ETDO Chapter 50

“Nothing unusual happened while I was away?”

“Everything was the same as usual. She mostly stayed at the mansion. Lily isn’t the type to enjoy social gatherings.”

Arthur nodded and looked at his twin.

“How are things with you and Lily these days?”

“Better than ever. It seems like she’s finally accepting both of us completely.”

“I see.”

That was good. 

No, it should be good. 

But why did it feel like a punch to the gut?

Their original plan had been for Lily to accept both of them and for them to be together forever. 

So why did he feel this simmering resentment?

He recalled Lily’s pale face at the dinner table. For some reason, she barely met his eyes, as if deliberately avoiding his gaze.

His wife, who always looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes… Arthur had yearned for her gaze throughout the meal.

Every time he felt hurt by this unusual distance, he noticed Lily’s eyes drifting towards Ethan.

Seeing her casually participate in conversations with Ethan, he could only numb the churning in his stomach with alcohol.

What was the problem? Could it be that she now liked Ethan more than him? But he was her husband, her official spouse. He gritted his teeth.

He took a sip of whiskey and looked at his twin. Ethan was sprawled languidly on the sofa. His brother was always impossibly handsome, but today, he seemed to glow with an almost dazzling light.

Was this the aura of a man who had monopolized his wife’s affection in his absence?

Arthur took a deep breath, trying to suppress the insidious thoughts creeping into his mind.

He had to calmly figure out what was going on. Losing Lily’s love, even if the heavens were to split in two, was absolutely unacceptable.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

Arthur crossed the couple’s sitting room and opened the door to the Duchess’s bedroom, but his wife wasn’t there. He hurried downstairs, intending to ask Mrs. Wilson about her whereabouts.

“Madam must be by the lake. She went that way with a book earlier.”

He nodded to Mrs. Wilson. He was still wearing the suit he had worn to the palace, but it didn’t matter. Arthur strode quickly towards the lake.

The lakeside gazebo, his wife’s favorite spot, was silent. He peered inside through the gently swaying linen curtains.

Lily was asleep on the long, comfortable sofa inside. He smiled and entered.

He carefully took the book that was precariously balanced on her fingertips and placed it on the nearby table. He knelt down in front of the sofa and gazed at his wife’s face.

The skin under her eyes looked slightly dark, but otherwise, she seemed fine.

Thankfully, she’s not really sick.

Feeling relieved, he brushed the black hair that had fallen across her face back over her shoulder and gently kissed her forehead. Her familiar scent filled his senses.

And the moment he inhaled his wife’s scent, he was struck by how much he had missed her. He gently stroked her hair and then softly kissed her lips.

“Mmm…”

Lily’s eyes fluttered open at his touch. She blinked slowly, still drowsy, and looked at him, a faint smile gracing her lips. He smiled back at her, and that’s when it happened.

“Ethan?”

The softly murmured name froze him in place momentarily, his heart plummeting to the white marble floor. He struggled to maintain his smile, his facial muscles hardening.

Ethan? 

Not only did she not recognize him, but when had Ethan become the first person she thought of?

He forced an even wider smile, trying to hide his shock.

“Enjoying your reading, Duchess?”

Lily chuckled softly and nodded.

If I talk to her like this, as usual, she’ll surely realize it’s me. 

Frantically fanning the embers of his conviction that Ethan couldn’t possibly be more important to her than him, he gently stroked her full lips with his thumb.

Her beautiful golden eyes sparkled as she looked at him. 

Who is she looking at?

“Waiting for me?”

“Yes.”

Ha! 

He was stunned. Arthur struggled to maintain his expression, his lips trembling.

He knew his wife and Ethan used informal language with each other. In a way, it suited Ethan’s free-spirited and unrestrained nature.

They had never interfered with each other in that regard, and since he wanted Lily to be able to distinguish between him and Ethan, he hadn’t minded.

But he had never imagined that this very difference would reveal Lily’s true feelings so clearly. 

