By the time Ethan and Sophie finally came in, the first item had already been sold.
This event was half auction, half society dinner. Crystal trays of desserts circled the room. Towers of chilled seafood glowed under soft lighting. Sophie took one look at the crab service and immediately decided she wanted some.
Ethan, naturally, did it himself.
He waved off the staff, rolled up his sleeves, and sat there with polished silver tools carefully opening the shells, separating the meat, spooning out the roe, and setting it in front of her like she was royalty and he was honored to serve.
Sophie looked at him like he had hung the moon.
I kept drinking my wine.
Later, she pointed at an emerald jewelry set on the stage. Ethan lifted his paddle without hesitation.
“Three hundred million.”
The room went silent.
No one challenged him.
Whispers moved through the crowd. Some admiring. Some envious. Some eager to figure out who the girl beside him was.
At intermission, people swarmed our table to flatter him. They looked at the way he pampered Sophie and immediately started calling her Mrs. Frost.
Ethan flicked a glance at me and corrected them lazily. “Wrong one. That’s my wife.”
The guests blanched and apologized.
I said nothing.
They were not really wrong. Not for much longer.
The second half of the auction was mostly antiques, which I didn’t care about, so I bid on a few of the most expensive pieces just because I could and then left early.
I had just reached the elevator lobby when I heard Sophie’s syrupy voice behind me.
“Mrs. Frost, can we talk?”
“We have nothing to talk about.”
I turned.
And the next second, her hand came flying across my face.
The slap cracked through the hallway so hard my ears rang.
For a second, I didn’t even feel it. Then the burning hit all at once. I touched my cheek, stunned, and looked back at her.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
Anger flooded me. I lifted my hand to slap her back—
But before I could, someone grabbed my wrist.
Ethan.
He pulled me short, frowning. “Lily. Sophie didn’t even do anything. Why are you hitting her?”
I jerked my hand free so hard my skin went numb. “She hit me first.”
Sophie’s eyes filled with tears on cue. “Mr. Frost said I needed to be braver. I thought… maybe I could practice by slapping the CEO’s wife in public. I didn’t think she’d get this mad.”
She looked so helpless saying it that if I hadn’t been the one slapped, maybe I’d have laughed.
Ethan sighed at her, but his voice had already softened. “I told you to build confidence, not hit people.”
“I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “You said Mrs. Frost had a good temper. I thought if I hit her, she wouldn’t get angry…”
Then she started crying for real. Or pretending well enough that it made no difference.
Ethan’s expression melted immediately. He wiped her tears with his thumb and murmured, “All right. No one’s blaming you. Stop crying.”
I could not believe what I was seeing.
I actually started shaking.
“Ethan,” I said, my voice sharp enough to cut glass, “I’m the one who got hit. Who gave you the right to forgive her for me?”
He looked at me like I was being dramatic. “Come on. She’s just a girl. How hard could she have hit you? Do you really need to make this into such a big deal?”
My face was still burning.
My chest hurt more.
Then Sophie burst into louder tears, and Ethan picked her up in his arms and walked away.
Just like that.
He left me standing in that hallway with a handprint on my face and strangers pretending not to stare.
I don’t remember how I got home.
I only remember telling myself the whole drive not to cry.
Then I got home, went to my room, pressed an ice pack to my cheek for an hour, and looked at myself in the mirror until the swelling started to go down.
That was when Sophie texted me.
Mrs. Frost, did you get home safe?
I’m at the hospital now. Mr. Frost got so worried when I fainted, he reserved the whole VIP floor and called in a dozen doctors for me. Your face okay? I hit you kind of hard. Hope it doesn’t scar. If you want, come over and I’ll generously let you borrow one of my doctors.
I stared at the screen for one second, then forwarded everything to Ethan.
He replied at three in the morning.
Sophie meant well.
I laughed so hard tears came out.
Then I sent him a voice message.
“If you’re this protective of her, why don’t you marry her now? I’ll happily make room. I’ll even wish you two a hundred years of happiness.”
He responded instantly.
Lily, stop saying things out of anger. I told you before, the only Mrs. Frost will ever be you. The rest of them are just for fun. Don’t overthink it. Go to sleep. I’ll come back tomorrow and stay with you.
I put down my phone.
There is no feeling quite like throwing a punch into cotton.