Chapter 1

On our wedding night, Julian and Chloe had a wild, scandalous night at a six-star hotel.

She even FaceTime-called me to gloat. I didn't even bother to listen—I just blocked and deleted her.

By the time I handled the PR control with the media and drove to the Vance estate, it was already noon the next day.

Julian was kneeling outside the mansion gates, his back covered in bloody whip marks.

Seeing me, he gritted his teeth. "Claire, you just love running to my parents, don't you? Give up. I will never love you. Giving you the title of Mrs. Vance is already insulting Chloe. My heart belongs only to her!"

Hearing this, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face!

Julian went ballistic, but I just shook my hand out. "You idiot, who said I wanted your love?"

"If it weren't for our families' business merger, do you really think I'd look twice at a brain-dead fool like you?"

"You don't even know how to cover your tracks when you cheat. I'll deal with you later!"

His face turned black with rage. I stepped past him and walked inside, meeting my mother-in-law's eyes.

She had heard everything just now. She had deliberately made Julian kneel at the door for me to see.

I handed her the PR settlement invoices.

"Thirty million to buy the media's silence. But I can't guarantee anything about Chloe Bennett. Both the Vance and Sterling families need to be prepared for our stocks to plunge at any second."

My mother-in-law, Victoria, nodded slightly. "You handled this well."

"But Julian is still young. He's been entangled with that girl for years. I will never let her marry into this family."

"Now that you've slapped him, you still need to focus on producing an heir as soon as possible."

Saying that, she slid a leather folder across the table.

"The luxury resort in the Hamptons. My wedding gift to you."

After staying up all night, getting a two-hundred-million-dollar luxury resort made my anger vanish instantly.

"Thank you, Victoria. I'll do my best."

Outside, Julian roared, "In your dreams! I will never touch you, let alone have a child with you!"

He stumbled inside, leaning against the wall, his face flushed with anger.

I spared him a dismissive glance and walked upstairs to my father-in-law's study. I needed to squeeze another hefty compensation out of Arthur Vance!

Julian was fuming, but I didn't come out until an hour later.

The moment I walked down, I saw Julian holding Chloe.

Seeing me, she flashed her ring and stormed up to my face.

"You shameless bitch! Trying to use a baby to trap Julian? Let me tell you, keep dreaming!"

"I've seen plenty of pathetic gold-diggers like you!"

I crossed my arms. "Then why don't you get pregnant? If you have his kid, you can keep him forever. Is it because you don't want to, or... you can't?"

I looked at her, then at Julian, pretending to have a sudden, shocking realization.

"Oh, wait. Is it because... he can't perform?"

Julian’s face went dead dark.

"Claire! That's enough!"

Chloe shrieked too.

"My Julian just loves me too much to let me suffer through childbirth!"

"Pregnancy ruins a woman's body and makes her age fast. I don't want that! I will always be his little princess!"

She clung to Julian's chest, looking smug.

I was literally amused to tears.

"Ultra-wealthy families have top-tier postpartum recovery teams. Ruining your body? Non-existent."

"Ah, I forgot. You have absolutely no idea how high society works. It seems Julian doesn't love you that much after all, since he never tells you anything."

Julian was about to explode. "Stop driving a wedge between us!"

"Chloe and I share true love. You will never have my heart!"

I sneered, pulling out two property deeds. "I prefer your parents' practicality. Your heart? What would I want that useless trash for? It’s not even worth a single mansion."

Julian's face turned ash-gray. I rolled my eyes, brushing past him. As I did, I scanned him up and down.

"The paparazzi caught your wild night on camera. I didn't expect it to last barely ten minutes from start to finish. Pathetic."

With that, I got into my car and drove off, catching a glimpse of Julian stamping his feet in rage in my rearview mirror.