Chapter 1

The day before our wedding, my custom bridal gown was on another woman's body.

Listening to Lucas defend her without hesitation, I looked him in the eye and asked for a divorce.

Josie, his little secretary, dropped to her knees in front of me, sobbing. "Mrs. Cross, please don't blame Mr. Cross! I've never seen such a gorgeous gown before and couldn't help myself. He just wanted to grant my little wish, that's all."

Lucas immediately pulled her up, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. Then he shot me a cold look. "Don't do something you'll regret, Audrey."

Looking at the two of them clutching each other, I turned around and walked away without looking back.

After packing my bags, I rolled my suitcase toward the door, only to run into Lucas coming home.

His brow furrowed at the sight of my luggage, his tone dripping with reproach.

"Audrey, what the hell are you doing? I don't have time for your tantrums. You're turning thirty―can't you act your age for once?"

His voice was so harsh and icy that anyone passing by would think he was dressing down an incompetent employee.

Years ago, whenever I was upset, Lucas would hold me tenderly, explaining everything until I calmed down.

Now, all I got was an impatient dismissal.

This wasn't a childish fit. I had never been more serious.

I met his gaze calmly.

"Lucas, let's find time this week to file for divorce."

He loosened his tie in irritation, convinced I was just lashing out.

"Josie has never seen a designer gown like that. What's the big deal if she tried it on?"

Josie was a girl in her early twenties who became Lucas's executive assistant right out of college.

Just how close were they?

They were practically joined at the hip.

People in his firm joked that wherever Lucas was, Josie was always within three steps.

She even tagged along to my bridal fitting―and he actually let her put on my custom dress.

I had spent months working with the designer, pouring my heart into every detail to make it my dream gown.

I had pictured how stunning it would look on me a thousand times.

The dress was indeed breathtaking, but the first time I saw it, it was hugging Josie's curves.

And my husband, Lucas, was standing right there in his tailored suit, gazing at her with endless gentleness.

They made me look like an unwelcome intruder.

Even the boutique staff mistook them for the happy couple, gushing over what a gorgeous match they were.

When I confronted him, he actually shielded Josie behind his back.

"She just wanted to try it on. Stop making a mountain out of a molehill. It's just a piece of fabric!"

Lucas knew better than anyone what that gown meant to me and the promise he had made years ago.

Yet, he had completely forgotten.

If that was the case, there was no point in having a wedding at all.

Seeing that I was still heading for the door, the irritation on his face deepened.

"You're carrying a baby. Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"Besides, you're not a young girl like Josie anymore. Running away from home at your age―aren't you embarrassed?"

Even though my mind was made up, his words felt like a dagger driving straight into my heart. My fingernails dug deep into my palms.

This wasn't the first time he had weaponized my age against me.

When Josie first joined the firm, Lucas would constantly complain to me about how clumsy and incompetent she was. She delivered the wrong files, misplaced important data, and made him regret hiring her.

Back then, I was the one making excuses for her, reminding him that she was just a fresh graduate learning the ropes.

I had no idea when everything began to shift.

One night, Josie called him in tears, saying there might be a prowler outside her apartment. The same man who once called her a nuisance grabbed his car keys without hesitation, leaving me with nothing but his rushing silhouette.

A woman's intuition is never wrong.

Their dynamic had crossed professional lines long ago.

When I asked Lucas to reassign her, he lost his temper at me for the first time.

He snapped, telling me to stay in my lane since I knew nothing about corporate business.

Perhaps realizing he had been too harsh, his tone softened, and he promised he would keep his distance from her.

But secrets never stay buried.

Whispers soon reached my ears: to the outside world, Josie was Lucas's perfect right hand, while I was just the forgotten wife hidden away at home.

When I broke down and confronted him, he merely looked at me with cold detachment.

"Josie is young and naive. I'm just mentoring her. Why are you picking on a kid at your age? Don't make a fool of yourself."

"You're only being this sensitive because you sit around the house with nothing to do all day."

Every single word felt like a slap in the face.

Lucas didn't even realize it, but he had never shown such patience to any other employee. Anyone else would have been fired on the spot for making a fraction of her mistakes.

Only Josie got to stay, shielded by his endless excuses to mentor her.

Eventually, I stopped arguing. I stopped asking about her.

Lucas thought I had finally come to my senses.

Only I knew that the fortress of love I had built for him over seven years was crumbling into dust.

I fought back the tears burning in my eyes, my hand trembling slightly on the luggage handle.

"Lucas, in your eyes, am I unworthy of everything now? Not allowed to be angry, not allowed to hate what disrespects me?"

I looked up at the man I had loved for seven whole years.

From twenty-two to twenty-nine, time had barely aged him; it had only added to his refined, powerful charisma.

Lucas looked the same as he always did.

Yet, I knew deep down that nothing was the same as it was seven years ago.

"I'm done being the older, pathetic woman in your mouth. I just want to be myself again. Just Audrey."

"Cancel tomorrow's wedding. When you have time, we'll sign the divorce papers."