Chapter 1

My name is Ava Green, and I have a gift, or maybe it's a curse.

When I feel something strong, truly intense, whatever I touch turns to gold. Love, hate, fear, joy, it doesn't matter. The emotion just has to be real. And after five hundred of these transformations, I can make one wish come true.

Tonight was the five hundredth time.

The silk sheet under my hand turned into a heavy, shimmering fabric of solid gold. It happened in the afterglow of a moment with my husband, Mark Sterling, a moment so full of love it felt like my chest would break open. The warmth of it, the intensity, flowed right out of my fingertips.

Mark saw it. His eyes, usually sharp and focused like a CEO's, softened. He looked at the golden sheet, then at me.

"That's it, isn't it?" he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "Five hundred."

I nodded, my heart still beating fast from both love and the strange energy of my power.

He pulled me close, his face buried in my hair. I felt his shoulders shake, and when he looked at me again, there were tears in his eyes. I had never seen Mark cry. Not once in our three years of marriage.

"Ava," he began, his voice cracking. "I need to ask you for something. For your wish."

My heart felt full. Of course, I would give him anything. He was my world.

"Wish for me to become the CEO of Innovate Global," he said, his grip on my arms tightening. "And not just the CEO, Ava. Wish for me to have universal acclaim. For everyone to see me as the visionary I know I can be."

It was a huge wish, bigger than anything I had ever imagined. Innovate Global was the largest tech company on the planet. Its current CEO was a legend. But looking at Mark's desperate, tear-filled eyes, I didn't hesitate. His dream was my dream.

"I wish for Mark Sterling to become the CEO of Innovate Global, with universal acclaim," I said, the words feeling powerful and final in the quiet room.

We stayed up all night, talking about the future, our future. He held me and told me how much he loved me, how we were a team, how this would change everything for us. I believed him. I believed every word.

The next morning, it happened.

News alerts exploded across our phones, the TV, every screen in our penthouse. The CEO of Innovate Global had resigned overnight. A sudden, massive scandal involving insider trading had erupted, leaving no room for denial. The board had held an emergency meeting.

And they had appointed Mark Sterling as the new CEO.

I screamed with joy, throwing my arms around him. He laughed, lifting me up and spinning me around. It was real. My wish had worked.

That afternoon, he held his first press conference. I watched from the front row, my heart swelling with pride. He stood at the podium, looking powerful and confident, every bit the visionary he wanted to be.

He thanked the board, laid out a bold new direction for the company, and charmed every reporter in the room. They loved him. The acclaim was already starting.

Then, he paused, a soft, deliberate smile on his face.

"On a personal note," he said, his eyes scanning the crowd but never landing on mine. "I also want to share some wonderful news. I am engaged to be married to the love of my life, a woman whose compassion and brilliance inspire me every day, the renowned humanitarian, Dr. Emily Hayes."

The room erupted in applause. Cameras flashed, blinding me.

My smile froze. My blood ran cold.

Emily Hayes. His childhood friend. The woman he always told me was like a sister to him.

She walked onto the stage then, looking fragile and graceful. She took his hand, and he raised it to his lips, kissing it for the cameras. They looked perfect together.

The world went silent. I couldn't hear the applause or the reporters shouting questions. All I could see was my husband, the man I had given my ultimate gift to, announcing his love for another woman on a global stage.

Later that evening, after the parties and the celebrations, I finally confronted him in our home. My home.

Tears streamed down my face as I stood before him. "Mark, why?"

He wasn't the tearful, desperate man from the night before. He was calm, collected, sipping a glass of expensive whiskey. He looked at me not with anger, or even guilt, but with a cool, detached patience.

"It's simple, Ava," he said, his voice smooth and even. "Emily lost everything in that humanitarian crisis she helped solve. Her family, her home. Her reputation is pristine, but she's emotionally fragile. If I made her my mistress, the world would destroy her."

He took a step closer, his eyes analytical, as if he were explaining a business strategy.

"But you," he continued, "you're a Green. Your family is powerful. Even if you're demoted to a secondary role, even if you become the woman on the side, no one will dare disrespect you. You can handle it. It's the most practical solution."

He said it so simply, so logically, as if my heart wasn't shattering into a million pieces right at his feet. As if love was just another asset to be managed on a balance sheet.