Where had his wife, who always sought him out first, disappeared to?

He tried to calm his rising anger, but it was no use. 

You must have been sleeping with Ethan while I was away. 

Of course, it was only natural.

That’s probably why she thought of him first. Even though it was a perfectly plausible explanation, he felt a surge of resentment.

I was the one who saved you from that mountain of debt, from that life of squalor. I was the one who took you away from that filthy gambling addict of a father. I am your one and only husband. You shouldn’t like Ethan more than me.

“Tell me, is it me, or is it Ethan?”

“!”

Arthur watched with amusement as a flicker of shock registered in Lily’s eyes. She seemed flustered by the confusion he had deliberately caused.

He gritted his teeth as he watched her eyes darting around, desperately for some clue to identify whether it was him or Ethan sitting in front of her.

‘If you were waiting for Ethan, not me, then I’ll grant your wish.’

He smirked coldly, the right corner of his mouth lifting. The image of Lily moaning and entangled with Ethan in a messy, passionate embrace flashed through his mind. 

Raw, animalistic, and violent, that’s how it was.

Yes. You preferred this side of him. Then I have no choice but to give you what you want. 

Clenching his jaw, he reached for the back of Lily’s head and pulled her towards him forcefully.

“Mmmph!”

He kissed her roughly, his tongue forcing its way past her teeth, capturing her surprised, trembling tongue and sucking on it hard. His pent-up desire from the past few days erupted all at once.

He devoured Lily like a predator tearing into its prey. He didn’t stop even when she pushed him away, gasping for air, her hands pounding against his shoulders. When he finally released her lips, she gasped for breath.

“Still can’t tell who’s who?”

He gazed into her confused eyes. Her golden eyes, glazed with unshed tears and desperate for air, resembled just like the yellow diamond in the necklace she had once worn.

The realization that it was Ethan who had given her that necklace sent a tremor of inexplicable rage through him. A twisted smile stretched his right lip upward as he glared at her.

“I’m disappointed you still can’t tell us apart. After all the times we’ve been together, shouldn’t you be able to recognize who’s who instantly?”

“N-no, Ethan…!”

Lily stammered, her voice choked, but he silenced her with his lips again. And before she could understand what was happening, he reached to her.

Rip!

With a loud tearing sound, he ripped open the front of her thin summer dress.

“E-Ethan! What are you doing…?!”

Lily cried out in alarm. But Arthur ignored her and grabbed the back of her bodice, now ripped to shreds, pulling it down forcefully over her arms.

This effectively bound her hands behind her back, tangled in the fabric. As she struggled to sit up on the sofa after falling backward, he grabbed her exposed breasts and sucked on her nipples.

“Hngh!”

Oh, how I had longed for this. 

He inhaled deeply, intoxicated by the familiar scent of his wife’s skin.

He buried his face in her ample breasts, his hands cupping them possessively. Lily’s body shuddered as his tongue quickly flicked across her small, pink peaks.

“Nnngh!”

The exquisite feel of her full breasts wrung a groan from him. Roughly kneading her flesh, he reached a hand inside the remnants of her dress and ripped her underwear away in one swift motion.

“E-Ethan! No, not here, outside…! Please stop!”

But he didn’t even pretend to hear her pleas. He tossed the shredded underwear aside like a scrap of paper, and grabbed her struggling legs, flipping her over.

One hand pressed hard against her lower back, pinning her down, while the other impatiently unbuckled his belt. The moment his trousers were down, his painfully erect cock sprang free.

He parted his wife’s legs with his knees and thrust himself inside her forcefully. With a thud, he buried himself deep inside her violently.

“Aagh!”

“Hngh!”

He slowly exhaled a shaky breath. The sensation of parting her moist flesh was so intoxicating that it felt like the first time they had sex.

Clenching his teeth, he took in the sight of her trembling form. He spread her legs as wide as they could go and began to thrust forcefully.

Tightening his buttocks, he drove himself in as deep as possible, burying himself to the root.