Chapter 1

For five years, our marriage was a secret. I begged my billionaire husband to accompany me to a high school reunion, but he spent the whole night thirsty for my former classmates' attention.

Since then, every single night, those women have been coming to our house. They linger in our bed with Jude, their moans echoing through the walls.

I was forced to listen to every disgusting sound.

"She's like a dead fish in bed. She's only good for serving tea and acting like a maid," Jude's voice would drift out, cold and mocking.

Sienna Reed, the girl who used to bully me, became a regular in Jude's bed. As she dressed one morning, she sneered at me.

"I used to be jealous that you married into money, Alara. But now? I should thank you for sharing the wealth. Your husband is quite the catch."

I looked down at my phone. I had just received a notification from the hospital. My father was dead.

A bitter, tearful smile touched my lips.

Finally, I could break these golden handcuffs. I was finally leaving Jude Sterling for good.

1

"Alara! Where the hell is my coffee? Why isn't it here yet?"

Jude's roar exploded from behind me.

I sat in my lounge chair, staring at an old photo of my father and me on my tablet. I didn't even look at him.

In the next second, the tablet was ripped violently from my hands.

Jude stood there in a loose gym tank top. The dark red hickeys on his neck were glaringly obvious.

He glanced at the photo and let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

"Staring at a picture isn't going to make your old man get better, Alara."

"Don't forget, if it wasn't for my money, he'd have been in the ground years ago!"

"Stop acting like you have a backbone and go brew my coffee. Now!"

He tossed the tablet back at me.

The hard edge of the device slammed into my forehead. I hissed in pain as a sharp ache throbbed behind my eyes.

Jude didn't show a hint of remorse. He just turned on his heel and walked away.

Watching his retreating back, I couldn't help but think of high school.

Back then, my father was healthy, and life was simple.

Jude had short, clean-cut hair and eyes that sparkled with something like kindness.

He used to blush when he handed me his physics notes, quietly asking me to explain the lab steps.

After I helped him, he'd pull a small bag of my favorite snacks from behind his back like a magic trick.

With a shy, boyish grin, he'd turn and run off like the wind.

His silhouette used to be the highlight of my day. I never imagined our future would turn into this nightmare.

"Jude, honey, won't Alara be upset?"

"Given our… history, it's probably a bit inappropriate for me to be staying here for coffee."

Sienna sat close to Jude on the sofa, her arm hooked firmly through his. She looked at me with a triumphant smirk.

Lately, women had been cycling through this house like a revolving door.

But they were all fleeting. None of them stayed the night.

Except for Sienna.

Jude wrapped his arm around Sienna's waist and gave me a look of pure disdain.

"She doesn't have the right to be upset."

"Besides, with what we just did, what's a cup of coffee? Are you telling me you want to hit it and quit it?"

Jude tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her flush against him.

Sienna tilted her head back, wrapping her arms around his neck to give him a lingering kiss.

"Don't be silly. I'm not that kind of girl."

"I'm more than happy to spend every second with a man as incredible as you."

I stood there, watching my husband be intimate with another woman.

My heart was eerily quiet. It felt like a stagnant pond, unable to produce even a single ripple of emotion.

Or perhaps, the news of my father's death had already turned me into a ghost.

"Alara! Why are you standing there looking like a zombie? Who are you trying to guilt-trip!"

Jude's bark snapped me back to reality.

I looked at him silently, trying to find a trace of the boy I once loved. There was nothing left.

Sienna remained draped over him, her eyes filled with the same malice and mockery she'd had ten years ago.

I loathed Sienna Reed.

Since high school, she had targeted me, never hiding her cruelty.

Because of her, my teenage years were draped in a dark shadow.

And the root of it all? I was just a girl from a poor, single-parent home.

Jude had witnessed her bullying me many times back then.

He had even stepped in to protect me.

Now, choosing Sienna was his favorite way to punish me.

"If you want coffee, brew it yourself," I said with a cold smirk.

I walked straight toward the door, ignoring Jude's furious shouting behind me.

Since my father was gone, this marriage―bought and paid for with medical bills―no longer had a reason to exist.