Chapter 2

MIRANDA

Adrian stared at me like I’d said something foreign. The crowd murmured, but this time, the words weren’t about my weight.

“She’s divorcing him?”

“I thought he was the one who would leave

first?”

“Wait, she didn’t run out this time.”

“What?” Adrian chuckled nervously. “You’re joking. Right, Miranda?”

He turned to the crowd, trying so hard to maintain his reputation. He’d always rejected women, and never got rejected by any.

I was going to be the first woman to stomp on his ego.

“She’s only joking,” he told the crowd. “Miranda isn’t divorcing me.”

“It’s not a joke, Adrian,” I said firmly. “I want a divorce. I’m tired of this marriage.”

The truth was, I would never ask for a divorce if I hadn’t known and overheard his plans two weeks ago.

Adrian was on a phone call in his office when I got there. I’d brought his lunch to him but met his door slightly opened, and he was having a conversation about me.

“I need you to get the divorce papers ready, Attorney,” he’d said. “I’ll need it next week.”

My stomach churned and the food bag almost slipped from my grasp. I pressed my lips tightly to stop myself from making a sound while I continued listening.

“Yes,” he said over the phone. “You’ll bring the papers on my birthday. I’m divorcing Miranda that day and marrying Joanna.”

I didn’t give him the food that day. I turned around to leave, then went straight to meet his Attorney.

So, I was a step ahead of him. I knew what he’d planned to do, and I’d managed to act first before he humiliated me further.

Adrian scoffed, disbelief written all over his face. He stepped closer, his eyes blazing with anger.

“What do you think you’re doing, Miranda?” He growled. “You can’t divorce me.”

I smiled. “I already did.”

I snapped my fingers and called for the Attorney’s attention. Fortunately, he was sitting next to their table, and he came with the brown envelope.

I signaled at him and he handed it over to Adrian, who accepted it with reluctance.

“Those are the divorce papers,” I whispered. “I already signed it. Sign it.”

“Miranda—‘’

He tried to say something but Joanna stepped in, her voice chirping in excitement.

“Sign it, Adrian.” She urged him. “This is what you’ve always wanted. What we’ve always wanted. Don’t you want to make me the new Mrs. Wellington?”

Of course, that was what she’d always wanted.

The name, the status, and everything else that came with marrying Adrian. She even had a baby already, the same baby Adrian had coerced us to adopt.

I only found out a month ago that he was the father of the little boy, Elliot. Joanna had the baby ten months after Adrian and I got married.

His expression hardened. Reluctantly, he retrieved a pen from the Attorney, and brought out the papers from the envelope.

“It’s a good thing you’ve freed Adrian,” Joanna told me. “He doesn’t need a fatty like you.”

My lips curled into a deeper smile. “Of course, Joanna.”

“Here,” Adrian handed the papers back to me. “I’ve signed it.”

I accepted them and gave them back to the Attorney. “Thank you.”

“You’ve made a very big mistake, Miranda,” he smirked. “Don’t forget our agreement. You don’t get a single thing or a penny from this marriage. You walk out, and you’ll leave with nothing.”

Oh, I knew.

It wasn’t something new.

From the very beginning and on our wedding night, Adrian had made it clear that I married him without anything, and that I was going to leave the same way.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Adrian,” I muttered.

The whispers got louder once again, and while they laughed in victory, I was silently thinking of a way out of that party.

“She’s really leaving the marriage empty handed?”

“Adrian is really a smart man. That fatty doesn’t deserve anything from him.”

“She ate lots of food under his roof. I’m sure that’s more than enough for her.”

The words didn’t hurt that much anymore because they’d been uttered too many times. I was tired of hearing them and felt they could say something new to get my attention.

“You lose, Fatty.” Joanna laughed.

I gave a subtle nod, didn’t say anything else, and turned around to leave. Not even a goodbye because they didn’t deserve it.

The cake’s icing still clung to my dress, parts of my face, and even my hair. It was already melting, and I kept brushing it off with my fingers.

The crowd didn’t stop talking even as I walked away. But I walked out with a smile, eager to get back at every single one of them who’d hurt me.

Especially Adrian Wellington and Joanna Lane.

They could enjoy the party I’d thrown because it was the last time they would experience it.

And Adrian?

He could have all the fun in the world… for now. Because when I get back at him, he was going to crawl for forgiveness, begging to be dead.

But I wouldn’t listen.

He’d wasted three years of my life, made me toil for a company he didn’t let me have a job. Then he’d cheated on me with his assistant, making sure I raised a baby they had together.

I couldn’t help the tears streaming down my cheeks as I got outside. The night was cold, and my body began to shiver.

Something buzzed in my hand, and I’d almost forgotten that I still held my phone. Glancing at the screen, it was an unknown number.

“Hello?”

I answered, wiping the tears off my face. The voice responded almost immediately, sounding urgent and clear.

“Miranda Keyes?”

“Yes.”

“It’s Attorney Xander, your father’s lawyer,” he said. “Your father passed away three days ago, and we’ve been trying to reach you.”

My heart raced. My footsteps slowed down, and I felt the cold seeping through my skin without remorse.

“W-What?” My lips quivered. “My father died?”

“You need to come back home. As the only surviving member of the family, your father’s billion dollar empire has been willed to you.”