Chapter 1

1

The mission was over.

Cade, the man who used to shower me with nothing but love, suddenly turned ice cold.

He stopped coming home.

He started picking fights over the tiniest things.

One night, while looking for him, I overheard him talking to his friends.

"I only married her because the System forced me to," he sneered.

"My heart only belongs to Mila."

Later, I left the divorce papers and vanished from his life.

That was when he finally lost his mind.

...

Every word from that room stabbed me like a jagged blade.

The smile on my face froze.

The words I was about to say died in my throat.

Six months into our marriage, Cade Thorne had become a complete stranger.

He used to be the perfect, doting husband.

Now, he barely replied to my texts.

He stayed out all night, leaving me alone in our big, silent house.

Tonight, he'd forgotten it was our anniversary.

I stood outside the nightclub, my heart heavy.

But all I heard was him tearing me down.

I tried to tell myself he was just drunk.

I told myself every marriage has its rough patches.

But his voice was clear and sharp.

He wasn't drunk at all.

He meant every word.

"Come on, Cade," his friend laughed.

"Elara is a bombshell. Every guy in this room is jealous of you."

The men around him shared dirty, mocking looks.

They had zero respect for me.

Cade didn't care.

In fact, he encouraged them.

"Her?" he scoffed. "She's just a pretty face. In bed, she's as boring as a piece of wood. I can barely stand to touch her."

He let out a long, dramatic sigh.

"If that damn System hadn't forced me to chase her, I'd be married to Mila by now. Whispering sweet nothings to a woman I hate makes me sick to my stomach."

Hearing Mila's name made me stumble back.

I let out a bitter, hollow laugh.

Mila Jenson was his high school sweetheart.

She was the "goddess" he'd never forgotten.

I thought he'd moved on because of how he treated me.

I was so incredibly wrong.

My marriage and his love were nothing but a game.

I never had a single second of his true heart.

I didn't know who to pity more―myself, or him for faking love for so long.

"So, now that the System is gone, what's the plan?" his friend asked.

"You guys are actually married, you know."

Cade's face twisted in disgust at the word "marriage."

He waved his hand dismissively.

"I'll just pick a fight and find a reason to divorce her. Who cares how she feels? She was just a tool."

He looked relieved, like a prisoner finally tasting freedom.

My heart shattered into a million pieces.