Chapter 1
After ten years of marriage, I never guessed that Owen Myers was secretly a millionaire. Not only did he pretend to be broke, but he also betrayed our marriage to live a lavish life with another woman. In that moment, everything I believed was shattered. Seeing Millie's hopeful and trusting gaze, I resolved to take control and reclaim what was rightfully ours!
...
At the supermarket, I tossed some chicken thighs on sale into the cart while Millie held onto it with her little hand, her eyes fixed on the snack aisle not far away.
"Mom, can I have an ice cream?" she asked, looking up at me hesitantly.
I knelt down to hold her hand. "Millie, we've already gone over our budget this month. I promise we'll get you one next month, okay?"
Millie nodded obediently, but the disappointment in her eyes tugged at my heart.
"But," I whispered to her, "Daddy will get paid soon, and then we can buy that set of storybooks you’ve been wanting."
Her eyes lit up instantly, and she nodded enthusiastically. "Great! Mom, I finally get to have the storybooks."
Seeing her smile made my throat tighten. Nearly ten years into our marriage, and we've always struggled to make ends meet. Even covering basic expenses has been a challenge.
As we passed the fruit section, a familiar laugh caught my ear, and I froze, nearly bumping the cart into someone else. It was Owen!
He was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, with an expensive watch shining under the lights. The woman on his arm, impeccably made up, was my high school classmate, Azari Ward. She was casually picking a pack of imported strawberries from the shelf, and with them was a girl about Millie's age, holding the doll Millie had always wanted.
"Mom, is that Dad?" Millie's voice came from right next to me.
"No," I replied instinctively, blocking her view with my body, each word harsh and difficult.
Millie pointed in their direction. "Dad looks so different than usual. Who's that lady with him? And the other girl—did Dad buy the doll for her? Didn't he say he didn't have any money?"
Her barrage of questions made me shake uncontrollably.
Before I could respond, she gently took my hand. "Mom, let's go."
On the way home, she was unusually quiet. I tried to explain, but she touched my face gently.
"Mom, I might be a kid, but I'm not stupid."
Back in our cramped home, Millie retreated to her room and didn’t come out.
I collapsed onto the sofa, holding a credit card.
Owen had left this card behind when I was organizing the drawers. The scene of Owen and Azari shopping replayed in my mind as I shakily opened the banking app on my phone.
I entered the card number, followed by Millie's birthday, which Owen used for all his passwords.
The screen flickered, and a moment later, a number appeared. I froze, my breath seemingly stopping in an instant.
Three hundred and fifty million!
The phone slipped from my grasp. How could Owen have so much money?
Why did he pretend to be broke for the ten years we were married?
With so much wealth, why did he let me wear myself out keeping our lives together?
With all that money, why did he refuse to send Millie to a good school?
The phone screen continued to glow, the numbers mocking my foolishness.
I sat on the sofa for what felt like an eternity, until the night fell, and I finally wrote the divorce agreement.