Chapter 1

Ten years into my life as a housewife, my husband Ryan Lakewood's first love came waltzing back.

He couldn't wait to file for divorce.

"I'm gonna be straight with you. I only married you because you look like her," he told me.

He had already funneled money through his company, leaving almost nothing in our joint accounts. All to impress Chloe Bennett, the woman he'd never gotten over.

"I still gotta buy Chloe a place. You haven't done a single thing for this family in ten years! Be grateful!"

I stole a glance at Lily, our daughter, who looked less and less like him by the day.

I held back tears and agreed to the divorce.

The day the papers were finalized, I rushed to the bank and cashed two checks worth seven million dollars.

Ryan had no idea I'd just sold him for seven million dollars.

On the night of our farewell dinner, the person who ended up in his bed wasn't me.

*****

The second I laid eyes on Victoria Sterling, I knew a woman that polished had no business standing in a farmer's market.

Sure enough, she hadn't been there two minutes before she let out a disgusted huff.

"Ugh, these stupid shoes! My feet are soaking wet," she snapped.

Her driver crouched down right away and handed her a pair of flip-flops.

Victoria slipped them on and chucked her heels straight into a nearby trash can.

I recognized those heels. They were the only luxury brand I knew by name.

Lily had sent me a news clip about them once.

"Oh my God, someone dropped like a grand on a pair of shoes and the soles were literally made of paper.

"They barely wore them before they fell apart, so they went to the store to complain. And the store said the shoes were never meant to touch actual pavement.

"Like, if you can't walk in them, what's the point? They're just decoration?" she'd laughed.

I walked over to the trash can, snapped a photo, and decided to show Lily later that night.

Some shoes really were just for show. After all, the kind of people who wore them never had to touch the ground like the rest of us.

The second I finished taking the photo, I sensed someone staring at me.

I casually tossed my phone into my grocery basket and tried to slip away.

The last thing I needed was to accidentally brush against the diamonds on her outfit and end up owing her money.

But Victoria stepped right in front of me. "You're Ryan Lakewood's wife?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

I nodded, my stomach sinking. The last thing I needed was Ryan getting himself into trouble.

My brain kicked into overdrive, mentally tallying up our joint assets and the secret stash I'd been hiding for years.

The total looked decent enough to keep me calm, so I steadied my nerves.

By then, Victoria had already sized me up from head to toe.

"I want your husband. So tell me, how much?" she said.

I had never heard anything like that in my life.

Every word she said registered, but none of it added up.

Victoria didn't want to keep chatting in the grimy farmer's market, so she dragged me to an upscale café.

I had never seen a waiter grovel that hard in my life.

Victoria didn't even blink. She kept the same icy expression plastered on her face.

We'd barely sat down before I asked, still not sure I'd heard her right.

"Just to be clear, you're telling me you fell for Ryan Lakewood and you want me to step aside?"

I wondered when the dating scene had gotten this ruthless, and since when heiresses were this desperate to marry down.

Victoria took a calm sip of her coffee and wagged her index finger. "Nah. I just wanna sleep with him," she said flatly.

I tried to play it cool and take a casual sip of coffee, the way a rich person would.

Victoria's words hit me so hard I nearly spit my drink across the table.

Victoria wrinkled her nose and pulled two checks out of her handbag.

They weren't blank, which disappointed me. If they had been, I would've filled in at least six figures.

But when I looked closer, I couldn't believe how many zeros were staring back at me. I counted twice and landed on eight figures.

"For real?" I blurted out.

At that point, whatever Victoria saw in Ryan didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was the absurd amount of money she was throwing around.

My reaction must have startled her, because she paused. I pulled myself together as fast as I could, terrified she'd realize she'd offered too much and try to lower the price.

I forced a reluctant expression onto my face and spoke up.

"That's gonna be tough. Ryan only married me because I look like his first love," I sighed. But I kept the rest to myself.

His first love was about to move back to town, and Ryan had brought up the divorce two nights ago. He hadn't come home since, and I'd barely slept, running the numbers nonstop.

How much of the marital assets could I walk away with, and where could I hide my savings so he'd never find them?

I wasn't trying to be dishonest. I was just terrified that if Victoria found out the truth, she'd skip me entirely and go straight to Ryan's first love. That payday belonged to me, and I wasn't sharing.