Billionaire Pretended to Be Poor to Test His Fiancée – What Happened Next Shocked Everyone!
Chapter 5
Victoria appeared at Maggie’s the following week.
It was Saturday morning.
The diner was busy.
Families filled the booths.
Coffee machines hissed.
A little boy was crying because his pancakes had blueberries.
Ethan sat near the window.
Lily was carrying a tray.
Then Victoria entered.
Everything inside Ethan went still.
She was wearing an expensive cream-colored coat.
Her heels clicked against the old tile floor.
She looked completely out of place.
Lily approached her.
“Table for one?”
Victoria looked past her.
At Ethan.
“No.”
Lily followed her gaze.
“Oh.”
Victoria walked toward Ethan.
“We need to talk.”
Ethan remained seated.
“No, we don’t.”
“Ethan.”
“Victoria.”
Lily quietly stepped away.
Victoria lowered her voice.
“Are you seriously seeing her?”
Ethan laughed once.
“I’m not seeing anyone.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I like the coffee.”
Lily shouted from behind the counter.
“He’s lying.”
Ethan smiled.
Victoria stared at Lily.
Then back at him.
“This is humiliating.”
“For who?”
“For me.”
“You ended our relationship.”
“You left.”
“After your mother told me I had no leverage.”
Victoria’s face changed.
Several people nearby looked over.
“Can we talk somewhere private?”
“No.”
“Ethan.”
He stood.
For the first time, his voice became cold.
“You came into the place where my friend works to ask whether I’m dating her. You don’t get to decide where this conversation happens.”
Victoria stared at him.
Then she changed tactics.
“I made a mistake.”
Ethan said nothing.
“I was scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of losing everything.”
He looked at her.
“And now?”
Victoria hesitated.
Then:
“I don’t want to lose you.”
The sentence might have meant something.
If Ethan hadn’t already heard her say so many things.
If she hadn’t lied.
If she hadn’t watched him from across the street.
If she hadn’t allowed her mother to treat him like a failed investment.
He shook his head.
“I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
Victoria’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re making a mistake.”
Ethan smiled sadly.
“No. I already made one.”
She turned and left.
The diner remained quiet for several seconds.
Then Lily approached.
“Wow.”
Ethan sat down.
“Yeah.”
Lily placed a fresh coffee in front of him.
“On the house.”
“Again?”
“You’re going through a lot.”
He looked at her.
“You always this nice to customers?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Lily smiled.
“Why?”
“Because I was starting to feel special.”
Her smile faded slightly.
The air changed.
For a brief moment, neither spoke.
Then Lily looked away.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t start something because you’re hurt.”
Ethan understood.
She had seen something in him.
Something dangerous.
The desire to replace one relationship with another.
He nodded.
“You’re right.”
Lily looked relieved.
“I usually am.”
That evening, Ethan walked home alone.
Halfway there, Marcus called.
“You need to come to the office.”
“Why?”
“Because someone is trying to take advantage of your disappearance.”
Ethan stopped walking.
“What?”
Marcus explained.
While Ethan had been pretending to deal with a financial crisis, one of the senior executives at Cole Holdings had begun moving aggressively.
There were rumors.
Board conversations.
Attempts to gain control over certain divisions.
Ethan had expected some reaction.
He hadn’t expected betrayal.
But what Marcus said next surprised him.
“There are messages connecting the executive to someone named Bennett.”
Ethan went silent.
Victoria.
The test had just become something far more dangerous.
