Chapter 1

The hall was a dazzling display of gold and crystal, filled with the clinking of glasses and the hum of conversation. Edward idly swirled his wine glass, the deep red liquid catching the light as it moved.

Beside him, Chloe, the rising starlet, gazed at him with a mix of admiration and shyness.

His phone buzzed. He glanced down and saw a text from Isabelle. [Edward, let's get a divorce. The agreement is in your email. I don't want the car, the house, or any shares. I want the kids. I wish you and your new girlfriend a long and happy marriage.]

Edward's lips curled into a mocking smile. 'Here we go again, same old manipulative game,' he thought.

He turned off the screen and tossed his phone back into his pocket, as if it were another piece of junk mail.

*****

The moment the screen went completely dark, I unplugged the charger. As I thought. Not even a single word from him. Good. At least I wouldn't have to deal with his usual, self-important questions.

I switched my phone to airplane mode and tossed it into the suitcase I'd already packed.

In the living room, Ben, five, and Bella, three, were already dressed, looking like little penguins ready for a long journey. They sat quietly on the couch, their big eyes fixed on me.

"Mom, are we really moving?" Ben looked up at me, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

I crouched down and gently patted his head, surprised at how calm I sounded. "Yes, we're going to a new home, a warm place for the three of us."

Bella, not really understanding, reached out with her tiny arms and hugged my neck, speaking in her baby voice, "Home is wherever you are, Mom."

My eyes grew hot, and I hugged them tight.

Luckily, my kids would always be my greatest support.

Eight years. It's been eight years since I landed in this novel. Since that night in a shadowy, rain-soaked alley when I pulled a teenage Edward out of the hands of a gang of thugs.

I'd stood by him through it all, from being an unwanted illegitimate son to rising as the leader of Sterling Corp. I really thought, as the heroine of this redemption novel, I'd finally get my happy ending.

But I forgot the book's final judgment on Edward was that he was naturally indifferent and deeply obsessive. My so-called redemption only managed to keep his madness in check; it never truly got rid of it.

Once the passion faded and marriage settled into routine, the light I brought to his life turned into nothing more than a blot on the wall, a stray grain of rice on the table, something annoying and he could easily do without.

He started coming home late, smelling of perfume that wasn't mine.

He'd forget our anniversaries and never showed up for the kids' birthdays.

Instead, he was making headlines in business and entertainment news, always attending "business events" with a different woman on his arm.

His latest companion was Chloe, a rising starlet. She looked innocent and fragile, and the way she gazed at him carried the same light I once had in my eyes when we first met.

He probably loved the way she idolized him.

But I couldn't be that source of validation for him anymore.

I looked around the mansion I'd decorated myself, every corner a reminder of how much I once loved. Now, all I could feel was suffocation.

That was it. I was done. I wasn't some helpless woman who couldn't live without him.

Before I ended up in this story, I was already one of the world's top traders. All those years spent raising kids and being the dutiful wife only wasted my time, not my talent.

Edward thought I was out of touch, that he had every bit of my assets under his thumb.

What he didn't realize was that the overseas investments I made with my pre-marital money had already set me up with more than enough wealth.

And he had no idea that the readers of this "story" were sick of redemption arcs; they were waiting for a real shake-up.

I grabbed Ben and Bella's hands and walked straight out of that golden cage I'd been trapped in for three years, never once looking back.

Late at night, our driver dropped us off at a top-floor penthouse right in the city center.

The place had a wide-open view, and the decor was how I liked it, clean and minimalist.

"Wow, mom, this place is amazing!" Ben shouted, running excitedly around the living room.

I smiled and started unpacking our luggage.

When I turned my phone on, there were no missed calls or messages.

An email from my lawyer: [Ms. York, the divorce agreement has been sent to Mr. Sterling's email. As you instructed, we're only claiming your personal income from after the marriage, everything else, we're waiving.]

I replied with a single word: [Okay.]

Then I opened my contacts and found the name at the top, "Edward."

I held it down, deleted it, and blocked him.

Goodbye, Edward. I would never see you again.

Tonight marked the start of a whole new chapter for me.