Chapter 3

She'd gotten pregnant in secret and gone abroad to have his son.

From then on, Hailey never had to flatter this one and fawn over that one again, never had to be treated like some plaything.

At first, I couldn't stand her either.

I thought she had no self-respect, that she didn't value herself, that she'd made a wreck of her own life.

I even said as much to her face.

She heard me out, then said, "There are plenty of roads leading up in this world, but only two are left open to women. Either you become powerful enough to make every man bow down, or you find a way to squeeze money out of them."

"Men control the money and the power in this world. If you won't do everything you can to take it from their hands, and instead go on about your precious self-respect, then you're a joke."

"A woman needs money first before she has any backbone. And only once she has backbone can she ever have power."

I scoffed at all of it.

Not until a car accident cost me a leg, and I couldn't even scrape together the money for surgery, did I understand how much money really mattered.

Back then I didn't have a single person by my side. Hailey was the only one I could turn to.

Now, all these years later, she's still the only one I can go to.

I sat in the coffee shop with a bitter smile. The moment Hailey walked in and saw the state of me, she couldn't help frowning.

I started to greet her, and she cut me off. "This isn't the place to talk."

Then she took me to a private restaurant, got us a booth, and got straight to the point. "How much did you get in the divorce?"

I pulled the settlement agreement out of my bag and handed it to her.

Hailey took one look and broke into a delighted smile. "Warren really came through, didn't he. All the property in his name goes to you, plus a thirty-million-dollar payout. You made out like a bandit."

I don't know why my eyes suddenly went hot, but the tears wouldn't stop.

"Hailey, that wasn't what he'd meant to give me at first."

I'd seen the original agreement. Warren had offered me one apartment, nothing huge, about a thousand square feet, three bedrooms, plenty for one person.

The payout wasn't small either. Two million, plus half a million a year in living expenses.

It was more than enough for me to live comfortably on my own.

But to Warren, that money was a drop in the bucket. Enough to leave me with the illusion that I didn't deserve it.

Or maybe it wasn't an illusion at all.

Hailey didn't try to comfort me when she saw me crying. She just pulled a couple of tissues and pressed them into my hand, and only once I'd calmed down did she say, "Then you did well. Rich people are usually tightfisted. They're terrified of anyone coveting their money, women most of all. Getting this much out of Warren, that takes real skill."

I opened my mouth and didn't know what to say.

The truth was, when I married Warren, I never once thought about getting anything out of him. Hailey knew that too.

That's why, three years ago, when Warren and I registered our marriage, she was the one who cut off contact with me.

It was only when the divorce agreement landed in my hands that I couldn't accept it.

Couldn't accept being kicked out of the house over a single sentence from another woman.

So, without really thinking, I wanted to do something about it.

Hailey seemed to see right through me. She put the agreement back in my hands and said, "You did the right thing. When it comes to money and a man, you've got to walk away with one of them."

Then she called over the waiter and ordered a bottle of champagne.

"Freya, congratulations on climbing out of the grave that is marriage, and congratulations on becoming a rich woman. Cheers!"

My fingers tightened around the glass, and I didn't hide it. "Hailey, I'm pregnant."

"How far along?"

"Just three months."

Hailey slammed her glass down. "Warren really is a goddamn animal!"