Chapter 1

I had barely stepped out when Zayden Craig's grating voice came from behind me.

"Maybe I should return the gift, Ms. Sanford. You value me so much, so I'm sure your husband is going to be upset."

My wife, Amelia Sanford, snapped in disdain, "Don't mind him. I can't stand petty, incompetent men like him the most!"

As always, she ground my pride into the dirt. But deep down, I was numb and no longer felt sad or mad.

After leaving the office, I returned to my apartment and ordered takeout. While I mindlessly chewed on the tasteless pasta, the office group chat streamed the celebration live. It was a banquet full of delicacies and high-energy performances.

Suddenly, the irony hit hard.

This was a company I built from the ground up, and now it belonged to Amelia. I had handed it to her simply because she once said she "felt insecure".

Now, she had completely forgotten that sacrifice after barely three years.

Fine. Since she was so ungrateful, I would strip her back to nothing and put her back in her place.

I finished my food and got ready for bed. Out of habit, I checked my phone and stumbled across Zayden's latest post.

"Ms. Sanford is so adorable when she's drunk."

There was a photo below the caption, showing him carrying Amelia in his arms as he walked into a hotel room. She had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck with a suggestive, flirtatious look in her eyes.

I didn't feel a thing. I had seen this coming from a mile away.

As I swiped past the post, I accidentally hit the "Like" button, but I didn't even bother to take it back. Instead, I locked the screen and went to sleep.

Amelia didn't come home that night, just as I had thought.

The next morning, I walked into the office and was immediately bombarded by her furious yelling.

"What are you so jealous about, Mason Brooks? I was just drunk last night! What is that passive-aggressive 'Like' supposed to mean?"

I helplessly shook my head and replied in a flat voice, "Nothing. My thumb just slipped."

My calm response seemed to throw her off for a second, before she snapped out of it and called me petty.

Zayden stood by her side and offered a fake, half-hearted explanation. "Don't get the wrong idea, Mason. I took care of Ms. Sanford because she was drunk last night and did nothing else."

I ignored him, printed a copy of the divorce papers, and tossed it at Amelia. "Sign it. We're getting divorced anyway, so whatever you both do is none of my business."

She barely glanced at the papers before tossing them straight into the trash can with a scoff.

"You say you're not jealous, yet you're throwing a fit and asking for a divorce! Oh, you're still the same pathetic loser I know."

I fixed her with a cold stare, and my expression was grave as I announced, "This isn't a fit. I'll file for a contested divorce if you won't sign the papers."

Amelia's expression visibly soured. She scanned my face, and once she realized that I wasn't joking, her tone turned nastier.

"Fine! We can divorce, but don't expect to get a single penny!"

I shook my head.

Was she serious? She was the one who had cheated. She had to be out of her mind to demand I walk away with nothing.

I stated my terms plain and clear, demanding half of the assets. The company was mine to begin with, so it was only fair that I reclaimed half the shares.

Amelia slammed her folder onto my head and arrogantly snapped, "At the end of the day, you're just after the money! Well, you're not getting a single penny. The company's in my name, and there's no way you can take it from me either."

I wiped the blood from my forehead and firmly announced, "In that case, I'll see you in court."

Amelia scoffed. Her voice dripped with irony as she replied, "Go ahead and sue me! The company has an entire legal team that works for me, but what about you?"

I smiled sarcastically.

She had likely forgotten that everyone in the company worked for me, and I was the one who hired the legal team she bragged about by paying them exorbitant salaries.