Her Heart Her Terms (Lily and Xavier)

Chapter 1

Cats were known to sneak out for a bite while men often strayed from fidelity.

Lily Joyner's mind echoed that sentiment as she watched the video of her husband's infidelity for what felt like the hundredth time after receiving it.

The footage showed a woman knocking on Xavier Fulton's hotel suite's door at 11:00 pm. He greeted her, clad in a robe, and invited her in. The door didn't open again until three hours later. It went perfectly with Xavier's persona.

The timestamp in the corner of the footage was from yesterday. It was his third day on a business trip.

She was probably someone he had called over to ease his loneliness and satisfy his physical needs.

After all, his desires at night were insatiable despite his refined and gentlemanly appearance. She had rarely been free in the two years since she married him.

Did this count as cheating if it was what she had thought?

This didn't count as cheating from the perspective of her mother's teachings. However, a barrier had formed in her heart.

Lily set down her phone and looked at the melting cake before her.

Xavier wasn't one for celebrations. He had never celebrated her birthday with her. Yet, it was his birthday today. She knew he disliked frosting, so she had deliberately learned to make an ice cream cake for him. He was like a fierce tiger to her. Hence, she had even learned to make a little fondant tiger.

The chill of late autumn seeped through the air. She had been waiting for too long. The cake was starting to melt, and the tiger sat lopsided on top, looking slightly silly.

She wasn't even thinking whether she should eat it or call to ask if he was coming back. She kept thinking about that video so much that she didn't even notice when his car pulled into the driveway.

The unlocking sound of the electronic door lock sounded before the familiar sound of his footsteps approached from afar.

Lily lifted her gaze and saw Xavier stepping out from the dimly lit foyer.

He had narrow brown eyes, a high-bridged nose, and thin lips. He was dressed in a tailored black suit that accentuated his broad shoulders and lean waist, exuding an air of elegance and distinction. It still made her heart race even though she had seen that face daily for the past two years.

He was handsome, well-built, privileged, and competent. Lily simply couldn't find a single flaw in him.

She had fallen for him without question the first time she met him and discovered he was the fiancé promised to her since childhood.

Therefore, she agreed to a secret marriage. She had given up her dreams to become his secret wife, and her days revolved entirely around him. She had turned into a devoted wife like her mother.

to honor their engagement two years ago when the Joyner family had plummeted

she thought he must have liked her

unknown sender and blurry face made her think the video might

birthday today. She decided to ask him

black blazer Xavier had just taken off. A

before she lifted her gaze to meet

and glanced at the cake on the

dimples appeared at the corners of her smile. Her eyes

her friendly gesture as he tugged at his tie twice with

smell alcohol besides the

"You should go upstairs to wash up first.

didn't respond. She turned around and realized

not the first time she had been ignored like this. What once

had once told her that men were just like that, and she had slowly learned

due to the video that she had seen today. It took her a while

cake as she prepared the hangover soup so it

too uncomfortable from drinking to notice

try the cake once he had the hangover

to call him downstairs when the cake was salvaged and the

popped up the moment her phone screen lit up. "The president of Nova Group threw a lavish birthday bash for the vice president

photos came into

a shirt with an unbuttoned collar. He was holding a woman's delicate hand

beneath the photo identified the woman in the photo as

planned the birthday bash as a

employees had

and Xavier's birthdays were on the same day. They exchanged gifts and sang

planned it. It was an

when he claimed to be busy with work

busy planning Sarah's birthday surprise while Lily was thoughtfully planning a birthday surprise for

jewelry from an international brand with a starting price

a tie in return

softened. His eyes brimmed with tenderness as he looked

few photos, Lily could still recognize that Sarah was the woman in the video who knocked on his hotel suite's door in the dead

and curvaceous figure were