Chapter 1

Seven years ago, I dumped Julien Webb—just like that, no warning. Then I married someone else right after.

Julien didn't take it well. He took the first flight out of the country the next day, and we never spoke again.

Now he was back. He was now a self-made, rich, powerful businessman who commanded respect from everyone.

And me? I lost everything. My family went bankrupt, my parents were gone, and I was divorced for two years...

*****

To pay off debts, I worked at a company, and my boss, Daniel Crawford, dragged me along to toast Julien Webb.

"Mr. Webb, I've heard a lot about you. Honored to finally meet. Here's my card. I hope we get the chance to work together someday." Daniel raised his glass, practically beaming as he waited for Julien's response.

Julien glanced up, his gaze landing on me as I tried desperately to disappear behind Daniel.

I took a nervous sip of my drink, but Julien just took the card with an indifferent air, barely glancing at it before tossing it to his assistant.

"Remember this company. Add it to our blacklist," Julien said coolly.

Daniel's face turned ashen.

He hurriedly reached out to stop Julien as Julien was about to leave. "Mr. Webb, is there some kind of misunderstanding?"

Julien brushed Daniel's hand off with obvious disdain, then turned his gaze to me. "A company that would even hire her? How good could it be?"

*****

I was fired that night.

And because of that one remark, I was practically blacklisted by the whole industry. Everyone knew that I, Ashley Sharp, had pissed Julien off.

Losing my job meant losing my only source of income.

A few days later, since I couldn't pay the rent, my landlord threw me and all my stuff out on the street.

It was the dead of winter. I stared at the underpass in the distance and muttered, "I'll just tough it out for one night. Should be fine, right?"

Just as I finally forced myself to lay out my makeshift bed for the night, a pair of immaculately polished, designer leather shoes stepped into my line of sight.

I looked up. Julien stood there, brows slightly furrowed, his voice colder than the wind. "So this is the life you dumped me for?"

*****

That night, I followed Julien back to his villa.

He gave me two options.

One, he threw me back on the street.

Two, marry him.

I thought about it for two nights before I agreed to marry him.

Julien threw me a lavish wedding, and everyone was jealous.

Some said I was lucky, that even after a failed marriage, I still landed someone like Julien. I must've played it smart.

Those who knew our past just sighed, "Nothing beats first love, huh?"

But no matter what people said, only I knew the truth—Julien was doing all this just because I had broken up with him all those years ago.

After agreeing to marry him, he paid off all the debts my family had left behind for me.

My heart sank. Julien caught the look on my face and said, "Don't get me wrong; I'm not some kind of saint. I have conditions. No matter what happens, only I get to decide when this marriage ends."

I nodded, agreeing to his conditions.

On our wedding night, I went back to the villa by myself.

An hour later, Julien came in with a young, beautiful girl on his arm.

When she saw me, she leaned into him, shooting me a defiant look.

Julien pulled her closer and planted a kiss on her cheek.

Then he looked at me and ordered, "Ashley, go sleep in the next room."

That night, I lay in the other room, listening to them laugh and flirt.

My fists were clenched so tightly my nails dug into my palms.

I had planned to tell Julien the truth tonight, about why I had left him back then.

Julien and I were university classmates who dated for five years. Our relationship was always steady—we never even argued.

Two years after we graduated, he was offered a truly life-changing opportunity.

But it required him to go abroad for three years. Not wanting to be separated from me, he did everything he could and finally managed to secure a way for me to go with him.

Just as we were about to start a wonderful new chapter together, my dad's investment failed, and my family was suddenly on the verge of bankruptcy.

I knew that if I chose not to go and told Julien the truth, he definitely wouldn't have gone either.

But I just couldn't leave my parents behind and walk away with him, not when they needed me most.

So, I broke up with Julien.

And I agreed to my dad's request to marry Quinn Morgan.

At that point, the Morgan family was the only ones willing to help us.

Julien was completely blindsided. He kept pressing me for the real reason of the break up.

There was no way I could possibly tell him the truth.

I just kept my expression cold, choking back tears, and told him I didn't love him anymore.

He wouldn't believe it. He begged me to take him back.

So, to really end things, I got engaged to Quinn almost immediately.

When Julien saw the engagement ring on my finger, the light went out in his eyes. Right then and there, he finally gave up on me for good.

When he brought me back to his villa that day, I felt a surge of hope—maybe God had finally taken pity on me and given me another chance to see him again.

But I never expected that it would only lead me straight back into hell.

The girl he brought back was named Elsie Woods.

She wasn't even out of college yet, being ten years younger than me.

With Elsie around, I was constantly reminded of how Julien used to treat me back when we were together.

He remembered every single thing Elsie said. Late at night, he'd even send someone hundreds of miles just to bring her a cake she'd once mentioned liking.

He'd secretly buy her all sorts of gifts, just to make her a little happier.

He'd even keep track of her time of the month, and when she complained about cramps, he'd turn to me and say, "Ashley, go get some ibuprofen for her."

Around them, I was completely invisible—just the help.

Julien didn't care what people said, bringing Elsie along to meet every single one of his friends and business partners.

Whenever he needed a date for an event, it was always Elsie clinging to his arm, dressed to the nines.

He had everyone treat Elsie like she was his wife.

Someone asked cautiously, "What about Ashley?"

Julien didn't even bat an eye. "Elsie's young, beautiful, pure, and smart. What does Ashley have that could possibly compare?"

Some people thought Julien was just fooling around, so they started making crude jokes about Elsie.

But no one expected him to snap right then and there—he smashed a bottle over a guy's head, leaving him bleeding all over the place.

After that, my name was dirt. I finally became the laughingstock of the entire city.

The same people who once said I was lucky now mocked me. They said I was so pathetic, that I didn't even know when to give Julien up.

I started losing sleep, getting thinner, and looking like a ghost.

Then one afternoon, as I was heading upstairs, my body finally gave out. I blacked out and tumbled down the stairs.

The doctor told Julien it was all because of stress.

"The patient is extremely tense and anxious. It's best if she can rest somewhere quiet and comfortable for a while," the doctor said.

That night, right in front of me, he handed Elsie a set of keys.

"You wanted your own place, right? Here's a downtown flat, decorated just the way you like. It's my gift," he said.

Elsie was over the moon.

Finally, Elsie moved out. And of course, Julien moved in with her.

Honestly, it felt like relief.