Chapter 1 Let's Get A Divorce

"I'm married."

In the darkness, Cathryn Moore felt her back slam into the door, her breath knocked out as a tall man loomed over her. Heat radiated from him, his breath brushing against her neck until she shivered uncontrollably.

Fingers like a vice clamped around her waist, holding her in place. He gave a low, derisive laugh. "Married, huh? Still lurking around in a hotel alone in the middle of the night? Does your husband know what you're really doing?"

Pain stabbed through Cathryn's chest. Barely an hour earlier, a video had arrived on her phone-her husband, Liam Watson, sprawled in bed with Jordyn Moore, her own half-sister, the two of them entwined, not an ounce of guilt between them.

Driven by desperation, Cathryn had stormed into the hotel to catch them red-handed. But before she even found the right room, this unfamiliar man had dragged her into this very room.

"Since you're already here, drop the act," the man murmured, carrying her on his shoulder roughly and tossing her onto the bed. He yanked off his tie with one swift motion and then pinned her wrists high above her head. His mouth crashed down on hers, hard and unrelenting.

"Since you claimed that you're married, you must know how this goes," he taunted, ripping her clothes apart piece by piece.

Cathryn struggled in vain. "I haven't..." Her lips parted, only for the words to wither before they left her mouth. Three years chained to a husband, and she was still a virgin. Who the hell would believe that?

The video of Liam and Jordyn replayed in her head. Heat flooded her chest-fury, raw and scorching. Her struggle ceased.

Then, the man thrust into her ruthlessly. Pain ripped through her body, sharp and merciless, as if her bones might snap. She bit down hard enough to taste blood, the metallic tang flooding her mouth.

The first time she had held onto was torn from her with brutal recklessness-by a man whose face she hadn't even made out in the darkness.

...

Morning light crept across the room, and the buzzing of her phone dragged Cathryn from sleep. She fumbled for it, answering groggily.

"Ms. Moore, Olekgan Hospital here. It's urgent-please get here quickly. It concerns your mother."

From the bed behind her came that deep, mocking drawl. "Was that your husband checking in on you?"

Cathryn scrambled to gather her scattered clothes, slipping them on with frantic hands. Her face stayed downcast as she muttered under her breath, "Let's pretend last night never happened."

To her, the reckless encounter had been nothing more than revenge for Liam's betrayal.

The man sat half-naked on the edge of the bed, his mouth curling into a sneer. "You're even more promiscuous than I thought."

His disdain toward her was unmistakable. Married, but still screwing like a slut-and now she wanted to act like none of their encounters ever went down?

Cathryn refused to give him the satisfaction of a reply. Every thought was consumed by her mother. Without sparing him so much as a glance, she stormed out of the room.

Moments later, a hesitant knock sounded. "Mr. Brooks," someone called softly as they stepped inside.

Andrew Brooks pressed his fingers to his throbbing temple, last night's alcohol still pounding in his skull. "Was this my grandma's doing?"

Karl Bennett, his assistant, nodded quickly, visibly shrinking under Andrew's sharp stare.

Andrew furrowed his brows. So it had been his grandmother, Amanda Brooks, who had sent that woman into his bed. A wave of frustration hit him. He was the head of the most formidable financial empire in the city of Olekgan. And he controlled the largest publicly traded company in this country, Antaford. Yet, he had just lost his virginity to a married woman.

As he reflected on last night, his irritation flared up. Throughout the night, no matter how rough he had been, she hadn't uttered a sound. He'd assumed it meant experience-far too much of it. The way she'd looked just now, calm and indifferent, had sealed his judgment-she was the sort who used men and walked away without a second thought.

Andrew couldn't fathom where his grandmother had found a woman like that for him, or why his grandmother had chosen to push her into his bed. If it hadn't been for the haze of alcohol, he would never have touched her.

Then, his gaze landed on the rumpled sheets, where a sharp splash of red stood out starkly. She was married, wasn't she? So could there be...

A memory surfaced of the faint smear of blood at the corner of her lip before she left. If she had been a virgin-and he had been too rough on her, taking that from her...

...

Cathryn flagged a taxi and sped through the streets toward Olekgan Hospital.

The moment Cathryn stepped inside, Jordyn appeared, arm-in-arm with Liam, parading down the corridor like she owned it.

Heat burned behind Cathryn's eyes. "How long have you two been sleeping together?"

Jordyn curled into Liam's shoulder, her smile wicked and taunting. "The very night you married him," she said, voice dripping with satisfaction. "That's when your husband first came to my bed. Three years of marriage, and you're still a virgin? That's downright pathetic shit."

Her laughter rang through the hallway, sharp and cruel.

The shock tore through Cathryn as if someone had hurled a freezing water straight at her face.

For three long years, Cathryn had managed the household, played the obedient wife, waited night after night for Liam to return-only to discover he'd betrayed her on their wedding night with Jordyn. Every excuse she'd ever made for him-his late nights, his cold distance-shattered in an instant. He had never touched her because he'd already taken another woman-her own half-sister.

Cathryn's chest burned with a mix of humiliation and fury. She was supposed to know better. Jordyn had always enjoyed stealing what was hers, whether toys, dresses, or-now-her husband.

Liam said flatly, his eyes void of emotion, "Cathryn, let's get a divorce. You'll walk away with nothing."

Cathryn's chest tightened as if a blade had been driven straight through it. Three years of loyalty, three years of waiting-and this was what he gave her in return.

A bitter laugh escaped Cathryn's lips. "Liam, do you honestly think I care about your damn money?"

Cathryn had never been the grasping type; her mother's family had been loaded, and she'd never cared about money.

Liam gave a derisive snort. "Do you still think you're some sheltered heiress? The moment your mother's gone, you'll be nothing-just another woman scraping by on the street."

Cathryn went rigid, disbelief flashing across her face. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Cathryn," Jordyn cut in, her grin sharp enough to draw blood. "If you run now, you might actually get to say goodbye to your mother before it's too late."

Cathryn's stomach lurched, and instinctively, she was sprinting down the hallway toward the hospital room.

"I'm sorry, but Bettina Moore passed away from a self-inflicted wound to her wrist." With every syllable, the doctor's voice slammed Cathryn down like a brutal punch to the gut.

"That's impossible!" Cathryn's voice cracked as tears streamed down her face. "My mother's been trapped in a daze for years. She could barely tell one day from the next-there's no way she could have slit her own wrist!"

"She was clearheaded when she was rushed to the hospital," the doctor replied gently.

Cathryn couldn't make sense of it. Her mother had drifted in and out of fog for years-how could she suddenly be clear-minded enough to end her own life?

At the doorway, Jordyn leaned casually against the frame, Liam looming beside her.

Jordyn let out a mocking laugh and tossed a sheet of paper at Cathryn's feet. "Take a good look. That's your mother's last letter. It says she took her own life-and that you willingly gave up any claim to her assets. Dad just called-you've been thrown out of the Moore family. As of this moment, you don't have a penny to your name."