Chapter 1
"Here's 150 million dollars. Sign it." My former mother-in-law, Lena Alvarez, wore a haughty expression, as if she were granting me a charity favor.
My husband, Julius Alvarez, who had always professed to love me more than anything, didn't even give me a single glance this time.
I saw through it all. I signed the papers, took the money, turned, and walked away.
On the day of Julius's second wedding, I was relaxing on an overseas vacation. With nothing more than a tap of my finger, I sent a video to the wedding planning company.
In the video, my husband's secretary, her belly heavy with pregnancy, delivered a tearful wedding message.
She said, "Julius, even though I can't be there in person, our four children will deliver my blessing in my place."
This "surprise" played on a loop on the giant screen at the wedding venue.
*****
The marble floor was icy cold, gleaming so bright it bounced shattered light from the crystal chandelier overhead.
The air was thick with the scent of an expensive candle, cloyingly sweet as always, but sickening in that moment.
Lena, my mother-in-law for the past three years, pushed a check right in front of me with her perfectly manicured hands.
Her nails were painted a fierce red, like the claws of a bird of prey.
"150 million dollars," she said.
Her voice was cold, filled with condescension from a place of unassailable privilege.
"Sign the divorce papers, and the money is yours," she said.
Lena's words landed like poison-tipped daggers in the dead silence of my heart.
I didn't bother to look at the check. My gaze went right past Lena, landing on the man standing not far behind her.
Julius.
He was my husband.
He wore a custom suit, standing tall and imposing, his side profile still flawless and strikingly handsome.
But he never even glanced my way.
His gaze wandered to the famous painting on the wall, to the gardens outside the window, anywhere but to meet my eyes.
He was the man who had whispered promises of loving me more than his life. The same eyes that had once stared at me with endless affection now held only evasion and guilt.
In that moment, I understood everything.
Three years of marriage had been nothing but an elaborate lie, and I was the most pathetic fool in it all.
From the very first day I set foot in the Alvarez household, Lena made no effort to hide her disdain for me.
She looked down on where I came from, thinking a nobody like me was a disgrace to their prestigious family name.
She had called me a gold digger who would never be one of them, right in front of my friends.
And after my fertility checkup showed I might have trouble getting pregnant, she had screamed in my face that I was a barren woman who could not bear children.
Every time, Julius would hold me close, soothing me with gentle words.
He'd say, "Gwen, just ignore my mom. She's always like that.
"No one will ever mess with you as long as I'm around.
"I love you. Only you."
Those gentle words had once been my only comfort in this cold, gilded cage.
Looking back, I realized those words were nothing but a sick joke.
All that so-called tenderness was only to keep me believing, so I'd keep playing the part of his devoted wife in the story he wanted everyone to see.
As for Julius, he'd already found someone new and started a whole other life outside.
A storm of rage and grief raged inside me, but my face remained perfectly calm, without a single flicker of emotion.
I pulled my gaze away and picked up the divorce agreement.
My hand didn't even shake.
A sneer tugged at the corner of Lena's mouth, as if mocking my false composure.
I flipped through the agreement, page by page.
The terms were crystal clear. None of the Alvarez family's real estate or company shares were mine. All I could take was the 150 million dollars.
It was fair, in a way.
150 million dollars to pay off three years of my youth and love.
It was even generous for a woman they intended to throw out with nothing.
At the end of the contract, I noticed an extra clause: After the divorce, neither of us could make any malicious comments about the other in any form.
I sneered inwardly.
Were they afraid I'd go out and talk, ruining the Alvarez family heir's chance to marry his new love?
How considerate of them.
I picked up the Montblanc fountain pen on the table. The nib scratched across the paper with a soft, steady sound.
I signed my name, the strokes sharp and unwavering, without a hint of hesitation.
Lena's face flashed with surprise. She clearly hadn't expected me to be so decisive.
Julius finally lifted his head, his expression conflicted as he looked at me. His lips moved, like he wanted to say something.
But I didn't give him the chance.
I slid the signed agreement back across the table, stood up, and looked at them both, calm and collected.
"I wish you happiness," I said to Julius.