Chapter 1

Ten years into my marriage, Marcus Hayes’s first love, Chloe White, suddenly returned from abroad. He brought her straight to our home.

Marcus looked at me, his face etched with guilt.

“Chloe left the country for me all those years ago. She went through so much.”

“I have a responsibility to take care of her.”

Even my stepson, whom I’d raised and painstakingly nurtured, now looked at me with open resentment.

I calmly suggested a divorce. He sneered, reminding me, “Don’t forget our prenup. If you’re the one who files for divorce, you’ll walk away with absolutely nothing. Every cent of the assets in your name will be forfeited.”

He was so certain I’d never give up the wealth and prestige I’d worked ten years for, that I’d never dare to leave.

But what he didn't know was that while he was spending all night with that woman, I was signing away every last penny, preparing to gracefully exit the Hayes family.

I already had what I truly wanted.

And him? I was done with him.

When Marcus Hayes walked into the living room of our house with Chloe White, I was in my study, reviewing the foundation's quarterly report.

His face held a plea.

“Vivian, Chloe was forced to leave the country because of me back then.”

“She’s been alone all these years, suffering so much. I can’t just abandon her.”

Chloe, by his side, wore a simple, elegant dress. She instinctively recoiled behind Marcus, making her appear even more delicate and helpless.

“Marcus, don’t make things difficult for Vivian… I can stay at a hotel.”

Marcus immediately shielded her, and his gaze towards me sharpened with annoyance.

I closed the file in my hand, my eyes calmly sweeping over the two of them.

This scene felt eerily familiar.

Years ago, Marcus’s grandfather, old money through and through, fiercely disapproved of Chloe’s lack of social standing. Marcus had an explosive fight with his family over it. Ultimately, Chloe took a sizable settlement and quietly left for another country.

At that time, my family, the Reeds, was facing a major financial crisis. We desperately needed the Hayes family’s connections and resources to overcome it.

When the strategic marriage proposal was presented to me, I initially refused. Vivian Reed’s life had never required her to rely on anyone else. But seeing my parents’ hair graying with worry, I finally nodded.

On our wedding day, Marcus Hayes’s face showed no joy. He looked at me coldly and said, “Vivian Reed, this is just a marriage of convenience. Don’t expect me to love you.”

I replied calmly, “I understand. I will fulfill my duties as Mrs. Hayes. I also hope you remember our agreement, Marcus.”

Ten years.

We went from mutual annoyance to peacefully sharing a dinner table. He gradually recognized my capabilities, entrusting me with the full management of the foundation jointly established by Hayes and Reed Corporations. We were like a pair of perfectly synchronized business partners.

Four years ago, Marcus even brought a child back to the house—a son he’d had from an affair years ago. When that timid child stood in the living room, looking at everyone with hostility, it was *I* who reached out to him first.

His name was Leo Hayes.

No one else in the Hayes family liked him. I was the one who patiently taught him manners, staying up all night when he was sick. When other kids at school mocked him for being an illegitimate child, I was the one who unhesitatingly stepped up to protect him, telling him, “You are Leo Hayes, the future of this family. No one can look down on you.”

I never imagined this delicate balance would one day be shattered.