Chapter 1

Three years after our divorce, my ex-husband Edward Shaw showed up at my door one day. He said our son missed me and asked if we could try getting back together.

At that moment, I was barely scraping by. My pay kept getting docked every time I was late with an order, and I could hardly afford to eat. So, I decided to give it another shot with him. I was done living like this.

After we got back together, I became the perfect wife Edward had always wanted.

I never got jealous or caused any drama. If he brought another woman home, I'd even help clean up after them.

I stopped being strict with our son, Luke, and let him do as he pleased.

I'd become exactly what everyone wanted me to be. But one night, Edward came home drunk and broke down, hugging me and crying.

He said, "Honey, please don't be like this. It hurts me."

Luke was sobbing too. "Mom, I'm sorry. Please don't be like this to me."

*****

When Edward showed up, I had gotten lost and was late with a delivery, so I was fined.

I'd lost count of how many times I'd been fined in the past three months.

When he appeared in front of me, I was on the verge of tears.

I looked up and saw him staring at me. His eyes were icy, completely devoid of warmth.

I wiped my face, trying to act like nothing was wrong.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

Edward let out a sigh.

"I need to talk to you about something," he said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Luke misses you, and my parents keep saying things were better when we were together. So, I wanted to ask if you'd consider getting back together with me," he said.

Three years ago, when I caught him in what looked like an affair, I packed up and left without a second thought.

Since the divorce papers were signed, this was the first time we'd seen each other.

He stood there, still as confident and striking as ever.

Looking so desperate, I hesitated for only a second before nodding in agreement.

Honestly, I only had 144 dollars left in my account, and there was no way I could pay next month's rent.

Maybe I agreed too quickly, because Edward looked a little surprised.

He stared at me for a moment, then said, "Let's go get remarried tomorrow. You can come home with me tonight. By the way, do you have anything you need to pack up?"

I shook my head. Everything in my apartment was bargain stuff from discount sites. If I brought any of it back to Shaw Manor, everyone would totally laugh at me.

I got straight into the car and closed my eyes.

'My feelings were all over the place,' I thought to myself.

Honestly, I never thought Edward would come back to me.

From the time I fell madly for him in high school to the arranged marriage our families set up in college, I was always the only one in love.

Edward never really liked me, but he didn't dislike me either. But after spending day after day together, I started to get ahead of myself, thinking I mattered more to him than I actually did.

After five years of marriage, I caught him acting suspiciously intimate with his secretary, and I stormed straight into his office to confront him.

I grabbed his shirt, yanked his hair, and threw things around his office, demanding he fire her.

Edward coldly restrained me, holding my hands to stop me from going crazy.

Then he said, "Claire Sutton, look at yourself. Is this how a woman behaves?

"I'm not cheating on you. I'd never do something like that. But you? Acting like this, you don't deserve to be Mrs. Shaw.

"I guess I've spoiled you all these years. Go home and really think about whether you want to keep living like this.

"If you do, then start behaving yourself. If not, we'll get a divorce."

Honestly, I was too naive and reckless back then. I took his calm words as some kind of challenge.

On impulse, I marched him down to the courthouse the very next day to file for divorce.

Three years later, I was still paying the price for that decision.

I went from a pampered heiress who never had to lift a finger to a clueless drudge who could barely handle the basics, grinding away like everyone else.

Honestly, I was pretty clueless and had a terrible attitude. No matter what job I tried, I never lasted long.

Before I knew it, I was drowning in credit card debt, barely scraping by.

Luckily, Edward reached out to me in time. If he hadn't, I'd probably be sleeping under a bridge or doing something I'd regret.

After a half-hour drive, we finally made it home.

Edward was busy with work the whole way, and we didn't say a word to each other.

As soon as I got out of the car, a woman walked up to us. She looked so familiar.

I recognized her instantly. She was the reason we got divorced.

Edward's secretary, Emily Lane.

Back then, she played all kinds of tricks and mind games, driving me absolutely crazy.

Three years later, she looked even more graceful and elegant. Honestly, she seemed way more classy than me.

*****

Emily clearly had no idea Edward was trying to get back together with me.

I caught a flicker of surprise in her eyes when she saw me.

But she hid it quickly, and the next moment, she took Edward's coat from him.

"Mr. Shaw, Luke's already back, and the housekeeper has dinner ready. Would you like to shower first or eat?" she asked.

Anyone who didn't know better would've thought she was Edward's wife.

Edward didn't even look at her. He turned to me instead.

"Claire, do you want to eat first, or take a shower?" he asked.

I honestly couldn't figure out why he always had to have Emily around.

Maybe he was testing to see if I'd really changed.

Or maybe he didn't care about how I felt at all.

I kept a poker face, staying calm and not letting anything show.

"Whatever you want," I said.

"Then go take a shower first. You're all sweaty," he said.

I headed straight to the bedroom. My old body wash was still in the adjoining bathroom, but it had expired ages ago.

After throwing everything out, I ended up washing my hair with Edward's shampoo.

As I was rinsing out the shampoo, he walked right in.

I instinctively moved to cover my chest, then felt ridiculous.

So I finished showering and got dressed with him watching, not bothering to hide anything.

He grabbed the hair dryer, looking like he wanted to dry my hair for me.

I was very confused.