Chapter 1

1.

Today was my third wedding anniversary.

It was also my twenty-seventh birthday.

My husband, Grantley Vaughan, gave me a very special gift.

It was a set of divorce papers.

Grantley calmly picked up his pen and signed his name at the bottom.

Then, he slid the documents across the table toward me.

"Nina is stubborn and incredibly difficult to coax.

The only way she will accept me is if I am a divorced man.

I have already signed. Now it is your turn.

Do not worry, this is all just for show."

His tone was flat and indifferent.

It was as if he were discussing what we should have for dinner rather than the end of our marriage.

I did not follow his social life anymore, but the tabloids made it impossible to ignore Nina Hayes.

She was the new rising star signed to Grantley's agency.

In her early twenties, she was young, fresh, and vibrant.

What caught everyone's attention was how Grantley had been publicly chasing her for two months.

Yet, she remained unmoved.

With other women, Grantley would lose interest in less than a month.

Nina was different.

She had broken his record and even pushed him to suggest a fake divorce.

I took the papers and felt a bitter smirk tug at my lips.

"So, this is the gift you prepared for me? It certainly is unique."

For a brief moment, a flash of confusion crossed Grantley's face.

Then, remembering what day it was, a flicker of guilt appeared in his eyes.

"I have been busy on set with Nina lately.

I forgot it was our anniversary and your birthday. I am sorry.

I will have my assistant send a gift over later."

New flames always burn brighter than the old ones, I suppose.

A wave of sarcasm washed over me.

"There is no need. Since we are getting a divorce, you should save your gifts for someone else."

Grantley frowned, his brows knitting together in displeasure.

"It is just a fake divorce.

I am just signing these papers to appease a young girl's heart.

We are not actually going to the courthouse to finalize it."

Was that so?

He might think it was a game, but I had already decided to make the act real.

I was done with him.

I said nothing.

I simply picked up the pen and signed my name, stroke by stroke.

I was finally putting a period on our three-year marriage.

Once I finished, Grantley let out a sigh of relief.

He took a photo of the signed papers and immediately made a call.

I could not hear the other side, but Grantley's mood shifted instantly.

His voice became soft and sugary as he spoke.

"I am divorced now. We can be together openly.

Stay on set and wait for me, sweetheart.

I am coming to pick you up so we can celebrate."

He hung up, grabbed his jacket, and headed for the door.

Just before closing it, he seemed to remember I was there.

"Today is the first day Nina agreed to be with me. I have to stay with her.

I will make it up to you and celebrate your birthday next year."

Then he shut the door, eager to find his little starlet.

He never heard my quiet reply.

"Grantley, there won't be a next year for us."

After the roar of his sports car faded into the distance, I went upstairs.

I opened the safe and pulled out our marriage certificates from the very back.

Inside the red covers were two bright, smiling faces.

That was me at twenty-four and Grantley at twenty-six.

We were leaning into each other, our eyes full of love and hope for the future.

My gaze fell on the signed divorce papers.

How did we end up like this?

I remembered the first time I met Grantley at a wrap party.

I was just a newcomer in the industry back then.

I found him in a corner, clutching his stomach, his face pale with pain.

I realized he had been drinking too much and his stomach was acting up.

I handed him a bottle of yogurt from my bag.

That small act of kindness was what caught the eye of the Vaughan family heir.

Eventually, that attention turned into what he called love.

But who was Grantley?

He was a billionaire, a titan of the business world, someone light-years away from a commoner like me.

I was self-aware.

I didn't think a rich playboy could truly love a girl like me.

I thought he was just bored and looking for a toy, so I rejected him without hesitation.

To my surprise, Grantley did not give up.

Instead, he stayed by my side constantly.

The high-and-mighty CEO became my personal assistant.

He cooked meals and delivered them to me.

When I got sick from back-to-back filming, he rushed me to the hospital.

After every underwater scene, he was there with a warm cup of ginger tea.

I was not a robot.

I slowly fell for him in the warmth of his daily care.

The moment he truly won my heart was during a stunt gone wrong.

The wire snapped, and as I was falling, Grantley threw himself under me to break my fall.

I was unharmed, but Grantley broke two ribs.

After we got together, Grantley told his family he would marry no one else.

He didn't back down even when they threatened to cut him off.

I didn't want to hold him back.

I worked myself to the bone, taking every role I could find.

It took four years of climbing until I became the youngest Academy Award winner.

Only then did the Vaughan family grudgingly accept me.

On our wedding day, the whole internet wished us a lifetime of happiness.

People called Grantley a rare, devoted soul in the world of the ultra-rich.

I believed them.

I thought our marriage would be sweet until the day we died.

But in the second year of our marriage, I found a lipstick stain on his shirt.

The first time it happened, I cried until I couldn't breathe.

The proud Grantley knelt before me and swore it was a setup by a rival.

He promised it would never happen again.

Thinking of our years of history, I chose to forgive him.

But soon, he began staying out all night.

I acted like a madwoman, calling him constantly and tracking his location.

Every time he came home, it ended in a screaming match.

Grantley would just watch me vent, then calmly try to reason with me.

"Sienna, in our circle, no man stays with just one woman forever.

You just need to know that you are the only one I love.

The title of Mrs. Vaughan will always be yours. That should be enough."

It wasn't just Grantley. Everyone around me said the same thing.

They told me those women were just passing distractions.

They said as long as I held the position, he would eventually come home.

I just had to wait.

So I waited and waited, until today, when Grantley asked for a divorce to please his mistress.

The moment I saw Grantley sign his name, the chains around my heart finally snapped.

Did I marry him for the Vaughan money or power?

No.

I married him for the pure love I thought we shared.

But now, that love had turned into a pile of rotting trash.

Even our marriage, which we once held so dear, was now just a bargaining chip for his mistress.

If that was the case, there was no point in holding on.

I pulled myself together and took the papers to the courthouse.

The clerk processed the filing and told me to return in a month to finalize the decree.

As I walked out of the building, the sun felt warm on my skin.

I felt a sense of relief I hadn't felt in years.

Then, I dialed a number I had saved for a long time.

"Alan, remember that lead role in London you offered me? I am taking it."