Chapter 1

In the third year of our marriage, Austin's startup was on the brink of bankruptcy.

He knelt in front of me, begging me to accompany his biggest investor to a dinner.

"You don't have to do anything. Just sit there. Mr. Vance likes your type. Help me, Chloe. Just this once."

Looking at his red, teary eyes, my heart softened.

During that dinner, I drank so much that my stomach bled, and I was rushed away in an ambulance.

He got what he wanted and signed the massive deal with Mr. Vance. He never showed his face once while I was in the ER.

Since then, his company revived and grew larger. Everyone said I was the biggest contributor to his success.

But one day, he brought a woman home, pointed at her, and said to me:

"Tiffany is Mr. Vance's daughter. If I marry her, our first round of funding after going public is secured."

"Don't worry, Chloe. Tiffany and I are just a business arrangement. You are still my real wife in my heart."

I looked at him and suddenly laughed.

He had no idea.

Years ago, the reason Mr. Vance was willing to invest twenty million in him wasn't because I was a good hostess.

It was because I couldn't take the pressure anymore. I pretended to use the restroom and called my dad.

That "mighty investor" was nothing more than a former employee of my father's.

"Is this all I'm worth to you?"

I looked at the divorce agreement and sneered.

The house went to him. The car went to him. The company shares went to him.

We dated for five years and were married for three. I stayed by his side from the days he had nothing to when he was worth billions.

In the end, all he wanted to give me was a tiny 800-square-foot apartment and a hundred thousand dollars in compensation.

Austin froze, looking at me with displeasure.

"Tiffany is a career-minded businesswoman. She only wants to get married to shut her family up. I only agreed to this for the company. We aren't actually splitting our lives."

"Besides, you don't even work. I earned all the money in this family. It wouldn't make sense to let you take too much cash, right?"

Those words felt like a knife, stabbing straight into my chest.

I stayed up all night to write the company's business proposals. I drank until my stomach bled to get the emergency funds. I begged for the clients.

I literally risked my life to put him on the right track, and only then did I step back.

And now he said he earned all the money? That it had nothing to do with me?

Austin seemed to realize he had gone too far. His expression softened. "Chloe, the contract says I can still spend one night a week with you. Tiffany is very open-minded. Don't be so dramatic."

The lawyer next to him scoffed, rudely shoving the agreement into my hands.

"Chloe, Austin is only keeping you around out of old affection. Otherwise, a woman with no value and no background like you wouldn't even deserve to be in the same room as him!"

"If you had any self-respect, you'd walk away with nothing. You should be glad you're getting cash. Don't be a beggar choosing the menu."

The sharp edge of the paper cut my fingertip. It was a tiny scratch, but the pain shot straight to my heart.

Martha, our housekeeper who had taken care of me since I married Austin, hugged me tightly.

She carefully brought over a band-aid.

"Don't be too sad, sweetheart," she whispered.

I felt like I was suffocating from the pain, fighting back my tears.

She sighed and advised me gently.

"People like Austin belong to a different social circle now. Don't force it. Tiffany is rich and beautiful. It's just human nature for Austin to make this choice."

"A hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money. Most people can't even afford a down payment in New York in their entire lives. Take the money and live your own life."

I couldn't help but laugh at myself.

I hadn't had a single drop of water since morning. The old stomach issue from that night of heavy drinking was acting up again, burning with a sharp pain.

I looked up at the man I had loved for eight years. He was staring down at his phone, texting Tiffany.

He had a gentle smile on his face, typing a long paragraph.

After our honeymoon phase ended, Austin only sent me voice notes.

He said he was too busy to type.

But now, in the middle of our divorce, he had all the time in the world to write paragraphs to Tiffany.

So focused. So gentle.

What was there left to fight for?

When I was three, my mother caught my father having an affair. In a fit of rage, she left him without taking a single penny, swearing that we would never have anything to do with the Sterling family again.

Before she died, she held my hand tightly and made me promise that unless I was absolutely desperate, I would never contact him.

Years ago, when I was humiliated at that dinner, I cried and broke my vow for the first time. But I still refused to let my father reveal our relationship.

Who would have thought that Austin, once so proud, would throw away his dignity and become a dog for money?

If he knew that I could get ten or a hundred times the Vance family's investment with just a single nod, would he regret this to his absolute core?

I hid the mockery in my eyes. "Fine. Let's sign."

Seeing that I had finally given in, Austin's mood instantly improved. He tried to comfort me before leaving.

"We won't have any public relationship from now on, but you're still my wife. Once things settle down, we can have a baby. That way, you won't have to worry about me leaving you, okay?"

That night, I lay alone on the king-sized bed until dawn.

One by one, the stars outside faded, and my heart turned completely cold.

I had starved for too long, and I couldn't eat any breakfast.

My stomach cramped violently, breaking me out in a cold sweat.

I dragged myself up, wanting to pack my bags and leave this house of painful memories as soon as possible. But suddenly, a sharp, screeching voice echoed from the front door.