Chapter 1

Julian Seibert and I had been stuck in a divorce battle for six months.

We'd gone from Auremont City's favorite young couple to the couple everyone knew was at each other's throats.

Thirty minutes before our third hearing, Julian asked to meet me.

He rubbed his forehead, unable to hide the exhaustion on his face.

"It's time to end this. Winnie can't wait any longer.

"Name your price. Whatever you want, I'll agree to it."

Before I could answer, his phone rang.

Julian picked up, a soft smile crossing his face without him even realizing it.

"Don't worry. It's no big deal. I'll just give her a little more money. I'll be done soon. Be good and wait for me at home."

I looked at the face I knew so well, yet barely recognized, and suddenly had no fight left.

"Forget it.

"Julian, there's no point dragging this out. I agree to the divorce."

Chapter 1

Our six-month divorce battle finally ended because I gave in.

Everyone was stunned.

Julian and I had been married for seven years, and our divorce had dragged on for six months. To everyone watching, we looked like two people too stubborn to let go.

The media blew up, and Julian released a polished statement:

[We're sorry for taking up public attention. Although Esther Everett and I are officially divorced, we remain friends. I wish her all the best in finding happiness again.]

My eyes landed on one word.

"Friends."

I let out a quiet laugh.

Because of Winnie Dunne, Julian and I had fought more times than I could count.

We hadn't been friends in a long time. We couldn't even fake being civil anymore.

Today was the most reasonable he'd been in six months.

After I agreed to the divorce, he sat on the couch for a long time before putting away the papers he'd brought for our negotiation.

"In that case, I'll have the divorce agreement sent to you as soon as possible.

"You'll keep twenty percent of the company shares as compensation.

"And the downtown apartment is yours too."

He paused, checking if he'd missed anything.

Then he stood.

Even he probably thought the negotiation had ended way too fast.

At the door, he glanced back.

"Take care of yourself."

I closed my eyes and said nothing.

My lawyer sent over the divorce agreement and supporting documents.

Once the files came through, he added:

[The other party listed the reason for divorce as an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and mutual consent. By law, aside from the assets he voluntarily transfers to you, the remaining marital property will be split equally.]

An irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

What a respectable way to say cheating.

I'd still underestimated Julian's talent for making himself sound honorable.

My phone buzzed.

Julian had sent a photo and a voice message.

The photo showed my desk, everything swept onto the floor.

But the voice message was from a woman.

"Esther, I heard you're leaving the company, so I'm helping clear out all this trash."

Winnie.

Her voice was soft and sweet.

No wonder people liked her.

I tapped the voice message and replied calmly.

"I may be leaving, but I'm still the company's largest shareholder. I could toss you out with the rest of the trash."

No reply came for a long time.

When another voice message finally came through, it was Julian, with Winnie's muffled sobs in the background.

"Esther, Winnie didn't mean anything by it. Don't do this."

I ignored him, gathered my documents, and left the courthouse.

As I got into my car, Julian sent another photo and a message.

A picture frame had been placed back on my desk.

[The rest can go. They're old anyway. Keep this one.]

Inside the frame was a photo of a polar landscape.

Chapter 2

Back when we first started the company, he printed that photo and made me a promise.

"When we finally make it, I'll take you there, and we'll recreate this exact picture."

Seven years later, Julian had gone from an unknown employee to the CEO of one of Auremont City's biggest public companies.

Money and power were finally his.

But he never mentioned the trip again.

Julian was right.

Old things belonged in the trash.

I didn't reply. I opened his profile and deleted him from my contacts.

***

After finishing my exit paperwork with HR, I got ready to leave.

Just as I reached for the doorknob, I heard my coworkers outside.

"Seven years of marriage, and she agreed to the divorce just like that. Why does Esther still act so high and mighty?"

"Didn't someone cheat? What if it was her?"

"Had to be. Mr. Seibert probably caught her sneaking around. That's why she agreed so fast."

"I heard he even gave her company shares as compensation. He's way too decent..."

