The Empire He Sold To Her

To save my marriage, I secretly underwent surgery, a desperate attempt to reignite the spark with my husband, Collin. I surprised him in our penthouse suite, wearing a crimson dress, hoping to feel his desire again.

Instead, he called me by another woman's name. Then he gave me an order: sleep with his business rival to close the deal of the century. "You are that service," he whispered.

While his mistress listened on the phone, he called me "dead weight" and promised her my life. He was so eager to get rid of me, he didn't even read the documents his lawyer sent.

He just hit "e-sign" on everything.

Including our divorce papers and the very contract that would make me a very rich woman.

He thought he could sell his wife like an asset and then leave me destitute. He saw a broken woman, a disposable toy.

He never imagined I'd use his own contract to destroy him. Now, with the help of the very man I was sold to, I'm not just taking his money. I'm taking his entire empire.

Chapter 1

My body had transformed, a landscape forever altered by the miracle and the trauma of childbirth. The soft curves, the lingering tenderness, they were badges of honor to me. But to Collin, they were just... data points changed.

"You're not as tight as you used to be, Elena," he had grumbled, his eyes scanning my figure with a detached surgeon's gaze, not a husband's. "It's just... different now."

His words hit harder than any physical blow. They weren't just about my body; they were about us. About the chasm that had slowly opened between us, widened by the unspoken, unacknowledged distance that had grown since our son was born. The intimacy, once vibrant, had withered under his cold scrutiny, replaced by perfunctory gestures and forced smiles.

I wanted us back. I wanted him back. Desperate, I found myself scheduling the discreet consultation, then the surgery. A vaginal rejuvenation. A secret. A sacrifice, I told myself, for our marriage. For his happiness.

I planned the surprise down to the last detail. Our penthouse suite at the St. Regis, where he was closing what he called "the deal of the century." I imagined his face, the slow burn of desire, the rediscovery of the woman he married. Hope, a fragile thing, fluttered in my chest.

I chose a dress, a whisper of crimson silk that clung to every newly sculpted curve. It was daring, a desperate plea for his attention, for his gaze to linger, to appreciate. My heart hammered as I walked into the suite, the city lights a glittering backdrop to my private theater.

He was there, standing by the panoramic window, his back to me, the city a miniature kingdom beneath his feet. "Collin?" My voice, a little breathless, cut through the silence.

He turned. His eyes, for a fleeting moment, held something akin to surprise, perhaps even admiration. A flicker of the old Collin. A rush of relief washed over me. I moved towards him, my steps soft on the thick carpet, my hand reaching for his arm. I leaned in, inhaling his familiar scent, my lips brushing his ear. "Surprise, darling," I whispered, pouring every ounce of my rekindled hope into the words. "Just for you."

He stiffened. The flicker in his eyes died, replaced by a cold, calculating glint. He gently, almost imperceptibly, pushed me away. "Brittnie?" he said, his voice flat, emotionless. The single word sliced through me, a chilling realization.

Brittnie. Not Elena.

My world tilted. The opulent suite, the city lights, the crimson dress – everything blurred into a painful, disjointed mess. My heart, which had been soaring moments ago, plummeted into a black abyss.

Then, his phone buzzed. A shrill, insistent vibration that shattered the fragile silence. He glanced at the screen, his jaw tightening. "Excuse me."

He stepped away, turning his back to me again, creating a chasm wider than any physical distance. I heard a woman's voice through the phone, thin and reedy, yet undeniably intimate. "Collin? Sweetheart? You promised you'd call back. Did you really think I wouldn't notice you were with her again?"

Her. Me. The mistress was complaining about me, his wife. The bitter irony twisted in my gut.

"It's just a formality, baby," Collin cooed, his voice sickeningly sweet, a tone he hadn't used with me in months. "You know how these things are. She means nothing. Just a loose end."

He glanced over his shoulder at me, his eyes cold and dismissive, before turning back to the phone. "I' ll make it up to you, Brittnie. I promise. Dinner at Daniel, just the two of us. And that promotion we discussed? It' s yours. Anything for my future Mrs. Woods."

Future Mrs. Woods. The words echoed in the cavern of my chest, hollow and mocking. He was promising her my life. My role.

He hung up, the click of the phone final, definitive. He turned to me, his face a mask of annoyance. "Look, Elena, this isn't a good time." He gestured vaguely towards the door. "Go home."

Just then, a discreet knock on the door. It opened, revealing Grover Dyer, Collin's slimy associate, a man whose lecherous gaze always made my skin crawl. He carried a tablet.

"Woods," Grover began, his eyes flicking to me with a proprietary leer that made my stomach churn. "The cargo has arrived. Eli Salazar is on his way up."

Collin's eyes widened. A slow, predatory smile spread across his face, not one of regret, but of cold, calculating recognition. He looked at me, then at Grover, then back at me. A chilling realization dawned on his face, one that made my blood run cold. He hadn't mistaken me for Brittnie. He had mistaken me for... something else. Someone he had ordered.

"Ah, perfect," Collin drawled, his voice laced with a cruel amusement. He stepped closer, his hand reaching out, not to comfort me, but to grasp my chin, tilting my face towards him. His thumb brushed my lower lip, a gesture that was once intimate, now utterly dehumanizing. "Good girl. You look... expensive tonight."

My breath hitched. He wasn't seeing his wife. He was seeing a transaction. A commodity.

"Listen closely, Elena," he whispered, his eyes glinting with a terrifying coldness. "Eli Salazar is a formidable opponent. He's trying to acquire a controlling stake in the Northwood Group. I need this deal. Our deal hinged on a... personal service agreement. You are that service."

My mind reeled. Personal service agreement? He was using me, his wife, as a bargaining chip?

"I expect you to be... accommodating," he continued, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous growl. "Make him happy. Whatever he wants, you provide. Play your part, and I'll make it worth your while. Fail, and you'll regret it."

A cold, heavy stone settled in my chest. My husband, the man I had loved, had just given me an order. An order to prostitute myself for his business deal. My eyes, wide with disbelief and a nascent horror, locked onto his. He saw my shock, my pain, my utter devastation. And he didn't care.

A silent scream tore through my soul. He had betrayed me, not just with another woman, but by reducing me to an object, a tool for his ruthless ambition. My hands clenched at my sides, nails digging into my palms. The crimson silk felt like a shroud.

Collin didn't wait for a response. He simply nodded, a curt, dismissive gesture, and turned away to speak with Grover. "Make sure everything is... arranged. We can't afford any slip-ups tonight."

I stood there, frozen, the world spinning around me. The betrayal was a physical ache, a wound so deep I thought it might split me open. But beneath the profound pain, a tiny, icy spark ignited. A cold, hard resolve. I had been his wife, his devoted partner, his emotional crutch. Now, I was just a "personal service." Fine. I would play the part. But not for him. Not for his twisted game.

I would play it for myself.

My eyes, dry now, followed Collin's retreating back. He had no idea what he had just unleashed.