Chapter 1

Five years into our marriage, I uncovered a devastating secret: my husband, Bruce Riley, had been secretly building a life with his first love, Alisa Cameron—they'd even started a family, complete with a son.

And now, she was about to give birth again.

I confronted him right in front of his parents.

But his mother Vilma Riley jumped in, "You can't have kids anyway. Without Alisa, the Riley family line would die out."

That was when it hit me—I'd been the only one completely in the dark.

Bruce, the man who'd once whispered sweet nothings and showered me with affection, now looked at me with utter detachment.

"Ashlee," he said coolly, "Alisa's given me a son. I owe her a proper place in my life—a legitimate one."

I'd been steeling myself for divorce papers, but this? This was him dreaming of having his cake and eating it too—keeping both of us under one roof.

The flood of lies and betrayal from all those nights crashed over me, and just like that, my heart was done—shattered beyond mending.

"Fine, Bruce," I said. "Let's call it quits. I want a divorce."

I didn't miss the flash of joy in Alisa's eyes.

Bruce had been holding his three-year-old son, Felton Riley, teasing him playfully. When he heard what I said, he paused for a moment and looked up at me. "Ashlee, don't make a scene."

He stood up, his face etched with disapproval.

"If we suddenly get divorced, what will people think of me? My reputation will take a hit, and the company will suffer too. Don't lash out at me like this."

He really thought I was just venting my anger?

Seeing his furrowed brow, I couldn't help but find it absurd.

I'd brought up divorce, and all he could do was weigh the pros and cons.

So what did that make me?

In our five years of marriage, we'd never really fought. Even the rare minor spat always ended with Bruce backing down and apologizing first.

He treated me so well that everyone at the company gossiped behind our backs about how the cutthroat CEO Bruce was secretly a total wife-doter.

Yet this same man had started keeping a mistress just a year after we married—and now their kid was already three.

I'd thought I'd found true love, but reality had given me a harsh wake-up call.

As I stared at Bruce in his sharp suit, he seemed like a total stranger to me.

When I didn't respond, Bruce's patience wore thin, and his tone took on an edge of irritation.

"Ashlee, you're a woman too—can't you make room for Alisa? Have you considered what happens if we divorce and this all comes out? How's she supposed to face the world?"

"How's she supposed to face the world?"

I stared at Bruce in disbelief, my heart heavy with bitterness, my voice trembling despite my efforts to steady it.

"Bruce, you're the one who proposed to me, vowing you'd never betray me, that we'd be together till death do us part!

"And now you're holding your mistress's hand, asking me how she's supposed to go on?"

Bruce pursed his lips, jumping to her defense. "I never meant for this to happen. Alisa and I... it was an accident, but then she got pregnant..."

I let out a bitter laugh, cutting him off sharply.

"You're bringing up the child now? Then let me ask you, Bruce—who's responsible for me not being able to have kids?"

Bruce's face stiffened, a flicker of discomfort crossing his features.

"Don't bring that up."

He forced the words out, strained.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

So he still remembered—it was his fault I'd lost the ability to have children.

Just three months into our marriage, I'd discovered I was pregnant.

Bruce was thrilled, treating me like I was fragile porcelain, bombarding me with gifts and food around the clock.

But not long after, while I was out one day, I was kidnapped by his bitter rival, Roy Banks, and subjected to brutal beatings and torture.

The police rescued me in time, but I lost the baby.

The kidnappers and Roy got what they deserved, and Bruce even absorbed Roy's company into his own.

With Bruce's attentive care, I'd slowly recovered from the trauma of the kidnapping and miscarriage.

That was, until I accidentally overheard him on a phone call one day—and learned that he'd orchestrated the whole kidnapping himself.

He'd used me and our unborn child as pawns to take out the obstacle blocking his path to success.

I was shattered, in agony so deep I wanted to end it all. Bruce bowed in front of me, sobbing and begging for forgiveness.

"Ashlee, I'm so sorry—I had no other choice... It doesn't matter; we'll have more kids. Please, forgive me, okay?"

He slapped himself across the face over and over, not stopping even as blood started trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Seeing him like that tore me apart.

I still loved him.

So I chose to forgive him.

Soon after, I got pregnant with our second child.

But Bruce used it as a bargaining chip to topple his cousin, Randy Riley, and secure the general manager role at the Riley Group.

I miscarried again, and Randy was exiled abroad, barred from ever coming back.

At last, Bruce became the undisputed heir to the Riley Group.