Chapter 1

The comatose billionaire husband I married on behalf of Vivian—Hudson Harrington—had suddenly woken up.

The moment he opened his eyes, he transferred a insulting $0.77 to my bank account. Meanwhile, he sent a staggering $7.7 million to Vivian, who was standing right by his hospital bed.

I kept quiet, but he chose to humiliate me in front of everyone. "You're nothing but a placeholder, Michelle. Don't flatter yourself by dreaming about things that don't belong to you."

"The Harrington family has money to burn, but I’d rather set it on fire than give a single dime to a deceitful substitute like you."

"Take your seventy-seven cents and get the hell out of my house."

I didn’t argue. I calmly signed the divorce papers and walked away with absolutely nothing.

Five years later, we ran into each other at a prestigious, high-end art exhibition.

He was dressed in a pristine bespoke suit, looking more powerful and sharp than ever.

As for me? I was kneeling on the cold floor, carefully using a microfiber cloth to wipe away a stain from the corner of a painting.

His eyes flared with cold disdain. "Michelle? Look at you. Did leaving me really reduce you to a pathetic gallery janitor?"

"Don't even bother begging. I wouldn't give you a single penny even if you starved in front of me."

I didn’t even look up. I just kept my focus, gently dabbing away the last bit of the smudge.