All Chapters of The Rejected Wife Returns as a Billionaire Queen: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Crystal Vale stood in the corner of her husband's living room and watched the world forget she existed.The party roared around her crystal chandeliers, flowing champagne, guests draped in designer labels. The Vale mansion sprawled behind her like a small kingdom: forty rooms, a private theater, art worth more than most countries.And at the center sat Ethan Vale.Her husband.The man who hadn't looked at her once in their one year of marriage.He was devastating handsome. Blond hair, jaw carved from marble, blue eyes like arctic ice. This man could give Apollo a run for his money. Then again Ethan was a freaking billionaire.Every woman wanted him. Every man wanted to be him.Crystal held a tray of appetizers because the catering staff was short-handed and because standing still with a purpose hurt less than standing still with nothing.No one looked at her.No one ever did.Her glasses sat heavy on her nose thick frames, intentionally ugly. Her hair hung in a plain ponytail. The loo

After the weddingThe mansion swallowed her whole.Crystal stood in the entrance hall, one small bag in her hand, and tried not to gape. Marble floors. A chandelier the size of her old apartment. Staircases curving into wings she couldn't see.A house this big shouldn't feel suffocating.But it did.Mrs. Hargrove led her upstairs. "Your bedroom. Mr. Vale's room is at the end of the hall."Separate rooms. Of course."Mr. Vale is away on business. He'll return next week."The door clicked shut.Crystal sat on the bed, touched the silk sheets, looked at the ring on her finger.What have I done?The first weekShe learned the house. Staff appeared and disappeared. Meals appeared at set times.She found the kitchen anyway. Asked the chef if she could cook. Made his favorites—she'd asked what Mr. Vale liked.That night, she set the table for two. Lit candles. Waited.Eight passed. Nine. Ten.At eleven, Mrs. Hargrove appeared. "Mr. Vale won't be returning tonight."Crystal ate alone.The sec

The night air bit her skin.Crystal walked without direction, without thought, without anything except the need to move. Her bag bumped against her hip. Her feet carried her down streets she didn't recognize, past houses dark and silent, through a city that didn't know she existed.She walked for an hour. Maybe two. Time had stopped mattering.Eventually, her legs gave out.She sat on a bus stop bench, alone in the dark, and stared at nothing.What now?She had no money. No plan. No place to go. She remembered the black card Ethan's assistant had given her a year ago sat in her bag, untouched then, untouched now. She'd rather sleep on the street than use it.Her phone buzzed.Emily: You up?Crystal stared at the screen. Emily. Her only friend. The one person who'd told her not to marry him.She typed back: I need youTwenty minutes later, a battered Honda screeched around the corner. Emily jumped out in pajamas, hair wild, eyes scanning."Oh my God." She dropped to her knees, grabbed

3 days later Crystal sat at her reception desk, answering calls.Her phone buzzed. Emily: Meet me. Now.Crystal found her in the break room, bouncing with excitement."Sit down."Crystal sat. "What?""I entered your sketches in the design contest."Crystal stared. "You what?"Emily shoved her phone forward. An email.Congratulations. Your submission has been selected as the winner. Please report to Conference Room A at 2 PM today.Crystal couldn't breathe.2 PM. Conference Room A.Crystal walked in. Three people sat at the table. Higgins was one of them.Higgins stood, holding up a sketch. Crystal's sketch."Everyone, I'd like to present my winning design." She smiled. "I've been working on it for months."The man nodded. "Exceptional work, Mrs. Higgins."The kind-eyed woman agreed. "A full collection perhaps?"Higgins preened. "Already in development."Crystal stood frozen. Her design. Her win. Stolen in front of her.Higgins glanced at her. A tiny smile. Victory.Something inside C

They didn’t let her go.Not for a long time. Isabelle held Crystal like she was afraid she’d disappear again if she loosened her grip. Adrian’s hand stayed on her shoulder, warm and solid. Even Sienna had tears streaming down her face, dabbing at them with a napkin.The silk of Isabelle’s designer dress was wet with Crystal’s tears, but the woman didn’t seem to care about the ruin of a ten-thousand-dollar garment. She held Crystal with a desperate, crushing strength, as if the moment she let go, her daughter would evaporate into thin air again."Twenty-three years," Isabelle sobbed into Crystal’s hair. "Twenty-three years of looking at every girl on the street, wondering if she was you. My heart has been a ghost town, Crystal."Adrian Laurent reached out, his large, calloused hand trembling as he tucked a stray hair behind Crystal’s ear. His signet ring—a heavy gold crest—glinted in the dim light of the restaurant. It was the mark of a dynasty that controlled majority of the city’s sh