Chapter 1

At the altar, my fiancée stared at the little ring bearer with overflowing maternal tenderness.

Her long-time obsession took that exact moment to speak up.

"Serena, would you be willing to be his mommy?"

As if she had just won the ultimate prize, tears streamed down her face. She nodded eagerly and cried out, "Yes! I do!"

Murmurs rippled through the guests. It was only then that she snapped back to reality. Her face drained of color as she hurried to explain:

"I just feel bad for him! He’s so young and doesn't have a mother. I can be his mom and still be your wife! Besides, this way, I won't have to ruin my body having babies for you!"

I let out a bitter, mocking laugh and ended the ceremony right then and there.

"I have no interest in raising another man's kid. But since you're so desperate to be a stepmom, I'll happily step aside."

My sudden coldness terrified the little boy. He scrambled behind Serena to hide.

Serena instantly snapped. "Are you insane, Ethan?! Why are you taking your temper out on a helpless child?"

The whispering crowd instantly fell dead silent.

Everyone in that room knew I used to love Serena more than my own life.

She only had to crook her finger, and I would drop everything to run back to her.

My friends used to joke behind my back that Serena trained me like a dog.

Some even said I was more obedient than one.

This wedding was the first time I had ever lost my temper at her in public.

The guests quickly exchanged looks of pity.

They probably assumed I was just lashing out to save what little dignity I had left in front of my business partners and employees.

But the truth was, I was done. I was sick of it, and this was definitely not an empty threat.

With a cold face, I pulled the wedding band off and tossed it directly into the trash can.

"I'm not throwing a tantrum, Serena. I'm officially notifying you: we're done. Whoever you want to be with, and whoever's kid you want to raise—it has nothing to do with me anymore."

Serena's face darkened with rage. "Don't you dare threaten me! Did accepting your proposal make you think you could talk down to me like this?"

"The boy is innocent! I only wanted to care for him because he's sweet and lost his mother! Plus, I don't want to get pregnant. You have a massive company that needs an heir anyway. Isn't it perfect if he inherits it?"

I couldn't believe the depth of her delusion. She loved Julian so blindly that she wanted to hand everything I built over to his bastard!

I had foolishly believed she accepted my proposal because she finally saw my value.

Now I realized I should have dumped her long ago.

Seeing my silence, Serena gained her confidence back. "You should be thanking me! I found you a brilliant heir. And without childbirth, my body will stay in shape forever. It's a win-win for both of us!"

She was as vile as ever.

Scheming for my wealth in front of hundreds of people.

Trampling my self-respect into the dirt just to please her toxic first love.

Whenever she felt like it, she would insult me or hit me.

Not once had she ever cared about my feelings, or respected my dignity as a man.

I was completely dead inside. "Keep dreaming. I'd rather donate every single cent to charity before you ever see a dime."

"Like I said: we are officially done."

I turned on my heel to walk away. Serena’s face flushed crimson as she shrieked behind me, "You ungrateful jerk! Julian practically handed you a ready-made son, and you're throwing a hissy fit?!"

"You petty piece of trash! I'm warning you! If you walk out that door today, don't you dare think I'll ever marry you unless you transfer five hundred thousand dollars and the Crescent Bay condo into my name!"

I found her demand laughable. "Even better."

"Since you love Julian so much and want to play mommy to his kid, why not just marry him right now? It saves you the trouble."