Chapter 1

The moment my husband asked for a divorce, the other woman was already showing.

I worked late alone that night and couldn't help howling a funeral dirge for my dead marriage.

I never expected the CEO to notice me because of that wailing.

He arrived in a tailored suit, eyes gentle, carrying still-warm dinner.

Deep night, we were alone.

In self-abandon I thought: here's my chance, time to cheat on my jerk husband.

But the CEO handed me a tissue and, after circling for ages, I finally understood.

What he wanted was my scum husband!

My sobs stopped mid-note, my eyeballs rolling round and round.

If my husband was with another woman, I'd lose my appetite.

If he was with another man, I'd even be happy to watch them make love.

*****

The empty office echoed with nothing but me bawling and sniffling. Just thinking about the divorce papers made my heart twist with pain and regret.

Every couple hit the seven-year itch. But Michael started something after just five years. He was such a jerk!

Yeah, my husband, Michael Carter, went and found himself another woman. Her name was Lily Warren, and she was flaunting that baby bump, thinking she could use it to climb her way up and become the queen of his life.

Michael was hell-bent on divorcing me and marrying her. He liked to claim it was all about "chasing true love and giving the kid a proper family."

Yeah, right! Wasn't it 'true love' when he married me, too? Our bond was paper-thin these past few years. But we were basically just financial partners. I figured we could drag it out a few more years. But not anymore.

My whole plan to mooch off him just crashed and burned. Back when I had both our paychecks, life was sweet. But now, with the assets split, and my world-class laziness and freeloading skills, how long can I last?

Even if I had a mountain of gold, I'd chew it down to a little hole in no time. Just thinking about it made me break down, bawling my eyes out. As I sobbed, I was silently cursing my shameless boss in my head.

My career was already barely hanging on. Take last week's event proposal, for example. He trashed it so hard, I barely survived the verbal beating. My heart was already hanging by a thread, barely holding it together. And then he kicked it.

"What are you crying about? It's the middle of the night," Ethan said, his voice low and edged with impatience. I jerked upright, startled, and looked up.

Blinking through my tears, I saw my boss looming over my desk. He was holding a takeout box with the Harbor Taste Bistro logo on it. It was from my absolute favorite spot, the place with those killer ravioli.

He set the box down on my desk. "Here, eat something. Quit crying," he said.

Still sniffling, I lifted the lid of the box, and a warm aroma spilled out to greet me. The smell only made the tears fall faster. I took small bites of the ravioli, stealing glances at him between each one.

Ethan Graves was the founder of the company. He was young, but his methods were absolutely cutthroat. He was infamous in the industry as the boss from hell. He treated us like a drill sergeant.

What was with him today? Not only did he skip yelling at me for crying at work, but he actually brought me my favorite takeout? Was he seeing me at my lowest after the divorce and thinking he could swoop in?

Just thinking that made me jump a little. I couldn't believe I was even considering it. But then another thought hit me. Maybe it was not such a bad idea after all.

Michael cheated on me, making me look like a total fool. So why shouldn't I give him a taste of his own medicine?

In my head, I was already starring in a wild drama where Ethan and I teamed up to totally ruin Michael's life. It was like something straight out of a webnovel, Michael and Lily Warren groveling at my feet, begging for mercy.

But just as I was getting lost in my own over-the-top fantasy, Ethan cut in and snapped me back to reality. "So, Lily's the one who stole your man?" he asked.

I choked back a sob and nodded, my heart burning with anger and hurt.

"I heard she's been giving you hell," he said, his tone blunt but somehow not unkind.

I nodded again, hard.

"Oh," Ethan drawled, his long fingers drumming on the desk. "So, you wanna hit her back?"

I almost choked on my ravioli. Wait, did he really just say that? Was Ethan actually offering to help me get revenge after seeing me get pushed around all this time? Whatever. Revenge was all I cared about.

I set the ravioli down, eyes wide. "Hell yeah. Let's do it. Boss, you've gotta go all in. Make it count. Make it big. Make it unforgettable."