Chapter 1

I never thought the cliché romance trope—the ruthless billionaire falling for his clumsy, fragile assistant—would happen in my life.

But I wasn’t the fragile assistant. And I wasn’t the billionaire.

Unfortunately, I was the billionaire’s wife.

His childhood sweetheart.

For them, it was a passionate, dramatic romance. For me, it was a trashy family drama of betrayal after ten years of love.

It’s not like I didn’t try to save my marriage.

But unfortunately, I failed.

Just when I had completely let go and was ready to start a brand-new life.

Julian Sterling crashed my wedding like a madman.

He grabbed my hand, his eyes bloodshot, and begged me: "Vivian, please don’t leave me."

But what was left to do?

I coldly pulled my hand away from his grip.

It’s too late, Julian.

Julian and I were known as Manhattan’s golden couple.

Married for seven years, together for over ten.

Our lives had been intertwined since the day we were born.

Decades of connection made us inseparable.

From the moment I opened my eyes to the world, he was my destiny.

I honestly thought we would stay this way until the very end.

Finding out about Julian’s affair was a complete accident.

I had just returned from an art exhibition in Paris and went shopping with my best friend, Chloe.

We were relaxing at a high-end cafe.

Suddenly, a girl at the next table jumped up, and her scalding hot coffee splashed directly onto my arm.

The burning pain made me gasp sharply.

Immediately, frantic apologies filled my ears.

"I’m so sorry! I’m so, so sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose. I didn’t see anyone behind me."

The girl kept her head down, bowing repeatedly.

Chloe grabbed my arm, furious.

"Are you blind? You poured boiling coffee right on her! What’s the use of saying sorry?"

"If she’s scarred, you can’t even afford her medical bills!"

Though I was raised to be polite, the searing pain in my arm made my anger flare up.

Just then, the girl looked up. Her eyes were red as she stared at me. "I really didn’t mean to. I didn’t notice anyone when I stood up. Please, please forgive me. Don’t tell Mr. Sterling about this. I really need this job."

I was shocked to realize this was Julian’s assistant, Daisy Miller.

Since she was an acquaintance, I suppressed my anger. Fortunately, my arm was only slightly red.

But looking at Daisy’s cheap, worn-out clothes, I asked curiously,

"What are you doing here?"

She blushed, pulling two identical hoodies out of her shopping bag.

"I just got paid. I wanted to buy matching couple hoodies for me and my boyfriend."

I was surprised that a girl from such a poor background would spend so much money at a luxury mall.

But I didn’t say much. I just wanted to leave.

But Daisy seemed excited. She held my hand and kept talking about how much her boyfriend loved her.

"He treats me differently from everyone else. He knows I come from a poor family, so he always helps me at the office. He bought me dresses for charity galas, and he even chased away some creeps who were harassing me. No one has ever been this good to me. It feels like a dream."

"Mrs. Sterling, do you think he’ll like this hoodie?"

I frowned, completely uninterested.

I looked at the green hoodie in her hands. To be honest, it was completely against my aesthetic.

I gave a polite, half-hearted compliment. "If he loves you that much, I’m sure he’ll love it."

She smiled shyly, holding the hoodie close. She gave me a strange, knowing look. "I think so too."

Actually, that hoodie was hideous.

It looked even more ridiculous when I saw it on Julian.

That was exactly what I thought when I saw Julian and Daisy walking down the street together, wearing those matching green hoodies.