Chapter 1

I had been married to Sabrina Sterling for eight long years.

In that time, she had brought ninety-nine different men back to our home.

Now, I was staring at the hundredth―a boy barely out of college.

He looked at me with pure provocation before turning to her.

"Sabrina, is this that pathetic excuse for a husband you mentioned?"

Sabrina leaned back in her chair, her expression lazy and bored. "Yes, that's him."

The boy walked over to me, tapping my cheek with a smug grin. "You should pay close attention tonight. Listen and learn what a real man can do."

That night, I was forced to sit in the living room, listening to the sounds of her betrayal echoing through the house until dawn.

The next morning, Sabrina ordered me to make breakfast as if nothing had happened.

For the first time in eight years, I said no.

She seemed to have forgotten that our marriage was nothing more than a legal agreement.

And today was the three-day countdown to the end of that contract.

1.

Sabrina looked genuinely stunned when she heard my refusal.

In nearly a decade, this was the first time I hadn't jumped to fulfill her every whim.

She narrowed her eyes, scanning me from head to toe.

"Elias Gray, was last night too much for you? Has your brain finally snapped?"

I didn't offer a word of explanation. I simply looked at her, my gaze cold and empty.

After a few moments, my silence seemed to rattle her.

"Fine! Don't do it then. Stop staring at me like that, it's annoying."

She waved her hand dismissively, calling for the housekeeper to handle the meal instead.

That's when Jace Reed, the boy from last night, sauntered over with a greasy smirk.

"Hey, big guy. How was the show? Get you excited?"

Before he could say another word, Sabrina pulled him back by his arm.

"Keep your mouth shut. Go wash up for breakfast."

Jace shot me a wink, his eyes brimming with the triumph of a man who thought he had won.

At the table, they acted like a pair of young lovers, whispering and feeding each other.

I kept my head down, mentally calculating my budget for my new life.

I don't know how much time passed before a sharp tap on my arm snapped me out of it.

I looked up to find Sabrina standing over me, her face clouded with irritation.

"Is there something you need?" I asked, my voice flat.

She stared at me with an unreadable expression. "What are you thinking about so intensely?"

I blinked, deciding to give her the honest truth for once.

"I was thinking about what I'm going to do with my life after this."

Sabrina let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

"What can you do? Besides cleaning floors and flipping eggs, do you even have a single skill?"

Her words were laced with a casual cruelty that used to cut deep.

But now, I felt nothing. I had spent eight years catering to her every need, sacrificing my own dreams to be her shadow.

I had almost forgotten who I was before I became her domestic pet.

Eight years ago, my mother was in the ICU, and I was desperate for money.

Sabrina Sterling appeared like a cold-blooded angel, offering me five million dollars.

The catch? I had to marry her and act as a shield against the Sterling family's pressure.

I did it for my mother.

Over the years, I watched a parade of men enter and leave our house.

Once, when she was drunk, Sabrina had looked at me and said, "Elias, we are from two different worlds. Don't you dare catch feelings for me."

I used to think she just didn't know how to love.

Then, last year, I found out the truth―she had a first love who died young.

Jace Reed, the boy sitting at her table, looked exactly fifty percent like that dead man.

That was why I wasn't surprised by her behavior today.

I was only focused on one thing: the perfect moment to leave.

When I didn't respond to her insult, she snapped my name again.

"I'm going to go out and find a real job," I said calmly.

Sabrina sneered. "With your resume? Maybe you can be a janitor at Sterling Corp. You aren't even half as capable as Jace, and he just graduated."

Before I could reply, Jace stepped out of the bedroom, preening like a peacock.

"Sabrina, babe, do I look good in this?"

He was wearing a vintage designer sweater―the kind Sabrina bought every year to commemorate her dead lover.

Last time I had merely touched that sweater while cleaning, she had slapped me across the face.

Now, she looked at Jace with eyes full of tenderness and longing.

"You look beautiful. You can wear anything in that closet."

Jace paraded in front of me, his chest puffed out. "Elias, be honest. Do I pull this off?"

I looked him in the eye and gave him a sincere nod.

"You look great," I said.

My lack of bitterness seemed to confuse him for a second.

Before he could process it, I turned my back on them and walked into my room.

Three days left. It was time to start packing.