Wife You Discarded is a Billionaire's Crush novel Chapter 128

Liliana took a deep breath and nodded slightly. "Lying was my fault. But if I had told you the truth, would you have let me go?"

Cedric pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, a domineering, careless smile spreading across his face. "Don't flatter yourself. It was just dinner. I couldn't care less."

His contempt was a fresh wound. It was as if he didn't care if she had dinner with another man, even if it had been just her and Douglas. After all, he didn't love her.

"In that case, let's just go to bed," she said, her heart aching. She turned to pick up her suitcase and head upstairs.

"Stop." Cedric's voice turned icy. "I can let the dinner slide. But lying to me and cooking for another man… Do you have any respect for me at all?"

In the photos, Liliana's eyes had been soft, her smile so wide it made her eyes curve into crescents. She looked nothing like the stone-faced woman standing before him now. He couldn't understand it. Had he wronged her in some unforgivable way? Why did she always look at him with that grim expression, as if returning to his side was the greatest injustice she had ever suffered?

Liliana hadn't expected him to fixate on this. The photos had coincidentally captured the exact moment she was preparing the greens. It was just a few seconds, but what perfect timing.

"I was treating them to dinner," she said flatly, "and I needed to pick up some things. Besides, I only cooked one dish."

But no matter what she said, he saw it as nothing more than an excuse.

"If you love cooking so much, I'll send Erma home tomorrow. You can quit your job and go back to how things were, waiting on me hand and foot."

"Fine," she agreed, the word catching in her throat. "You're right. Mrs. Forrest shouldn't have a job. She should be dressed to the nines every day, a perfect accessory who never brings shame to the Forrest family. She should revolve entirely around you. But that's only if everyone knows I *am* Mrs. Forrest. Can you do that?"

Make their marriage public. She was betting he wouldn't.

Cedric's eyes bored into her. After a long moment, he burst out laughing. "So that's what this is about. All this maneuvering, all this drama… just to make your title official? Liliana, you've really gone to great lengths, haven't you?"

He looked at the woman he had been married to for two years as if seeing her for the first time. The innocent, naive girl he thought he knew was nothing but a clumsy act. All along, her only goal had been to claw her way to the top.