Chapter 1
People liked to say Stella Reed had eyes sharp enough to spot gold in a mud pit.
Give her one night, and she could turn a trash-level stock into the next miracle climb.
Suitors from fancy families stretched halfway across the world just hoping she'd glance their way. Yet she fell for Dante Lancaster, a guy with absolutely nothing in his pockets and even less to his name.
Ten years rolled by. That broke kid grew into a man who commanded a fortune so large people couldn't even count the zeros without getting dizzy.
He revived the dying Lancaster Group and turned it into a global beast.
Everyone said Stella was blessed with supernatural judgment. Everyone envied her, whispering that she'd soon be Mrs. Dante.
So the day she rushed to the city hall, she was practically glowing. She waited from afternoon sunlight all the way into nightfall. Dante never showed.
What did show up was a smug post from his assistant, right on her screen: [My parents tried forcing me into some awful blind date today.
[I panicked so bad I almost cried, but my sweet CEO couldn't stand seeing me suffer. So we went and got married. He's my boss and my husband now.]
The selfie of her and Dante hit harder than a punch.
People were already gathering popcorn, waiting for Stella to lose her mind in a jealous rage.
But Stella? She calmly tapped like and replied: [Congrats. So when's the wedding? I'll make sure the gift is huge.]
A moment later, her silent phone finally lit up with Dante's call.
His voice could have chilled boiling water. "Vivienne and I only signed the papers because her parents freaked out and threatened to drag her into blind dates.
"She's too valuable for me to lose. It's not an actual marriage. You don't have to be so petty.
"You've got one minute to delete that comment. Then you apologize to Vivienne. When her parents calm down, I'll divorce her and sign with you again."
Stella listened to the man she had loved for a decade, a man who clearly wasn't hers anymore.
And she laughed, soft and sharp. "No need. We're done."
*****
The moment she finished, Dante paused on the other end of the line.
When he finally spoke again, his voice carried a sharp edge of anger. "Stella, how many times do you want me to explain this?
"I told you already: Vivienne and I only registered the marriage on paper. It was just a formality to get her parents off her back.
"Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it?
"And I promised I'd go get the certificate with you too. What else do you want from me?"
"Everyone throws tantrums sometimes, but you're pushing it. How can you toss around the word 'breakup' like it's a joke?"
Stella didn't answer. She tightened her grip on her phone and stared at the empty office in front of her. A thin, bitter smile tugged at her mouth.
For ten years, marrying Dante had been her dream. She had pictured it so vividly she even dreamt of their warm, quiet married life together.
She'd prepared wedding sweets and invitations months in advance, picked out their photo studio, even chosen the dresses and scouted their ideal venue.
All she ever needed was Dante's "yes." And she could marry him the very next day.
But every time she mentioned the wedding, Dante hid behind the same excuse: his company needed him, things were too unstable, they should wait until the business was on solid ground.
To help him reach that so-called "stability," Stella took on every thankless task she could, working late into the night, sacrificing sleep and weekends.
And once the company finally stabilized, Dante changed his line again. He "wasn't ready." She should wait a little longer.
So she waited. And waited. Ten years slipped by like that.
Yesterday, after she secured a major international acquisition for the company, Dante finally relented. He even made it sound like a reward: he'd go register the marriage with her.
Stella had been so excited she didn't sleep a minute. She took the entire day off, woke up before dawn, and rushed to the city hall to wait for him.
But Dante never showed. The sun went down. And instead of seeing him, she saw Vivienne's smug social-media post flaunting a marriage license.
To avoid Stella, they'd even crossed into the neighboring city to do it.
The photo was a stab straight to Stella's chest.
So Dante hadn't been unprepared. He just hadn't wanted to marry her.
Stella drew in a deep breath. For once, she didn't swallow the hurt the way she always had.
Her voice turned cold and steady. "Right. It's just a simple procedure. Sign a few papers, and you're done in ten minutes.
"And yet in our ten years together, you never once agreed to go with me. But you managed to go with Vivienne.
"And this time, you were the one who suggested we get the license. Then you left me hanging the entire day. Am I not allowed to be angry?"