Chapter 1

When I showed up at the hotel to pick up my husband, Harrison Guzman, he was busy showing off, arm wrapped around his secretary, boasting to his buddies.

Harrison scoffed, "That country bumpkin can't boss me around. I gave her the status of a wealthy wife. She should be thankful."

When he spotted me, he just flashed a grin and planted a kiss right on his secretary's lips.

He smirked, "Baby, your lips are so much sweeter than that thirty-year-old woman."

The snickers from the rich crowd and their wives felt like needles pricking me all over.

But nobody knew that three years ago, the day Harrison made me lose our child for his lover, I struck a deal with the System.

Every time Harrison two-timed me right in front of my eyes, I'd get a chunk of his fortune.

Just now, the shares of his last company slipped quietly into my hands.

Once all the paperwork was finished, that would be the day I tossed him out for good.

*****

This was the 218th time Harrison cheated on me. I kept a poker face as I eyed Samantha Luther, his secretary.

As if my stare made her uncomfortable, Samantha scooted closer to Harrison.

Harrison gave her waist a squeeze. "What are you hiding from, huh?"

"I feel like Stephanie doesn't like me," Samantha said, biting her lip, looking all hurt and vulnerable.

Harrison scoffed, "Like she gets a say in this house."

He turned to me, chin raised, eyes full of open contempt. "Stephanie, Samantha and I have been heating things up lately. We can't keep our hands off each other. You don't mind, right?"

"Of course not," I replied with a perfectly polite smile, acting like I totally understood. "We're a couple in name. I wouldn't dream of interfering in your love life."

The air went quiet for a moment. Then the crowd's snide comments crashed over me like a wave.

"Ugh, pretending to be all gracious. She's just an unloved old woman nobody cares about."

"She wouldn't dare say a thing. She's mooching off Mr. Guzman. What right does she have to tell him what to do?"

"So pathetic. Once she's old and her beauty fades, no one will want her."

I bowed my head, swallowing my pride and keeping quiet, even though the sting of their words burned inside me.

Samantha shot me a smug grin, picked up a glass of wine, and held it out. "Stephanie, I'll treat you like my family. This one is for you."

I didn't move. "Sorry. I'm allergic to alcohol."

Samantha's eyes welled up with tears as she looked at Harrison, acting like she'd been terribly wronged. "She probably thinks I'm your side piece, not worth drinking with her—"

Before she could finish, Harrison shot up from his seat, grabbed my wrist, and yanked it up so hard that it felt like he was trying to break my bones.

"Samantha is giving you respect. Don't throw it back in her face," he snapped. "Drink." His voice was cold and commanding.

My body tensed up. I had no choice. I picked up my glass and lifted it to toast with Samantha.

Just as our glasses were about to meet, Samantha raised hers a little higher.

"Acting all high and mighty like you're the real wife. You know, the one who's not loved is the real side chick here. Lower your glass," she ordered with a sneer.

I clenched the glass in my palm, swallowing my pride. Reminding myself that the assets weren't in my name yet, I let my hand drop little by little.

The clink of our glasses rang out, harsh and grating.

I knocked the drink back in one gulp, and then turned to walk away.

"Did I say you could leave? Down another bottle and apologize to Samantha," Harrison called out lazily from behind me.

I paused, swallowing the sudden discomfort, and looked at Harrison. "I'm really not feeling well. Honestly, I can't handle another drink."

Harrison turned to me, looking so fed up that he could barely stand it.

Before I could even move, he yanked my hair, locked his grip on my jaw, and forced the drink down my throat.

The booze burned down my throat in a rush. My body jerked and I started coughing hard, booze dribbling down my chin and all over Harrison's hand.

"Shit. That's filthy," Harrison muttered, letting go of me with a look of utter disgust and grabbing a napkin to wipe his fingers.

In seconds, my skin flushed bright red, and I started shaking uncontrollably, gasping for air like a fish left to die on the shore.

Harrison shot me a look of pure annoyance. "Useless. Get out of my sight. Take a cab home. I'm not coming back tonight."

Then he wrapped his arm around Samantha's waist. "You're the best, baby."

Steadying myself against the wall, I struggled to make my way out, every step feeling heavier than the last.

"She's dead weight. Mr. Guzman, you should've dumped her ages ago."

"She's totally faking it for pity points."

Even after I walked out the door, their taunts kept ringing in my ears.

With the last of my strength, I flagged down a cab. "Hospital." I managed to say before closing my eyes and slumping back in the seat, feeling completely drained.

Just then, my phone rang. "Ms. Reese, we need you to come in and take care of the paperwork for the asset transfer."

"Got it," I replied, setting my phone down with a weak smile.

Harrison Guzman, you were about to be broke.

I staggered out of the cab, feeling sick and barely conscious. Before I knew it, I passed out right at the hospital doors.

I had no idea how long I'd been out. When I finally opened my eyes, all I saw was the hospital ceiling above me.

"You're awake," the nurse said as she walked in, clipboard in hand. "Your alcohol allergy triggered acute hives and swelling in your airways. If you'd gotten here ten minutes later, you might not have made it."

I opened my mouth to say something, but my throat hurt so bad that I couldn't get a word out.

"Anyone else who can help with the bill?" the nurse asked. "We called your husband, but he said he couldn't be bothered."

I shook my head. "There's no one else. I'll handle it myself."