the god who hid as a husband

Chapter1: The Day She Slapped Me Ethan's pov The sound of the slap was loud. It echoed across the big room and made everyone stop talking at once. Music was playing before, soft and smooth, but now it felt like even the music was scary. All eyes turned to us, especially to me and to her. I stood still where I was, my head slightly turned from the force of her hand but I did not touch my face, neither did I react but I just stood there, looking at her quietly, as if nothing had happened but inside me, something deep and silent was watching everything. Nina stood in front of me, breathing a little fast, her hand still raised in the air, her eyes were sharp, full of anger, but also something else she did not understand. She looked perfect, just like always, beautiful, rich and powerful. Everyone in that room respected her, everyone in that room feared her a little and me? I was just her husband. The man she never wanted, the man she treated like he was nothing. “Don’t ever embarrass me like that again,” she said, her voice cold and strong. Some people in the room looked shocked, some looked amused, some whispered to each other like this was a show they paid to watch. I could hear small laughs, I could feel their judgment. To them, I was just a useless man who married into wealth, a man who had no level and a man who should know his place but they did not know me. None of them did. I looked at Nina calmly and spoke in a low voice. “You called me.” My voice was not loud, but it reached everyone because the room was too quiet now. Every word mattered. Her face tightened. “That doesn’t mean you walk in here like you belong,” she said. “You were told to stay outside. This is not your place.” Not my place, I repeated those words in my mind, but I did not say them out loud but before I could respond again, Kelvin stepped forward. He always knew when to enter a moment, he wore confidence like it was part of his body, his suit was perfect, his smile even more perfect. He was the kind of man people trusted easily, the kind of man Nina’s family wanted her to marry. “Nina, relax,” he said softly, placing his hand on her shoulder like he had the right to do so. “Why are you even talking to him?” He looked at me like I was nothing important, like I was dust. “You should be grateful,” Kelvin added, his smile growing wider. “Without her, you wouldn’t even be standing here. She gave you a life.” A few people laughed again, not loud, but enough to be heard. I turned my eyes to him slowly then for a moment, something passed between us. He did not understand it but he felt it like a weight and a quiet pressure. Like standing too close to something you should not touch. He looked away first, I said nothing to him because he was not worth my words. “The problem has already been fixed,” Kelvin continued, now speaking to Nina again. “Your company is safe. You don’t need to worry anymore.” Nina nodded, her face softening just a little. “Thank you,” she said. Then she turned back to me, and that softness disappeared. “You can go now,” she said. I looked at her then I spoke. “No.” The word came out simple and calm but it changed everything. The room became silent again. Nina blinked, surprised. “What did you say?” “I said no,” I repeated. Now they were all watching closely, waiting to see what would happen next, waiting for drama and waiting for me to be put back in my place. “You don’t get to say no to me,” Nina said slowly. “Not in my world.” I studied her face and I saw the confidence, the pride, and the belief that everything around her belonged to her. “You think this is your world,” I said. I paused for a moment. “But it is not.” Something shifted in the room. I felt it even if they did not understand it, they felt it too. Nina laughed, but it sounded forced. “Listen to yourself,” she said. “You live in my house, you eat my food, you clean my floors and you are talking like this?” Her words were sharp, they were meant to hurt but I did not feel hurt, not anymore. “Three years,” I said quietly. She frowned. “What about it?” “That was the agreement,” I replied. “Three years.” Kelvin crossed his arms, watching me with interest now. “So what? You’re counting days?” I ignored him again then I looked only at Nina. “Do you know how many days are left?” I asked her. “I don’t care,” she said quickly. “I do,” I said. Then I told her. “Seventeen days.” The number stayed in the air longer than it should have. Seventeen, it sounded like a warning, It sounded like an ending. For a moment, Nina’s expression changed just a little like something inside her felt uneasy. But she pushed it away. “Good,” she said. “Then prepare to leave.” I nodded once. “As you wish.” I turned around and began to walk away.No anger, no argument, no pain, just silence. But as I walked out of that room, I could feel every eye on my back and I could feel their thoughts and their laughter and their misunderstanding. They thought I was weak, they thought I had nothing but they were wrong. When I stepped outside, the air felt different. I stopped walking for a moment and looked up at the night sky. The city lights tried to hide the stars, but I could still see them faint and watching. My phone vibrated in my pocket then I took it out and looked at the message on the screen. “The issue has been resolved. The company is stable now.” I stared at the message for a few seconds. Inside that room, Kelvin was being thanked for solving a problem but the truth was simple, I had already fixed it before she even called, before she even panicked, before she even knew there was danger. That was how it had always been. She never saw it, she never noticed then I deleted the message then I blocked the sender. I did not need updates because I already knew everything. Then I put my phone back in my pocket and looked at the sky again. “Seventeen days,” I said softly. This time, my voice was different, not the voice they heard inside, not the voice of a quiet, useless husband but this voice was deeper and stronger. Something moved in the air around me, something unseen, something powerful and it listened and it waited. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, memories passed through my mind. A dying man, a promise, a contract that could not be broken until three years. I had given her time, patience, protection and even care. Even when she gave me nothing in return but time was almost over. Seventeen days and after that… everything would change. I opened my eyes again, calm and silent. Then I walked away into the night, leaving behind the noise, the laughter, and the woman who still believed she had control over a world that was never hers.