Chapter 1

Garrett Thorne, the notorious Manhattan billionaire heir, bragged that he only kept disposable girlfriends on a monthly basis. He never caught feelings.

Gold diggers lined up from Wall Street to the Upper East Side just to get a taste. If he was in a good mood, he gave away luxury penthouses. If he got bored, he handed out million-dollar severance checks.

Everyone in high society mocked me. They called me the most humiliated trophy wife in the city.

Yet everyone assumed I would swallow the humiliation forever.

Until Garrett brought home a college girl named Chloe Higgins.

She looked entirely plain, but she made him break his one-month expiration rule.

Garrett gave me an ultimatum with two choices:

First, accept an open marriage and treat Chloe as my equal.

Second, divorce him, take half the marital assets, and walk away clean.

His elite buddies stood on the sidelines watching the show, betting that I would stay a spineless doormat for the money.

Instead, I chose the divorce without a second thought.

In my past life, I endured it all, only for Chloe to take more and more.

She forbade Garrett from touching me and barred him from giving me a dime of his fortune.

In my old age, I watched Chloe surrounded by doting children and grandchildren while I had nothing.

Even when Garrett died, his will did not mention my name once. His entire estate was left to Chloe.

I guarded the empty title of Mrs. Thorne, only to live and die utterly alone.

Given a second chance at life, I finally saw the light.

I would take the settlement, walk away, and never cross paths with him again.

1.

I took the divorce papers, scanned through every clause, and got ready to sign.

Garrett spoke up, his voice laced with a subtle tension he failed to hide.

"Audrey, think carefully. Once you sign this, there is no turning back."

My hand did not hesitate. The pen glided cleanly across the page as I signed my name.

"I will pack my bags and leave right now."

Regret? How could I ever regret this?

In my past life, I thought bringing Chloe home was just another cruel game to spite me.

I was naive enough to believe that after all those years together, he still held some lingering affection for me.

How ridiculous.

He and Chloe had two kids in three years, playing happy family well into old age.

Meanwhile, I stayed in that mansion like a useless piece of furniture, living as the town laughingstock for decades.

It was not until my old age that I overheard them talking in his hospital room.

He admitted that the scandalous scene years ago―where I was supposedly caught in bed with a half-dressed stranger―was entirely staged by him.

"I was just tired of her, but I did not want a messy public scandal," he had said. "So I set her up."

His cloudy eyes held zero guilt.

"That way, whatever I did afterward, I held the moral high ground."

So that was the truth.

No wonder every desperate explanation I offered was met with his cold, unyielding disbelief.

He had known the truth all along because he wrote the script.

He did not love me, yet he trapped me in a fabricated cage of guilt for fifty years.

He could have cut ties cleanly, but he chose to bleed me dry with a dull blade until my dying breath.

Looking up at his handsome yet heartless young face, any remaining spark of love vanished into pure, boiling hatred.

He stared in disbelief at the signed agreement on the desk.

Outside the door, the hushed eavesdropping abruptly stopped.

A second later, my "distinguished" in-laws burst into the study, beaming with joy.

My mother-in-law grabbed Chloe's hands, looking her up and down with glowing praise.

"Oh, look at you! Young girls are just bursting with life!"

My father-in-law, who had only ever given me cold glares, wore a warm smile.

He shot a disdainful glance my way.

"Finally, we are throwing out the useless deadweight. All these years, and she could not even pop out an heir."

Chloe lowered her head with fake modesty.

"Please do not say that, Mr. Thorne. I am not that much younger than Audrey..."

She paused, blushing delicately.

"Actually, I am four weeks pregnant. It is early, so I did not want to make a fuss."

I raised an eyebrow.

Same old passive-aggressive digs, same sickening routine.

Only this time, none of it hurt.

To be the perfect Mrs. Thorne, I had slaved away at Thorne Enterprises like a workhorse during the day.

At night, I had to cater to these two entitled snobs hand and foot.

Barely in my early thirties, grey strands were already peppering my hair.

Yes, I looked tired and worn down.

I turned on my heel, headed back to the bedroom, and packed my modest belongings.

In my head, I was already planning where to take a luxury vacation once the payout cleared.

I barely noticed Garrett following me inside.

"It is late. You do not have to leave tonight. Wait until tomorrow."

"Isn't the Hamptons estate sitting empty? Move in there for now. I will visit when I have time."

"Audrey, I know you still love me. Stop throwing a tantrum."

He smiled fondly, as if humoring a spoiled child.

"But I really cannot give you the title of my wife anymore. I will not let my child be born out of wedlock."

I did not bother to respond.

I grabbed my suitcase, brushed past him, and headed straight for the front door.

"I have nothing to say to you. I am thrilled to be divorced."

"If you have any decency left, transfer the money you owe me as soon as possible."

Cold winter wind whipped snow against my face, freezing to the touch, but it could not extinguish the fire burning inside me.