Chapter 6

"Mom, Ashley wants me to sign a clean-break agreement. She even wants me to transfer the house entirely to her name. Do you think she suspects something?"

"You idiot!" Helen’s sharp voice leaked through the receiver. "So what if you sign it? Do you actually think there's any real money left in your joint account?"

When Logan and I got married, his family pretended to give us a ten-thousand-dollar wedding gift, while my family gave us twenty thousand.

But six months into the marriage, Helen came over for dinner and started crying at the table, complaining about how Logan’s uncles were hounding her for debts.

Only then did I find out that the ten-thousand-dollar wedding gift—and even the down payment for our apartment—had been borrowed from relatives.

I had a soft heart back then. Seeing my mother-in-law shed tears, I immediately handed over my twenty thousand to help them pay off the debt.

Logan and I made about the same salary, but every month he sent half of his paycheck back to his family—some to support his parents, and the rest to fund his younger brother, Leo's, private school tuition.

Yes, his mother had given birth to a second son when Logan was eighteen.

I wasn't even told about this until right before our wedding.

Meanwhile, my salary was used to pay the mortgage and cover all of our household expenses.

So, even after two years of marriage, we had virtually zero savings.

Helen continued on the phone, "So what if you give her that cheap apartment? Think about Chloe! Two million dollars in cash and two luxury properties!"

"Just one of those apartments is worth at least half a million! And she has two!"

"When the time comes, you guys can live in one, and we can sell the other to buy Leo a house!"

"And that cash payout can fund Leo’s college and wedding! It’s perfect!"

"Hurry up and divorce Ashley. She’s just a low-level corporate employee. Aside from being obedient, what does she bring to the table?"

"You've been married for two years and she hasn't even popped out a baby. Who knows if she's defective!"

It turned out Helen had despised me all along.

No wonder in my past life, when Logan refused to divorce Chloe and I went to Helen for help, she had only mocked me.

She told me she thought Chloe was great—beautiful, capable, and rich. Since Logan was already married to Chloe, they might as well stay together.

Logan hesitated over the phone. "But to transfer the deed to her name, I have to clear the remaining mortgage! That's a hundred thousand dollars!"

His mother snapped at him again. "Then just drag your feet and don't sign it! Watch Chloe marry some other guy instead, and watch another man enjoy her millions and her apartments! Meanwhile, you can stay stuck with your useless wife, working yourself to the bone just to pay off a mortgage and counting pennies at the grocery store for the rest of your life!"

Logan fell silent. I smirked in the dark. I knew I had won.