Chapter 1

I stared at the clause demanding I leave with absolutely nothing, a bitter smile tugging at my lips as I looked up at Greyson Walker.

He pinned down my trembling hand, his voice entirely devoid of warmth. “I gave you a chance. My patience is wearing thin.”

When Greyson first handed me the agreement, he had offered me seventy percent of his assets.

But because I slapped Scarlett Harlow, he revised the entire contract, stripping me of every single penny.

Averting my eyes from him, I looked down and swiftly signed my name.

Greyson froze for a fraction of a second. He seemed caught off guard that I didn’t break down, scream, or threaten to end my life this time.

“You got what you wanted, Greyson.”

He stared at the signed divorce papers on the table, his expression completely unreadable.

Once the paperwork was finalized, we drove over to the courthouse to pick up our divorce certificates.

When I headed back to the estate to pack up my bags, Greyson trailed behind me the entire way, keeping his face cold and remaining dead silent.

The moment I stepped out of the car, a pack of reporters swarmed us.

“Mrs. Walker, rumors are circulating online that Mr. Walker asked you for a divorce dozens of times. Is that true?”

“You stole your best friend’s identity to meet up, date, and marry Mr. Walker. Don’t you think that makes you a fraud?”

“Was it really worth sacrificing a years-long friendship just to cling to a wealthy family?”

Malicious questions were hurled at me one after another, leaving me frozen in place as a biting chill seeped into my bones.

Back when I refused to sign the papers and dragged our drama into the media spotlight, the public’s malice had targeted me exactly like this.

No one wanted to believe a single word I said.

After surviving waves of relentless cyberbullying, I developed a severe psychological illness.

Greyson pushed past the reporters and shielded me in his arms.

“Step back,” he commanded coldly.

Out of pure instinct, I reached out to take his hand. He automatically locked his fingers with mine, a gesture he had practiced a thousand times.

“Greyson,” Scarlett’s voice rang out.

Without a shred of hesitation, Greyson shoved me away, making the brief warmth from a second ago feel like a total illusion.

The reporters thrust their microphones back into my face. Taking a deep breath, I paused for a few seconds before speaking. “We’re already divorced. I am no longer Mrs. Walker.”

Scarlett linked her arm through Greyson’s, pushing her way in front of me with an air of pure grace and understanding. “Please, don’t make things difficult for Zia anymore. Even though she took my place to meet Greyson—causing us to miss out on so many years together...

“I’m sure she just lost her mind for a split second,” Scarlett continued. “Greyson and I dated online for three years before we finally decided to meet. We promised each other a long time ago that we would spend the rest of our lives together. Our bond isn’t something anyone can just replace.”

Looking at their tightly intertwined figures, I let out a self-deprecating laugh.

This time, I didn’t waste my breath trying to explain to the world that Scarlett was the one who faked her death to deceive me, or that she was the one who begged me to meet him in her place.

Nobody believed me anyway. Everyone claimed I did it to climb the social ladder.

But none of them knew that when I first met Greyson in person, he pretended to be dirt poor. We had cramped ourselves into a tiny, suffocating rented apartment for three whole years.

Perhaps it was all to fulfill Scarlett’s so-called dying wish—"please love him for me"—that I poured absolutely everything I had into Greyson.

Slowly but surely, I really did fall in love with him.

It wasn’t until our wedding day that I finally discovered he came from an incredibly wealthy family.

He told me I had passed his test, and then he looked into my eyes with a solemn vow. “Zia, from this day forward, no matter what happens, I will always stand by your side.”

Back then, I asked him anxiously, “If the person who dated you online wasn’t me, would you still love me? Would you still stand by my side?”

He had sworn up and down. “Yes. It’s you I love, the person you are.”

Maybe this relationship was fundamentally broken from the very beginning.

“Mr. Walker, Azalea Lane claims that Miss Harlow faked her death to deceive her into meeting you. What is your take on this?”

Greyson shot me a chilling, sideways glance. “That’s completely absurd. I trust Scarlett.”

As he spoke, he pressed a firm kiss against Scarlett’s forehead right in front of everyone.

“A pathetic liar cannot steal away the three years Scarlett and I shared.”

Greyson stared straight through me as he said it.