billionaire Pretended to Be Poor to Test His Fiancée – What Happened Next Shocked Everyone!
Chapter 2
The apartment Ethan moved into was real.
Marcus had helped him find it.
It was a one-bedroom unit above a laundromat in Astoria, Queens.
The building was old.
The hallway smelled faintly of detergent and fried onions.
The elevator hadn’t worked in years.
Ethan lived on the fourth floor.
For the first time since college, he carried his own groceries upstairs.
He cooked his own meals.
He waited in line for coffee.
And, strangely, he liked it.
No assistants.
No board meetings.
No one staring when he entered a room.
For a few hours each day, Ethan was simply another man trying to carry too many bags up a narrow staircase.
But Victoria didn’t visit.
Not once.
At first, she called.
Then the calls became shorter.
“I’m busy.”
“I have meetings.”
“My mother is asking questions.”
“I need to think.”
Ethan understood.
Or at least he pretended to.
One afternoon, he called her.
“Do you want to have dinner?”
There was a pause.
“Where?”
“I found a small Italian place near the apartment.”
Another pause.
“Ethan, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why?”
“Because people might see us.”
He said nothing.
Victoria continued.
“I’m trying to deal with everything.”
“Everything?”
“You know what I mean.”
“No,” Ethan said quietly. “I don’t think I do.”
She sighed.
“Your life is a disaster right now.”
The words landed harder than he expected.
“My life?”
“Our life,” she corrected.
But it was too late.
Ethan ended the call politely.
That night, Marcus visited.
“You look terrible.”
“Thank you.”
“You know what I mean.”
Ethan opened a beer.
“Victoria thinks dinner in Queens will damage her reputation.”
Marcus stared.
“And you’re still testing her?”
Ethan looked down.
“I guess I’m testing myself now.”
Marcus sat across from him.
“You know what I think?”
“Probably.”
“You already have your answer.”
Ethan wasn’t ready to admit it.
The next morning, he walked to a small diner near the subway station.
It was called Maggie’s.
Nothing about it was extraordinary.
Red booths.
Coffee that tasted burned.
A handwritten menu taped beside the register.
Ethan liked it immediately.
He sat alone near the window.
A waitress approached.
She was in her early thirties.
Dark hair pulled into a loose ponytail.
Simple black uniform.
No makeup except a little mascara.
She placed a coffee mug in front of him.
“You look like you’ve had a rough week.”
Ethan looked up.
“Is it that obvious?”
“I’m a waitress. It’s literally my job to notice people.”
He smiled.
“Then how bad is it?”
She poured coffee.
“Scale of one to ten?”
“Sure.”
“Seven.”
“Only seven?”
“You’re still wearing matching shoes.”
Ethan laughed.
For the first time in days, it came naturally.
“What if I told you my entire life just fell apart?”
The waitress shrugged.
“Then I’d say the coffee’s on the house.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You don’t even know me.”
“Exactly.”
She extended her hand.
“I’m Lily.”
“Ethan.”
“Nice to meet you, Ethan.”
He returned to Maggie’s the next day.
Then the day after that.
Not because the coffee improved.
It didn’t.
But Lily was there.
And she never asked what he did for a living.
She never asked where he used to live.
She never asked what kind of car he drove.
She only asked things like:
“Did you sleep?”
“Are you eating enough?”
“Why do you always look like you’re about to solve a murder?”
Ethan told her very little.
He said he had worked in business.
He said things had gone wrong.
He said his relationship was complicated.
Lily never pushed.
One rainy evening, Ethan arrived just before closing.
Lily placed a plate of fries in front of him.
“I didn’t order these.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to pay for them.”
“You don’t have to.”
He looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because you look sad.”
Ethan smiled.
“That simple?”
“Sometimes.”
He stared at the fries.
Then said quietly, “My fiancée hasn’t called me in three days.”
Lily’s expression changed.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
“Do you love her?”
Ethan looked toward the rain-covered window.
“I thought I did.”
Lily said nothing.
Then she sat across from him.
“Maybe sometimes we confuse loving someone with loving the idea of not being alone.”
Ethan looked back at her.
“And where did you learn that?”
She smiled.
“The hard way.”
Outside, a taxi stopped near the diner.
Ethan glanced through the window.
And froze.
Across the street stood Victoria.
She was watching him.
But she wasn’t alone.
Beside her was Madison.
And Victoria was smiling.
Not at Ethan.
At something Madison had said.
Then Victoria pointed toward the diner.
Directly at him.