I lowered my eyes and stayed put.

Sandy, the HR manager, gave me an awkward look.

"Ms. Everett, they're just joking. Please don't take it seriously..."

I knew they weren't joking.

I could even guess who started the rumors.

Julian needed a clean excuse for Winnie showing up.

He needed to protect his precious girl.

So he pushed me out and made me take the blame.

When I stayed silent, Sandy forced another smile.

"Everyone knows how much you loved Mr. Seibert. You were there when he had nothing, and you helped him build everything he has now. Everyone admired you two.

"Those people don't know anything. They're just spreading rumors.

"I'll report them to their manager and make sure it's handled."

I went quiet again.

I'd been willing to struggle beside Julian because he'd once treated me so well.

He never hesitated to buy me the latest clothes, while he wore the same jacket for two years because he couldn't justify replacing it.

He remembered my birthday, our anniversary, and every little romantic occasion, but never his own birthday.

We got married in our hometown.

It wasn't extravagant, but it was elegant.

The nicest wedding our little town had ever seen.

He always gave me the best he could afford.

That was why, on our anniversary, under the dim lights, when he stared at the bride and groom on top of the cake and said,

"Esther, do you really think living like this means anything?"

I couldn't accept it.

I refused to divorce him.

I kept telling myself he still loved me.

I held on to that lie until we'd worn each other down so badly we couldn't stand the sight of each other.

Until he tried to buy me off.

That was when I finally gave up.

Snapping back to reality, I shook my head at Sandy and opened the door.

The coworkers outside went silent and looked down.

Not because of me.

Because Julian and Winnie were walking toward us from the end of the hall.

Winnie stood beside him with a brand-new badge around her neck.

[Design Director.]

The job I'd just left.

She held a stack of documents, awkwardly flipping through them.

Every so often, Julian leaned in to explain a clause.

Larrie Kane, Julian's secretary, followed a step behind.

He gave Winnie a polite smile, but the irritation in his eyes was obvious.

Then he saw me and froze.

"Ms. Everett."

Julian looked over at the sound of his voice, whatever he'd been about to say to Winnie dying on his lips.

Chapter 3

Winnie stood there, her eyes turning red on cue.

"Mr. Kane, I know you don't like me, but Esther already left the company. Why are you still treating her like she's your boss?

"Besides, didn't Esther resign because of her PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP? You're taking your frustration over her leaving out on me. It really hurts..."

She put extra emphasis on 'personal relationship.'

The employees who'd been whispering exchanged looks, even more convinced than before.

Larrie was so caught off guard that he couldn't find a response.

I folded my resignation papers and shrugged.

"Larrie was just being polite. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?

"And I never said why I resigned. Spreading rumors is pretty upsetting too."

Winnie went pale.

Before she could respond, Julian quietly stepped in front of her.

His eyes landed on me.

"That's on me. When you're free, I'll arrange a farewell party.

"You've done a lot for this company over the years."

I smiled.

"No need. If I'd known anyone could do this job, I wouldn't have worked myself into the ground."

Julian's expression stiffened.

I didn't bother looking at him again.

I walked away.

A light drizzle had started outside.

I lifted a hand to shield myself from the rain, remembering the day everything between Julian and me had really fallen apart.

Just like today.

Gray skies.

Rain.

I'd been working until one in the morning when my blood sugar crashed.

I called Julian and asked him to bring me something to eat.

A woman answered.

For the first time, I lost the composure I'd been holding onto.

"Why is she answering your phone? How dare you put your mistress on the phone with me?

"Julian, what the hell do you want?"

Silence.

Then a quiet sigh.

That one sigh made my heart turn cold.

"I'll have Larrie bring you something to eat. Get some rest tonight.

"Tomorrow, we need to talk about the divorce."

I sat alone in the empty office, shivering.

"Why, Julian? Don't forget—we built this company together. What gives you the right—"

He cut me off.

"If it weren't for me, no one would hire a designer with a scandal attached to her name."

My voice died.

