No Rest For The Stepmom

Synopsis

My name is Audrey Moore. Everyone says that dropping out of the rat race is a sin. But I think they simply haven't been pushed to their absolute limit like I was. At my last job, I pulled all-nighters for an entire week straight. I finally collapsed in the break room and almost didn't wake up. When I did come to, the first thing I did was fumble for my phone to check the project group chat. My manager's message read: [Audrey, is that presentation deck finished yet?] I ripped out my IV then and there. Quit on the spot, I threw my resignation letter right in his face. I had about three hundred dollars left in my bank account, enough to survive for a month. I managed to stretch it for twenty-nine days. On the night of the twenty-ninth day, my landlord started pounding on my door. "Audrey! If you don't pay up by tomorrow, pack your bags and get out!" I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, counting the cracks. Suddenly, my phone lit up. An unknown number. "Miss Moore? This is Landon Perez, Mr. Kinsley's assistant. "We have a job offer for you. A monthly salary of ten thousand dollars, room and board included. You can start immediately." "What's the job?" I asked. He said, "Being Mrs. Kinsley." I asked, "Who is Mr. Kinsley?" "Nolan Kinsley. Of the Kinsley Group." "Me?" He replied, "Yes. Mr. Kinsley believes you are... suitable." "Suitable for what?" I pressed. "Suitable to become his wife," he clarified. He continued, "The contract and prenuptial agreement are ready. They will be sent to your email shortly. We require your signature tomorrow at 10 AM at the Kinsley residence." "And if I refuse?" I challenged. "With all due respect, Miss Moore," his tone shifted, becoming firmer, "it appears you are not in a position to refuse. Your current landlord is an employee of a subsidiary within the Kinsley Group." My gaze drifted back to the ceiling, finally settling on the last crack. I had my count. Seventeen in total. "Fine," I agreed flatly. And just like that, I married Nolan, a forty-eight-year-old widower, father of three adult sons, a man worth billions.