Chapter 1

The day of our tenth wedding anniversary.

The gift I received was a set of photos of my husband, Nicholas Morton, in bed with my sister, Erica Simmons.

Ten years of marriage, and this wasn't the first time Nicholas had cheated. But it was the time that cut deepest.

"Let's get divorced."

When I pulled out the divorce papers and asked him to sign, Nicholas was still on a video call with Erica.

"Be good, sweetheart. Wear that little outfit tonight and wait up for me."

He hung up, glanced at me with a contemptuous little smile, and signed his name on the divorce agreement like it was a dare.

"Wife, ten years in, you really should have learned to be smarter by now."

"You think if I set you free, you'll actually be able to leave?"

A black card came sliding toward me along with the divorce papers.

"Enough. Don't be difficult."

"This time's the same as always. Even if she is your sister, I'll play with her a month at most."

"After a month, I'll come back to the family."

"After all, you're the one I love most. And we have a son together."

What he didn't know:

This time, I wasn't going to wait anymore.

——

The black card got thrown back at Nicholas.

I took only that signed divorce agreement, turned, and walked away.

"Stop right there!"

There was a thread of panic in Nicholas's voice.

He stood, came around in front of me, gripped both my shoulders, and let out a soft sigh.

"Jealous?"

"Because I slept with Erica? Hm?"

I said nothing. I didn't cry either.

Every last tear had dried up the moment I received those lurid, obscene photos.

Erica was my own sister.

We were twins. From the time I was small, the poor kid who had to grow up early, I'd swallowed every bitterness life could serve.

But she'd always lived like a princess. Fine clothes, rich food, spoiled rotten.

Mom and Dad favored her, going so far as to say they regretted not strangling me at birth.

That way Erica would have been the only child, more precious still.

Teachers doted on her, saying such a fine girl had the misfortune of a worthless, ignorant sister, too shabby to deserve being their student.

Classmates and so-called friends bullied me for her, again and again.

They threw cold water on me.

Forced me to eat spoiled food.

Made me kneel on the concrete and kowtow to Erica.

I lived in her shadow for twenty years.

And then I finally met Nicholas, whose eyes held no one but me.

Now Nicholas liked her too.

"Wife."

Nicholas held me, patting my back gently, his voice warm.

"Didn't we agree on this? I give you my one and only love, my soul, for this whole life. But you can't keep demanding my body be faithful too."

That said.

He spread his hands, gesturing for me to take in the lavish, opulent office.

"Look. I'm the heir of the Morton family of Shengjing."

"I've got the looks, I've got the money. I can't spend every single day playing some Cinderella love game with you, can I?"

"You're a mother now. Be realistic."

"I swear, the position of Mrs. Morton is yours forever. Isn't that enough?"

I looked at Nicholas, and for a moment I found it genuinely funny.

"Nicholas, you don't actually think I care about being Mrs. Morton, do you?"

Nicholas's mother was vicious and cruel.

From the day I married into the Morton family, she'd looked at me like an enemy, never willing to grant me a shred of the dignity or the rights a Mrs. Morton should have.

That empty title was good for nothing, except giving her an excuse to mistreat and grind me down.

Nicholas's eyes narrowed, his tone turning cold all at once.

"But you need to stay Mrs. Morton, baby."

"Your father owes so much money. Without me paying it down every month, someone would have chopped his hands off a long time ago."

"Your mother's health is poor. It's the Morton family's medical team keeping her alive."