Years ago, a prominent designer and I independently came up with similar concepts, and I was accused of plagiarism.

My company fired me, practically confirming the accusation.

The industry blacklisted me.

I had nowhere to go.

Julian had been pursuing me back then. He reached out and gave me a chance.

He said he believed me.

Said someone talented shouldn't be buried by false accusations.

That was when I fell for him.

Naively.

Stupidly.

During the six months of our divorce, my authority at Lumora Corp had been stripped away piece by piece.

The team I'd built from scratch was split up and reassigned.

A director's job wasn't something just anyone could walk into.

Julian had spent a long time clearing the way for Winnie.

By then, I'd practically been forced out.

By the time I snapped out of it, Larrie had caught up.

He held out an umbrella.

"Ms. Everett, Mr. Seibert asked me to give you this. The roads are slick. Please be careful."

I smiled at him but didn't take it.

Instead, I turned and walked into the rain.

I'd already survived storms a lot worse than this.

A little drizzle was nothing.

***

What happened in the hallway on my last day somehow ended up online.

Before long, rumors about Winnie and me were the top trending topic.

At first, people assumed Winnie had come between Julian and me.

Chapter 4

They blamed Winnie for destroying our marriage.

Then a video breaking down my behavior and accusing me of cheating shot to the top of the trending list.

It broke down my every move over the past six months—where I'd been, what I'd done, even everyone I'd met.

Some of it was disturbingly accurate.

The comments turned on me instantly.

A flood of insults and mockery came pouring in.

I watched the video from start to finish.

Most of the details about my life were true.

The conclusions were complete lies.

Only one person knew that much about my private life.

I called Julian.

Winnie answered.

"We're already divorced, and you're still harassing your ex? Esther, do you have no shame? Weren't the people online brutal enough? You came back for more?"

She didn't hold back.

Nothing like the sweet, innocent act she put on around Julian.

I kept my voice flat.

"I recorded everything you just said. False accusations have consequences. You'll be hearing from my lawyer."

"You—"

I hung up.

When I checked again, the backlash had only gotten worse.

I opened the blogger's profile.

Sure enough, less than thirty minutes after I hung up, a new video had been posted.

This time, it flat-out accused me of cheating.

The creator even dug up the plagiarism scandal that got me blacklisted years ago and turned it into a full exposé.

The comments were flooded with hate.

[Wait, THAT plagiarist? Once a thief, always a thief. First she stole designs, now she's stealing husbands.]

[Julian gave her everything and she still cheated?? The greed is actually insane.]

[You can literally tell what kind of person she is just by looking at her. If she had no problem stealing someone else's work, why would she suddenly have morals in a relationship?]

Reading those comments dragged me straight back to the darkest time in my life ten years ago.

I opened the friend request Julian had sent two days earlier.

My hands shook as I accepted it.

Then I messaged him.

[Julian, did you leak those videos?]

His reply came almost instantly.

[Esther, you're Lumora Corp's largest shareholder now. You have more money than you could ever spend. But Winnie just joined the company. There can't be even a hint of bad press about her online.]

I took a breath and typed:

[You know I never plagiarized.]

The typing bubble stayed there for a long time.

Then Julian finally replied.

[No one cares. Let them talk. It'll blow over. Stop making such a big deal out of it.]

Ten years ago, Julian had held me and said, "Even if no one else believes you, I will."

Ten years later, he told me the truth didn't matter.

No one cared.

I stared at the message.

Whatever hope I had left was gone.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Through the peephole, I saw a wall of cameras aimed at my door.

Reporters shouted over each other.

"Ms. Everett, Mr. Seibert denied that Winnie Dunne broke up your marriage. What's your response?"

"Are the videos online true? Were you the one who cheated?"

"Do you have anything to say about the plagiarism scandal from ten years ago?"

My phone buzzed.

Julian had sent me a huge amount of money.

The note said:

[Compensation.]

I slowly exhaled and closed the chat.

Then I opened the door.

Camera flashes exploded.

I smiled at the cameras pointed straight at me.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Esther Everett."