QUEEN OF ASHES: RISE OF THE SCORNFUL EX-WIFE!

LISA’S POV

I stared at the document, my fingers twitching as if the paper might bite. Three minutes. Maybe more. I’d lost track. The pen hovered above the line that would change everything.

“Sign it, baby,” Dominic murmured, his breath warm against my neck, sending an involuntary shiver down my spine. “Just one signature, and you’ll make me the happiest man alive.”

He looked perfect this morning, hair brushed back, jaw freshly shaved, smile soft enough to make me forget how dangerous it could be.

It’s just another one of his business deals, I told myself. He’s been trying. He deserves this chance.

But my hand didn’t move. Not with the memory of every “big idea” that had burned my money to ash.

“Dominic…” My voice was quieter than I intended. “I said I wasn’t signing anything else.”

He leaned closer, cupping my face like he was cradling something fragile. “You don’t trust me?” His words weren’t sharp. They didn’t need to be. They sank, heavy, into my bones.

I wanted to say no. God, I wanted to. But then he knelt, eyes shining with something that looked so much like love it hurt to doubt it.

“Please,” he said, voice cracking just enough to sound real. “This one will change everything for us. Just believe in me, Lisa. One last time.”

And like a fool who wanted to believe him, I signed.

Dominic and I had been married for five years. He wasn’t just my high school sweetheart. He was the first person who ever saw me, not the heir to StarLink, not the polished girl bred for boardrooms, but… me.

Back then, everyone wanted something from me. He didn’t. Or at least, he made me believe he didn’t. He’d walk me home after class, call late at night and listen like my thoughts were treasures.

Then, the year my father’s scandal hit the headlines and my name was dragged through the mud, Dominic had shown up at my door with nothing but a backpack and a promise: “I’m not here for your money. I’m here for you.”

And I believed him. Maybe that’s why I kept believing him, even now, even when every business I funded for him ended the same way, broken and empty.

This is the last time, I told myself as the pen scraped across the paper. This time, he’ll prove me right.

By noon, I’d buried myself under a mountain of files at work, trying to drown out the nagging thought that maybe I’d made another mistake. My neck ached. My eyes stung. But if I finished early, maybe I could go home and pretend everything was fine.

Suddenly, a loud bang on my office door made me flinch. My heart skipped a beat.

“What the f—what’s happening?!” I shouted, only to see the panicked face of my personal assistant staring back at me.

“I–I’m so sorry, Mrs. Lisa,” she stammered. “But you need to turn on the news. Right now!”

Confused, I grabbed the remote and switched on the TV. The breaking news headline flashed across the screen in bold red:

“The 10.2 Billion-Dollar Company, StarLink, Has Been Sold to a New Owner.”

My breath hitched. My fingers went cold.

What? StarLink was my company. How could it be sold without my knowledge?

But that wasn’t even the most shocking part.

The new owner of the company… was MY HUSBAND.

A chill ran through me. My pulse thundered in my ears as I reached for my phone.

Hundreds of missed calls. Hundreds of messages. All unread.

Of course. My phone had been on Do Not Disturb.

I checked the stock data. The name attached to the controlling shares was someone else’s.

That same someone… was him.

Was this some kind of prank?

My hands trembled as I hit the call button. Once. Twice. Four times. He didn’t pick up.

Without a second thought, I tracked his location. He was home. My mansion.

I snatched my keys, rushed to the elevator like a storm, and jumped into my car.

My thoughts raced faster than I drove. What’s going on? Why would he do this?

Before I knew it, I was home. His car was parked right outside.

“Dominic!” I burst into the house, fuming. “What the hell is this?! What am I seeing on the news?”

He didn’t even flinch. He sat there with a relaxed smirk, legs crossed like he’d been waiting for me.

“Hello, my beautiful billionaire wife,” he said smoothly, voice dripping with mock affection. “Rough day at the office?”

My breath came in sharp bursts. “What the hell is this, Dominic?” I held up my phone like proof of my sanity. “StarLink—my company—is showing you as the owner! What am I seeing on the news?”

He leaned back, calm as a king on his throne. “You really don’t know?” His lips curved higher, amused by my confusion. “That’s adorable.”

“Answer me!” My voice cracked, half from rage, half from fear clawing up my throat.

He gestured lazily to the coffee table where the morning’s document sat folded in a neat stack. “You signed it, babe. Gave me everything I needed. Legal rights, controlling shares. The whole empire. You really should read what you sign.”

I blinked. Once. Twice. My ears rang so loud I couldn’t hear my own heartbeat. “No… that’s not… that’s not possible.”

He tilted his head, studying me the way a cat studies a trapped bird. “God, you’re cute when you’re slow to catch up.”

The words sank in like ice water. My knees weakened, but I forced myself to stand straighter. “You—You tricked me?”

A soft laugh escaped him. Not loud, not dramatic. Just… amused. “Tricked? No, Lisa. You handed it to me. All I did was ask nicely.”

My chest heaved. “Dominic, this company is everything I have left. Please—”

“Please?” He repeated it like it was the punchline to a joke. “That’s rich, coming from you.” He rose from the couch, closing the space between us until I could see the glint of satisfaction in his eyes. “Run back to Daddy, maybe he’ll—” He paused, feigning thought, then smiled wider. “Oh, right. You cut him off for me.”

The reminder hit harder than a slap. My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

He watched my silence with delight. “You really were willing to give me everything, weren’t you?”

“Dominic…” My voice finally broke. “Why?”

He shrugged, as if the question bored him. “Why not?”

And then, like twisting the knife deeper, he reached into his jacket and pulled out another document. “Speaking of giving me everything…” He handed it to me with a flourish.

My hands shook as I unfolded it.

A divorce papers.