Chapter 1

On the day of our divorce, I whipped out the loan agreement, and my ex-husband, clutching his mistress, totally lost it.

After signing the papers at the Civil Affairs Bureau, my ex‑husband wrapped his arm around his mistress and grinned triumphantly at me.

He thought he could finally legitimately pocket my assets, worth 5.3 million dollars.

I wore a blank, innocent look and asked him, “Mr. Eaton, now that we’re divorced, when will you repay the 5.3 million dollars you begged my father to invest in your company?”

His smile froze instantly on his face. “What investment? You gave that to me freely.”

Right in front of everyone, I pulled out the loan contract bearing his company’s corporate seal.

The cold air from the AC at the marriage registry office sent a chill down my neck.

The air was thick with a strange mix—sweet perfume from the newlyweds and the bitter scent of tobacco from those whose marriages had ended.

I was sitting there, definitely on the bitter side of things.

Charles Eaton, my ex-husband, and I had gotten the divorce certificate.

He stuffed it into his pocket like he was tossing away some useless junk.

Then he reached out and pulled someone into his arms.

It was Rachel Quinn.

Her belly was already starting to show, and she instinctively placed a hand over it, her face radiating pure triumph.

She was wearing a cream-colored Chantelle dress, and the diamond necklace around her neck sparkled with tiny, sharp lights that stung my eyes.

I remembered that necklace. Charles had brought it back from a business trip last month, saying it was a gift for his business partner's wife, and he'd happened to buy an extra one.

Turns out, I was the one who was extra.

"Anna, congrats. You're free now," Charles said, his voice light and airy, oozing exaggerated, fake kindness, like he was doing me a favor.

His hand was still on Rachel's shoulder, like he was flaunting his latest trophy.

The whispers around me buzzed in my ears like pesky mosquitoes.

"Hey, isn't that TechNova CEO Charles Eaton?"

"Is that his wife next to him? I heard she stood by him for three years, from nothing to ringing the bell at the IPO. How did they end up divorced?"

"What else? Men change once they get money. Look at the girl next to him. Her belly's already showing."

"The ex-wife got left high and dry. Walked out with nothing. Look at her, so plain compared to the mistress."

"Wrung her dry and tossed her aside. Poor thing."

Those pitying looks felt like a thousand tiny needles pricking at me.

I kept my head down, fingers clenched around the certificate, my nails almost digging into my palms.

Three years of marriage, and I went from being the pampered heiress of a venture capital firm to a housewife whose whole life revolved around the kitchen and her husband.

I dimmed my own light, sheathed my claws, and willingly cooked for him, managed the household, and used every resource and connection I had to pave the way for him.

My dad had scolded me more than once. "Anna, have you lost your mind? For a guy like this, you've forgotten who you are."

Back then, I thought it was all worth it for love.

Now, I was the biggest joke in the whole city.

Rachel leaned into Charles's arms, her voice soft and sweet, but every word hit me like a slap. "Charles, don't say that. Anna must be feeling awful right now.

"Anna, I'm sorry. Charles and I do love each other. We never meant to hurt you."

She rested her hand on her baby bump, flashing me a smile that was equal parts apology and smugness.

Talk about a cliché. I was tempted to give her a standing ovation.

Charles pulled her closer, pressed a kiss to her forehead, his eyes dripping with affection. "Silly girl, you haven't done anything wrong.

"The real mistake was a marriage that never should've happened. Some people are born in different worlds."

That was meant for me.

He was telling me he'd ascended to a whole new world, and I was yesterday's trash, left behind.

I forced down the metallic tang rising in my throat.

Three years of devotion, and all I got was that it never should've existed.

Talk about cold-blooded.

I slowly lifted my head, forcing a blank, innocent look, like I was still in shock from the divorce.

My eyes slid past them and settled on Charles, my voice shaky with uncertainty, like someone totally out of their depth.

"Mr. Eaton, we're divorced, right?" I asked.

Charles looked pleased with my dazed, broken look, a smug, condescending smile on his lips. "That's right, Anna. You're free now."

I nodded, still playing the clueless card. "So when are you going to pay back the 5.3 million dollars you begged my dad to invest in your company?"

The air went dead silent.

Charles's smile froze, like he'd been hit with a bucket of ice water.

