On Christmas He Cheated, on New Year He Died

The post broke the Internet. Roman Blackwell and Tiffany Vale's announcement shot straight to trending. In under ten minutes, it had over 100 thousand comments."Mr. Blackwell is so romantic! Now that's true love!""Tiffany must've saved the galaxy in a past life!""@CorinneHalstead, hey wifey, come look! Your husband's got a new one!"I set my phone down, perfectly calm, and picked up my tea.The doorbell rang. Roman's parents stormed in, both radiating fury. His father, Douglas Blackwell, was dark with anger, and he let out a heavy sigh."Corinne, that brat is a disgrace. Let me buy you a yacht. Go clear your head if you need to."His mother, Judith Ainsley, patted my shoulder gently. "Corinne, don't you worry. You're the only daughter-in-law this family will ever recognize. Those little homewreckers will never set foot through this door."I poured the tea with my head down and arranged my face into something understanding. "Thank you, Mom, Dad. I know."Why would I make a s

On the way to the county court, Roman held my hand in a death grip, as if he was afraid I'd throw myself out of the moving car."Corinne, it's just one month. I promise."I didn't answer. I just gently pulled my hand free.Roman grabbed it again, harder this time. "Tiffany and I won't go public, and there won't be a ceremony. Nobody outside will know. You'll still be Mrs. Blackwell."I stayed quiet, but my mind was working fast, figuring out how to blow this wide open. If it became a public spectacle, he couldn't very well force me into anything.I slipped my hand into my pocket and quietly sent a text. In my contacts, there was a name listed as "James Whitley (Reporter)".Three years ago, he'd broken a scandal about Roman and nearly gotten crushed by the Blackwell family's retaliation. I was the one who'd called them off. He had no love for Roman, and he owed me a favor.We finally pulled up in front of the county court. The moment we stepped out of the car, a cluster of report

When I walked into Roman's office, Tiffany was perched on his lap, feeding him grapes. When she saw me, she nearly fell off.Roman frowned. "Corinne? What are you doing here?""Working." I flipped the badge hanging around my neck so he could see it. It read "Pinnacle Insurance Co.""Any chance the boss wants to help out his ex-wife's sales numbers?"Tiffany let out a mocking laugh. "Wow, Corinne. That's quite a change of pace."Roman's frown deepened. A down-on-her-luck ex-wife showing up at his office clearly wasn't doing his image any favors either."Are you short on cash? The divorce settlement gave you two apartments, plus the—""I need to think long-term," I cut in. "Real estate doesn't put food on the table. I haven't worked in ten years, so I need to learn how to support myself."Roman studied me for a few seconds, then waved me off impatiently. "I've got plenty of insurance already. I don't need—"I pulled out a contract and placed it on his desk. "This is an accidenta

Every pair of eyes in the room turned to me."Roman's memories are the proof," I said calmly. "There's a company called Luminos Technologies that can extract memory fragments from the deceased within 24 hours of death. Whether the marriage was real or fake, the memories will show it."The smugness on Tiffany's face froze in place. "Memory extraction? What would that even prove?""It would prove whether or not your marriage was genuine." I held her gaze."Tiffany, are you willing to find out?"She bit her lip and clenched the fabric of her skirt. She was hesitating.Then she smiled. "Of course, I am. Roman and I were in love. I have nothing to hide."That evening, the Blackwell residence living room looked like it had been converted into a makeshift courtroom. Lawyers, a notary, and police were all present. In the center of the room sat a machine connected to a web of thin wires. It was the memory extraction device from Luminos Technologies.A technician in white gloves pressed

Then, as if something had just clicked, Tiffany's head snapped up. "The insurance! Roman's accidental death policy names me as the beneficiary. That's five million dollars, and you can't take that from me."I gave a calm nod. "You're right. The policy is valid. However, as Roman's legal wife, you also inherit any shared marital debt."I gestured, and Roman's assistant stepped forward with a loan agreement."Mr. Blackwell personally guaranteed bank loans for a subsidiary under Blackwell Group, totaling 120 million dollars," the assistant said. "Here are the loan contracts and the guarantor agreements. They were signed on December 29th, while the two of you were legally married."Tiffany's eyes went wide. "That's corporate debt! What does that have to do with me? I didn't know about any of this! We were married for one week before he died. Why should I be on the hook for it?"I looked at her evenly. "You just said it yourself. You were only married for a week, and you're already try