Chapter 1

1

On our third anniversary, the gift I prepared for my husband was a divorce agreement.

I looked at the empty seat across the table and called my lawyer.

"Mr. Davis, are the divorce papers ready?"

I sat alone at the dining table. The flickering candlelight reflected on my cheeks, masking my true emotions.

"They are ready, ma'am. I just sent them to you via a courier." Mr. Davis paused, his voice filled with hesitation. "Today is your third wedding anniversary. Are you sure you want to bring up divorce on such a meaningful day?"

Meaningful?

My gaze landed on the cold dishes, a self-deprecating smile crossing my face. An anniversary is only meaningful when both husband and wife remember it. Clearly, between Sebastian and me, I was the only one who cared.

Just as I hung up the phone, the sound of a key turning in the lock echoed from the door. Sebastian pushed the door open, looking exhausted but unable to hide the joy in his voice.

"Hazel's divorce case is finally over. She can completely escape that abusive bastard now."

We hadn't seen each other for a whole month. The first thing my husband said to me was that the love of his life was finally divorced. I lowered my eyes and let out a soft chuckle.

"Congratulations to you."

Sebastian's lips curled up slightly, nodding in strong agreement. "Yeah, if it weren't for you, Hazel and I would have been married long ago."

"She wouldn't have had to suffer through this toxic marriage. Now that she's out of that hellhole, you really should be happy for her."

His heartless words struck me like a heavy hammer. He was right. If I didn't exist, he and Hazel would have walked down the aisle.

Since I was a little girl, my wealthy family and the Thorne family decided I would be the perfect daughter-in-law. Under their arrangement, Sebastian and I were in the same class since kindergarten. They called it cultivating our feelings from a young age.

Facing his flawlessly handsome face every day, it was hard not to fall for him. I always knew I would marry him when I grew up. I eagerly waited for that day.

That all changed in high school when a scholarship student transferred to our class. Her name was Hazel Crawford.

Hazel was poor but fiercely proud, like a resilient little white flower blooming in the mud. Her stubborn personality quickly caught Sebastian's attention.

At first, he just teased her by throwing money around. But Hazel would furiously throw the cash on the ground, calling him a useless rich kid who only relied on his parents.

Sebastian later found out that her parents were bedridden. She paid for her tuition and living expenses entirely by working part-time jobs.

He sincerely apologized to her and even started doing part-time work with her after school. As they spent more time together, they fell in love. My existence suddenly became an embarrassing joke.

I felt like the evil villainess in a movie, shamelessly occupying the title of his fiancée. After graduation, Sebastian demanded to cancel our engagement. He swore he would marry Hazel after college.

But how could the elite Thorne family allow him to marry a poor girl? Under their constant pressure, Hazel finally cracked. She broke up with him and moved to a different city for college.

From then on, Sebastian became quiet and distant. He went to college, followed the rules, and took over his family's company after graduation. He never mentioned Hazel again, nor did he mention our marriage.

I thought we would never get married. Until three years ago, he came to me with bloodshot eyes.

"Let's get married," he had said.

He gripped my arm so hard it hurt. But the joy of my lifelong wish finally coming true made me ignore the pain. I agreed immediately.

On our wedding night, Sebastian was dead drunk. He pinned me to the bed, reeking of alcohol. As the temperature in the room rose, my heart was filled with sweet anticipation.

He held me tightly, his body sinking into mine. But the name he whispered in my ear was Hazel!

"Hazel, why couldn't you wait for me?" he mumbled. "I'm about to take full control of the company so I can marry you. Why did you have to marry someone else?"

In that instant, my heart plunged into an ice-cold abyss. It turned out he only proposed to me because his true love married another man. His heart was completely dead.

A tear slipped from the corner of my eye. I didn't know if it was from the physical pain or my shattered heart. When I woke up the next day, I pretended I didn't know anything.

Sebastian had probably forgotten what he said, too. I had to admit, he was a responsible husband on the surface. After we got married, he gave me all the respect and dignity of being Mrs. Thorne.

I was his plus-one at every banquet. He always had the latest seasonal jewelry delivered to our home. Everyone said I had married into true love.

But only I knew the truth. Sebastian and I were just two strangers living under the same roof. Besides the warmth I felt when we shared a bed, all I had was an empty, freezing house to keep me company.

At first, I didn't care. I thought we had a whole lifetime ahead of us. Surely, one day, Sebastian would fall in love with me.

That changed a month ago, on my birthday. Sebastian had promised to have dinner with me, but he disappeared for the entire night. The next day, I found out Hazel had been abused by her husband and wanted a divorce.

As soon as Sebastian heard the news, he took his private jet overnight with a team of top lawyers. He flew all the way to her city to fight her divorce case. For the past month, he had been running back and forth between his company and her city.

The only place he completely forgot about was our home. After spending night after night alone, I finally understood the brutal reality. Love is just love, and a lack of love can never be forced.

No matter how long I stayed by his side, I could never erase Hazel from his heart. Between us, a divorce was the absolute best choice.

"You're not thinking about how to drive Hazel away, are you?" Sebastian's warning voice pulled me back from my thoughts.

"She's just a divorced woman with nothing now. You've already secured the position of Mrs. Thorne. Are you still not satisfied?"

My heart clenched painfully. I shook my head with a bitter smile. In his eyes, was I really such a ruthless and scheming bitch?

"No," I replied softly. I just wanted a divorce to step aside for him and Hazel.

Sebastian clearly didn't believe me. He was about to say something else when the doorbell interrupted him. I opened the door, and a courier handed me a document folder.

It was the drafted divorce agreement. Sebastian frowned at it. "What is that?" he asked.

I replied in a gentle voice. "An anniversary gift."

Sebastian froze for a second. He finally noticed the table full of his favorite dishes and the flickering candles. The coldness on his face faded, replaced by a hint of guilt.

"I've been so busy with Hazel's divorce case lately. I forgot."

I opened the folder, flipped to the signature page, and handed it to him. "It's fine. Just sign it."