Rachel's face fell too, and she instinctively clutched Charles's sleeve.

The whispers around us cut off instantly. Everyone perked up, smelling a scandal in the air.

"What did you say?" Charles's voice dropped, thick with disbelief and a warning edge.

"I'm talking about the money." I blinked, looking more innocent. "Back when your company was about to go under, you begged my dad for help.

"He only agreed to invest for my sake. Now that we're divorced, it's time to pay it back, isn't it?"

"Anna, have you lost it?" Charles snapped, his voice so loud it made everyone in the hall turn. “What investment? Your father gave that to me freely.”

His eyes were so fierce, it was like he wanted to eat me alive.

He probably thought I was making a scene, pulling one last desperate stunt.

To him, I'd always be that naive, easy-to-fool Anna, hopelessly blinded by love.

"Free?" I cocked my head, drawing out a document from my bag with deliberate slowness.

I'd kept it safe, sealed in a clear plastic folder, perfectly smooth and unwrinkled.

Right in front of everyone, I slid it out for all to see.

"Mr. Eaton, did you forget? Back then, so you'd have more clout with my dad, and more say at TechNova, I didn't let him invest.

Instead, I turned that 5.3 million dollars into a commercial loan at 8% annual interest."

I unfolded the contract. Black and white, plain as day.

At the bottom, there was Charles's signature and the bold red stamp of TechNova.

That red, right now, looked as striking as blood.

"See?" I pointed to the terms and read them aloud, word by word. "It's all here, plain as day. Borrower: TechNova. Legal representative: Charles Eaton. Loan amount: 5.3 million dollars.

"Annual interest: 8%. According to the contract, after three years, the total, principal plus interest, comes to 26.7 million dollars."

My voice wasn't loud, but in the dead silence of the hall, it hit like a thunderclap.

Rachel's face went completely pale, drained of all color. She clutched Charles's sleeve, her voice trembling. "Charles, what's going on?"

26.7 million dollars.

For Charles, who'd cashed out from the IPO and was now worth over a hundred million dollars, that might not be an astronomical sum, but it was definitely a chunk that could shake him to the core.

More importantly, he'd always treated that money like it was his.

"Fake. This is a forgery." Charles finally snapped, his face twisted in rage like a wild animal, lunging for the contract in my hand. "Anna, you'd stoop this low for money?"

He made a grab for it, desperate to tear it to shreds.

If he managed to destroy the contract, all the evidence would be gone.

That was his gut reaction.

How pathetic. He always resorted to the most primitive, brute-force way to solve things.

I saw it coming and quickly stepped back.

The moment he lunged, the two men in suits who'd been quietly standing behind me stepped forward, blocking his path.

One of them was Mr. Warren, the chief legal counsel at my father's company.

He presented his attorney credentials, his voice calm and firm. "Mr. Eaton, please compose yourself. If you have any objections to the original contract, that's fine.

"My client also has a notarized copy, which holds the same legal validity. Any attempt to destroy evidence will only make things worse for you in court."

The other man was a notary public, who nodded in confirmation at the right moment.

Charles's hand froze in mid-air.

His face was a whole spectacle.

His expression shifted from furious red to ashen with shock, then to ghostly white with despair.

He stared at me, his eyes burning with venom and disbelief.

He couldn't comprehend how Anna, the woman he'd always seen as gentle, obedient, maybe a little naive, could have orchestrated such a flawless trap.

I met his gaze with a smile, carefully tucking the divorce certificate into my bag, every move graceful and composed.

"Mr. Eaton, I expect to see 6.7 million dollars in my account within three days. If not, my lawyer will take you straight to court," I said, my tone icy and unyielding.

I paused, letting my eyes linger on Rachel, whose face was ghostly pale, and added, "Oh, and so you know, when I apply for an asset freeze, your company's accounts are the first to get locked up.

"Your shiny new company probably won't survive that kind of hit, right?"

With that, I didn't spare another glance at his dramatic face. Under the stunned, shocked, and suddenly enlightened stares of everyone around, I held my head high and walked away.

The sound of my heels hitting the floor was crisp and decisive.

Every step felt like I was stomping on Charles's face.

As I walked out of the registry office, the sunlight was blinding.

I squinted, finally letting out a breath I'd been holding in for three years.

Charles, the show's getting started.