Chapter 2

I returned to the Garcia family mansion in a daze. As soon as I stepped inside, I heard pitiful whimpers coming from the living room.

My heart dropped—it was Peanut.

Peanut was an elderly Labrador, the most precious gift Rodney had given me before he passed.

Peanut was sweet and perceptive, keeping me company through countless lonely nights.

I rushed into the living room and saw Daniela holding a walking stick while Peanut trembled in the corner.

"Stop!" I yelled, throwing myself between her and Peanut.

Daniela clearly hadn't expected me back so early. She lowered the stick. "Maeve, what's the point of keeping this old dog in the house?"

I held Peanut tightly. Her dark eyes looked clouded, almost hazy.

I absolutely refuse to believe Peanut would cause trouble without reason.

As Daniela kept ranting, I glared up at her. "Don't you dare hurt her again!"

This was the first time I had ever talked back so forcefully since marrying into the Garcia family.

Daniela was shocked by my attitude. "Maeve! How dare you speak to me like that?"

Everything that had happened that night—Myron's betrayal—had brought back the fire I had buried years ago.

I sneered. "Since we're being honest, I'm done pretending. I want a divorce. Everything I brought from the Lincoln family, plus what the Garcias built since—we're settling it all."

Daniela's face darkened. "Don't be ridiculous, Maeve. Your father's been gone for years. All the Lincoln connections belong to the Garcias now. If you divorce, you'll walk away with nothing."

Peanut, in my arms, sensed my anger and let out a suppressed growl from her throat.

Daniela called Myron and twisted the story as she told him.

After a few seconds of silence, his cold voice came through the speaker. "If she wants to make a scene, let her. Why bother with her?"

I closed my eyes, holding Peanut. In that moment, I felt something in me break forever.

I left the Garcias' with Peanut and rented a tiny apartment in a cheaper part of town with what little money I had left.

The apartment faced the morning sun. On the first day, I was woken up by the soft morning light, and it all felt like a world away.

It was the first time in eight years since I had been married that I didn't wake up with a start in that oppressive mood.

I lay on the couch, pulling out my favorite fashion magazines from my teenage years.

Outside, the sun was bright. Peanut got tired of playing with her ball on the balcony and came over to sleep on my slippers.

It was just me and Peanut, far from all the noise and drama.

Sometimes I'd think of Eloise's familiar face and couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

A deceased first love was always an unbeatable memory. It turned out Myron had never forgotten Bethany, his late childhood sweetheart—he had even found Eloise to replace her.

After a few peaceful days, I found Virgil Russell, the lawyer who had worked with Rodney for years. I told him I wanted a divorce and asked him to handle the property division talks with Myron.

Virgil hesitated. "Mrs. Garcia, going up against the Garcias is like trying to take food from a tiger—your odds aren't good."

The Garcias were a powerful family now. When I married Myron and brought the Lincoln family's assets into theirs, I offended all my relatives.

To put it plainly, this was a stay-at-home wife suing a powerful family. To anyone else, it was like hitting a rock with an egg.

But I was surprisingly calm. "It's okay—just do your best. Whatever we get back, you'll take three percent as your fee."

Virgil acted fast.

It wasn't long before Myron's assistant, Eloise, found me.

It was evening, and the sunset was beautiful, but her perfectly made-up face was full of disdain.

"Mrs. Garcia, Mr. Garcia says it's time for you to come home now," Eloise said.

She added, "Threatening divorce to get his attention isn't something a lady with class would do."

I looked at her, amused. In the days since I had moved out of the Garcias', Myron hadn't called me once. And now he had sent his mistress to humiliate me?