Dear Wife, I Hate You (by Josephine Mbanefo) novel Chapter 67

Lilith’s Pov

Emily dropped the bomb like it was nothing. Like she just said she had cereal for breakfast.

“I had sex with Maya.”

I blinked. Hard. My jaw practically hit the floor.

“Wait. What did you just say?”

Emily gave me the most casual look ever. “You heard me.”

I stared at her like she’d just grown three heads. “No fucking way. I leave you alone for a few hours and you’re out here sleeping with Maya? Maya?! You two were literally enemies! Arch–nemesis vibes! When? How? What the hell happened?! Tell me everything right now!”

Emily raised her hands, laughing nervously. “Calm down, damn. I’m going to tell you!”

She sat cross–legged on the bed, like this was story time and not a life plot twist. “Okay, so remember that time I was smiling at my phone, and you thought I was texting someone?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah… you looked suspicious as hell.”

“Well,” she said, “I was on this anonymous site. You don’t share pictures or names unless you want to. It was just vibes and chats.”

“Okay…”

“And the person I was chatting with… turned out to be Maya.”

My brain short–circuited.

“She’s bi,” Emily added, with a tiny grin. “Like me. It just clicked. We talked for days, flirted a little. It was kind of thrilling not knowing it was her, until we did. And… well, it happened.”

I stared at her in stunned silence. Emily. Maya. Enemies to lovers? Is this a romcom or my actual life?

“You’re not even married,” I said, still in disbelief, “and you’re already getting laid. Meanwhile, me? Married, and dry as the Sahara.”

Emily smirked. “Real soon, you and Killian are going to tear that bed apart.”

“Stop,” I groaned. “No, seriously. I don’t want to get on that bed with him. I hate him. Remember?”

“You say that,” Emily sang, “but you can’t hate him forever.”

“Oh, I can. Watch me.”

Before we could keep going, there was a knock on the door.

Emily and I turned at the same time. “Come in!” we both said.

I was halfway expecting Rose. Or maybe even Maya, coming to finish the drama. But nope.

It was Nolan.

And oh god, my chest did a weird little flip.

Emily stood up instantly. “Oh right! Maya told me to get her something from the kitchen!”

I squinted. “Liar,” I said in my head. She just wanted to give us space. Classic bestie move.

Nolan stepped in, looking a little unsure. “Is this a bad time? I can come back.”

“No, no,” I said, too quickly. “You can stay.”

Emily gave me a wink as she breezed past him and disappeared.

I suddenly felt so awkward. Like I was made of limbs and blush. I stood up from the bed, not sure what to do with myself. If it were Killian standing there, I’d be angry. Defensive. But with Nolan… I was nervous. Shy. And the worst part? Guilt.

Because I kissed Killian.

Even though I was married to him, my heart kept leaning toward Nolan, and that kiss felt like betrayal. To Nolan. That’s how twisted everything had gotten.

“Why are you standing?” Nolan asked gently. “You can sit. Can I?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sit,” I mumbled, sitting back down, still fidgety.

He sat beside me. Close. But not too close.

“So…” he said, his voice soft. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” I said quickly. “Yeah. Good.” My cheeks were on fire.

He smiled a little. “How was your day?”

“It was…….. nice.” I paused. “Eventful.”

He chuckled. “It seems like you and Killian are… getting along now?”

“No!” I said too fast, too loud.

He blinked, startled. I didn’t even know why I reacted like that. Maybe I just didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. Maybe I was trying to protect him. Maybe I was trying to protect me.

“Okay,” he said slowly, raising his hands. “Noted.”

There was a pause. My heart was beating like crazy.

“I just came to check on you before heading back to my place,” Nolan said. “And, uh… there’s one thing.”

He looked down, like he was trying to find the right words. I leaned in a little.

“I broke up with Zoey.”

I blinked. “Wait…. what? You broke up with Zoey?”

Nolan nodded, like it was nothing. Like he didn’t just casually throw a wrecking ball at my emotional equilibrium.

“Why?” I asked, completely thrown. “What happened? Was it… because of me? Because of what we did?”

He shook his head gently. “No, no. Nothing like that. I just realized… we don’t match. There’s no spark. No real emotional connection between us. We were just… there.”

I stared at him, trying to read between the lines. “Are you sure? I hope this doesn’t have anything to do with that guy you told me about–your ex. Maybe it’s affecting you still?”

He gave a small smile. “That’s over. And Zoey’s not the problem. It was mutual. Clean. No drama.”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “I’m… sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be,” he said softly. “I’m not.”

There was a silence that stretched too long. So I filled it.

“If you ever want to talk,” I said, voice low, “about anything… you can always call me. Anytime.”

He smiled again, this time more warmly. “Thank you, Lilith.”

Then he hugged me.

And it wasn’t just a friendly pat–hug. It was one of those hugs. His body was firm–hard and warm at the same time—and when his arms wrapped around me, I felt like I could melt into him. I felt safe. Like the chaos inside me just quieted down for a moment.

When he let go, I almost missed it instantly.

“I should go,” he said.

I nodded. “Okay.”

As the door closed behind him, I stood there like my soul had left the room with him. I had no idea what to do with everything I was feeling.

So… I went to the pool.

Yeah. The swimming pool. At night. Because clearly, tonight wasn’t insane enough.

I changed out of my nightwear and slid into my black bikini. It hugged my body in the right places, and honestly, I didn’t even care how I looked. I wasn’t going out there to seduce anyone–I just needed to feel water. Cool, calming, soul–cleansing water.

It was dead silent in the hallway. Everyone was probably asleep–or so I thought.

As I padded barefoot down the staircase and made my way to the pool area, I started hearing sounds.

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