Chapter 1
I spent five years building his business empire.
But he and his side chick set me up, framed me for cheating, and kicked me out with nothing.
He must've forgotten I was the one holding the company's lifeline.
By kicking me out, he just severed his own lifeline.
*****
"You damn shameless people!" A shrill scream jolted me awake.
The moment I opened my eyes, blinding camera flashes hit my face, and a chorus of insults filled my ears.
A voice shouted, "You bitch! How could you do this to me?
"Do you have any idea how much you've shamed the Stafford family?
"Ugh, this is sick. You have no shame at all, seriously!"
My head was splitting, my mind a total mess.
I was in a strange room, on a strange bed, with a half-naked man lying next to me.
My nightgown was all wrinkled, and the collar had clearly been ripped open.
The guy next to me wouldn't even look at me, his eyes darting nervously toward Max.
Fragments of the previous night came rushing back.
Max was smiling warmly as he poured me a drink. "Sabrina, it's our fifth anniversary. Drink up."
I was a total lightweight. After just a few drinks, I was already fuzzy. The last thing I remember was Max helping me into the car.
But then, I woke up in bed with some random guy, busted for cheating.
I bet something was off with that drink.
Max was in tears, his voice trembling with fury. "Sabrina, I loved you, and you cheated on me behind my back? I want a divorce. We're done for good!"
His relatives went wild, all yelling at once.
"Yeah, you've disgraced the whole Stafford family!"
"Shameless! How could you do something like this?"
"Divorce her already. A woman like her has to go!"
Max was filming me with his phone, making sure to catch me at my absolute worst. "The evidence is right here. What do you have to say for yourself?"
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm.
The whole story pieced itself together in my mind.
It was a meticulously crafted trap.
And the one who stabbed me in the back was my own husband, the man I trusted most.
I pulled on my coat, stood up slowly, and stared Max right in the eye. "So, what exactly do you want?"
He hadn't expected me to be so calm. He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and snapped, "I want a divorce. After what you did, you're out with nothing. Do you really think you have the right to ask for anything?"
His relatives started chiming in, all talking over each other. "Exactly! Back in the day, you'd have to pay heavily for what you did."
He slapped a divorce agreement down in front of me. I picked it up and glanced over it.
The terms were so harsh that it was almost laughable. He would get very house, every bank account, every car, and every investment. And I was supposed to just hand over my shares in Stafford Animation, too.
It turned out he'd been plotting this all along.
I reached out and snatched the phone right out of his hand.
"What are you doing?" he yelled, his face going pale as he lunged for it.
I dodged him, slammed the phone onto the floor, and stomped it into pieces.
"Fine," I said, staring him down, spilling each word. "I agree."
The room went dead silent.
Everyone just stared at each other, like someone had hit pause right before the big reveal.
Max's expression shifted from one emotion to another as he thrust the divorce papers at me. "Sign it."
I met his gaze, dead serious. "Max, is this really what you want?"
"We've been together since college, fought through every struggle to build this company, and now we're sharing our success. We're not just husband and wife. We've always had each other's backs," I added.
Max's eyes flickered with hesitation, but it vanished instantly. He snapped back to his furious self. "After what you did, you still have the nerve to talk about us? Sign it!"
He knew better than anyone if I ever cheated on him.
Honestly, when one was so done, he just wanted to laugh.
I signed my name in one swift motion, tossed the pen aside, and said, "Just like you wanted."
The room went dead silent.
No one expected me to just leave with nothing, no fight, no demands.
All those assets together? They were worth over 30 million dollars.
Sabrina said, her voice steady, "Max, don't you dare regret what you did today."
Stafford Animation was something Max and I built piece by piece, bit by bit, after we graduated from college.
Back then, we were crammed into a tiny 100-square-foot apartment.
I'd pull all-nighters sketching storyboards, while he hustled from investor to investor, all for the dream of creating a true national animation.
No one thought we'd make it, but the 3D rendering engine I built was what made our animation come alive.
Ink flowed across the screen, and when the eagle spread its wings, you could see every feather quiver in stunning detail.
Our first movie was a smash hit, raking in over 350 million dollars at the box office.