Chapter 1

I've been married to billionaire CEO Christopher Hayes for two years, and only now does my ex, Benjamin Clarke, decide to propose.

The rumble of engines echoes as a fleet of black trucks lines up neatly outside my private estate. The drivers unload box after box of gifts—luxury watches, fine jewelry, couture gowns, and even a grand piano.

Standing proudly among the shower of rose petals, he announces, "Sienna, I told you—the only reason I had a child with my sister-in-law was because my older brother died in an accident, and she wanted to keep our family's bloodline alive.

"The baby just turned a month old. I've fulfilled my promise to her, and now I've come to marry you!"

I lounge in the heated pool, having just finished my postpartum recovery exercises, and I can't even be bothered to look at him.

He knits his brows, and his tone turns patronizing. "I know you're upset, but you're the heiress of the Grant family; you have everything you could ever want! Why can't you show a little compassion for a widow who just lost her husband?

"I know it was selfish of me to make you wait for two years, but I'm back now! Our wedding will be held in three days. I can tell you still care about me. If not, why would you greet me in such a revealing bikini?"

His overconfidence makes me chuckle. "Guards, get him out of here! I'm trying to swim here."

What a joke. I've just welcomed the heir of Hayes Group into the world, and Christopher has been insisting that I take our baby home to visit my parents. Yet, somehow, I end up running into this idiot.

...

Benjamin Clarke leaned against the door of his limited-edition Aston Martin like he owned the whole street. He took off his sunglasses, revealing sharp brows, deep-set eyes, and a mocking little smile.

"I get it," he drawled. "You're playing hard to get. You've got your pride, and I've got the patience to wait it out. I know you lash out at anyone who gets too close, but you'd never let yourself lose.

"Unlike you, Olivia's gentle and kind. Even when someone picks on her, she just cries in secret. She needs someone to protect her." His tone dripped with a pretentious tenderness that made my stomach churn.

"Sienna, even if I marry you, that doesn't mean you can use my love as an excuse to pick on her. Olivia will always hold the same place in my heart as you."

Two years ago, those words would have crushed me. Yet, I found them unbearably dull now.

"Benjamin, what makes you think I've been waiting for you all this time?" I asked calmly.

His expression stiffened.

"Did it ever occur to you that I might already belong to someone else?"

Benjamin stared at me for a second before bursting out in laughter, as if I'd just cracked the world's funniest joke. "As if that would happen! We've been engaged since we were kids. The whole city knows you're mine. Who'd dare touch my woman?"

He closed in on me and caressed my cheek affectionately, invading my personal space. "Let's be honest, you're gorgeous, but your temper's awful. Who else could ever put up with you besides me?"

"This is the real Benjamin—a narcissistic wolf in sheep's clothing," I sneered inwardly.

"Sienna, I may have been traveling with Olivia, but I still keep up with the business world," he continued. "Your family's business has been going downhill over the past two years. No one wants to marry you now.

"Plus, you're already 25. What are you going to do if you don't marry me? Save yourself for the grave?"

I plastered a smile on my face. In his eyes, I was still that useless little girl.

We'd grown up together and were childhood sweethearts for as long as I could remember.

At our college graduation, he'd proposed to me in public, turning our love story into a fairytale everyone envied. However, the night before our wedding, he'd gone behind my back and gotten his late brother's widow pregnant.

When I'd confronted him, he hadn't even tried to deny it. In fact, he'd said self-righteously, "My brother's gone, and Olivia's heartbroken; she wants a child to remember him by. Give me two years, Sienna. Once the baby's born, I'll marry you!"

My heart had gone cold when I heard that. Right then and there, I had thrown my engagement ring into the trash and blocked him on every social platform.

That same year, Hayes Group had hosted a grand business gala where the nation's elites drank champagne and made deals. I'd been cornered by two socialites who mocked me in public for losing my fiance, Benjamin, to his sister-in-law.

That was when Christopher Hayes, heir to Hayes Group, had walked into my life. He had placed a firm hand on my lower back and swept his sharp gaze across the hall. "Sienna's my fiancee, and anyone who disrespects her disrespects me!"

No one had dared to look me in the eye, let alone insult me again.

Then, he'd led me to the empty terrace and asked me to give him a chance to make his lie a reality. I'd said yes.

Benjamin's voice snapped me back to reality. "In any case, even though you've blocked me for two years, I know you were just mad at me."

He pointed at the white cat that was rubbing its head against my leg. "I bought that for you the year we got engaged. If you really wanted to cut ties with me, you'd have gotten rid of it ages ago. But you didn't; you've taken good care of it.

"I know you're still in love with me, Sienna. You've been waiting for me all this time."

I'd almost laughed at how confident he looked. I had barely been home since I married Christopher two years ago. My parents had been taking care of that cat.

Besides, it was such a sweet creature. How could I possibly take out my anger over a failed relationship on an innocent life?

He mistook my silence for surrender and smirked. "Don't worry. Three days from now, I'll throw you the grandest wedding this city has ever seen!"

I couldn't be bothered to waste my breath on him. I grabbed the garden hose by the pool, turned the nozzle, and sprayed him full force. "Get out of my face, Benjamin!"

He was drenched from head to toe. His hair clung to his forehead, and his bespoke suit was ruined, yet he was still all smiles. "That's my girl. You're still as fiery as you were two years ago. I know you still have feelings for me!"

He spread his arms, as if he was soaking in the moment. "I promise I'll never betray you, Sienna. You and Olivia are the two most important women in my life!"