Chapter 1

At my welcome-back party, I pushed open the private room door and saw a young girl sitting in Daniel Long's lap.

Her bright eyes met my scrutinizing gaze. She lowered her eyes at once but kept one arm hooked around Daniel's neck.

She remarked, "Daniel, is this the goddess of your dreams? Time never defeats beauty indeed. Even her wrinkles look charming."

As soon as she finished speaking, silence fell around the room.

I broke it first. "Daniel, you're not young anymore. And now you're keeping a mistress too?"

*****

I walked right over and took a seat. The girl, Stephanie Gould immediately fired back, "That's totally different. Daniel's just mature, that's all.

"And I'm not some side chick. What Daniel and I have is real."

I gave a cold laugh, settling myself across from Daniel. The friends around us quickly jumped in to break the awkward silence.

"Mira's finally back. Let's get the food started," one of them said.

"I heard you totally crushed it overseas and landed that Zahn Group deal. That's seriously impressive," another chimed in.

The mood was finally starting to warm up, but then Stephanie chimed in again.

She said, "You're so awesome, Mira. I haven't really seen much. I've never even been abroad.

"I heard all those boss ladies who dominate at the negotiation table have their own tricks up their sleeves.

"Your skills are really impressive, Mira."

As she spoke, she snuggled closer into Daniel's arms, her eyes starting to well up. "I'm so clueless. I even messed up and lost one of your clients before."

Everyone looked at each other, awkward and unsure, their eyes flicking back and forth between me and Daniel.

I frowned. "What client?"

While I was overseas, my assistant mentioned that one of Daniel's old clients had suddenly dropped him.

But I was swamped with work and didn't think much of it at the time.

Now I was finally starting to realize something was off.

Daniel held her hand and shot me a look. "Just an old client. Nothing to worry about."

"Mira, Stephanie's new to all this. Don't mind her," he said.

Then he ruffled Stephanie's hair, got up, and threw his arm around her shoulders. "Seeing the world is easy. I'll take you overseas. Let's go right now."

Daniel ignored my reaction and pulled Stephanie toward the exit.

Stephanie's cheeks were flushed with excitement, but when she glanced at me, there was a little provocation in her expression.

"But... Never mind, Mira might get mad," she said.

"I'm not mad," I cut her off, turning to Daniel. "Let's divorce. You can have fun with her for as long as you like, go wherever you want."

Daniel let out a laugh. "Mira, playing hard to get really doesn't suit you.

"If you divorce me, you'll walk away with nothing. Are you really willing to do that?"

He snorted, grabbed Stephanie, and walked out.

Seeing that, everyone found an excuse to leave.

My welcome party emptied out in a flash, leaving me all alone.

I stared at the food on the table, picked up my fork, and started eating.

Eventually, my stomach churned with acid and I couldn't take it anymore. I clutched my belly and bolted to the bathroom, throwing up everything I'd eaten.

When I looked up at my reflection in the mirror, I pulled out my phone and called my lawyer, telling him to draw up the divorce papers.

When Daniel and I got married, his mom never approved of my background and forced me to sign a prenuptial agreement.

If we divorced, I'd leave with nothing.

It was ridiculous that Daniel thought I married him for his money.

He was the one who begged me to marry him. I never did it for his money or status.

So Daniel trying to threaten me with money? He was dead wrong from the start.

I stepped out of the private room, and the cold wind hit me, making my head spin. I forced myself to keep going and headed back to the house.

I hadn't been home in three months, and now the place was full of stuff that didn't belong to me.

There were cartoon dishes in the kitchen and pink curtains everywhere. It all screamed tacky.

The maid looked anxious when she saw me. "Ma'am, you're back."

"Yeah," I answered.

I went straight upstairs. The maid seemed like she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Ma'am," she called out.

I turned to face her. After a few seconds of uncertainty, she finally spoke up. "Mr. Long brought that girl here, and they were together in the master bedroom before."

My head spun for a moment. As soon as I steadied myself, I burst into the master bedroom and drew in a sharp breath.

The whole place had been transformed. Gone was the sleek, minimalist style I loved. Now, Stephanie's cartoon pillows were lined up along the headboard.

Her clothes were hanging right there in my closet, as if she belonged here.

Everything that used to be mine had vanished.

No wonder she was so bold. She'd moved in long ago.

I slipped off my wedding ring and packed up what little was still mine.

There was barely anything left for me to take. I sent the divorce papers to Daniel, and without looking back, wheeled my suitcase out the door.