Chapter 4

Three days after the divorce.

Claire posted an update on Instagram.

[Raising a kid alone is tough, but at least it's peaceful now.]

The photo was her freshly done nails and a coffee.

I glanced at it and couldn't help but scoff.

She played the same game in my last life, too.

She always put on this act for everyone else, playing the poor, abandoned woman.

But that was how it really went down.

Yeah, I was the one who signed the divorce papers.

But in that agreement, she made sure she got the house, the car, and Harry, she didn't miss out on a thing.

Hell, she didn't even bother to take my name off the family insurance, the one that kept draining money from my account every month. Last time, I forgot to change the beneficiary, so when I died, every cent of that payout went straight to her.

This time, the very first thing I did was call and change the beneficiary.

Put my own name down.

After I finished updating the beneficiary, the customer service rep asked, "Mr. Carter, is there anything else you'd like to change?"

"Cancel the family plan and switch me to a personal accident policy," I said.

"Got it, I'll take care of that for you," the customer service rep replied.

After hanging up, I logged into my online banking and started managing the money in my hidden account.

I put 300 thousand dollars into a short-term investment, planning to send it all to David once I sold my commercial property.

With the other 300 thousand dollars, I set aside 70 thousand for living expenses and threw 230 thousand into a stock I remembered would triple next year.

In my last life, I saw this stock on the news at the end of 2024, a solid-state battery company that landed a massive order in Q2, and the stock price shot up from 4 to 15 dollars.

I just stared at the news for a while, thinking I should have bought in back then.

Then I'd just close the news.

But this time, things were different.

With everything set, I leaned back in the hotel chair and let out a long sigh of relief.

My phone rang.

I recognized the number, it was Claire's mom, my ex-mother-in-law, Evelyn Brooks.

Evelyn never missed a chance to make my life hell in my last life.

Every time she showed up, her opening line was always, "Richard, look at Michael, he drives a Mercedes. And you? What do you drive?"

Next, she'd go, "Claire really settled when she married you."

Then she'd add, "You barely make any money. Why not just let Claire go work at Michael's company instead?"

Every word felt like a needle straight to the heart.

In my last life, I just put up with all her crap.

Just smiled and pretended it didn't bother me.

And every year, I'd hand her a two-thousand-dollar cash gift for the holidays.

I picked up the phone.

"Richard!" Evelyn's voice was as harsh as sandpaper. "Are you out of your mind? What gives you the right to divorce Claire?"

"Because it was mutual," I replied.

"Mutual? You're penniless, who do you think is gonna want you after the divorce? Let me tell you, once you walk out with nothing, don't even think about crawling back!" Evelyn snapped.

"I won't," I said.

There was a brief silence on the other end.

"Don't go thinking you're some big shot. If Claire's dad hadn't helped you out back then, you wouldn't even have a business to your name!" she barked.

She's got a point.

Eighteen years ago, I really did get started thanks to my father-in-law pulling some strings for me.

But in those eighteen years, I paid back every penny.

And not just paid him back, I sent gifts every year, never missed a single holiday.

I took a deep breath.

"Aunt Evelyn, the divorce is done. If Claire's got any issues, she can talk to her lawyer. Don't call me again," I said.

"You..." she started.

I hung up.

Blocked her number.

My phone finally went quiet.

I stood by the hotel window, watching the traffic flow outside.

Thirty-eight years old.

It was the third day of my new life.

Everything was just getting started.