Chapter 2

Adelaide POV:

Before I was Adelaide Taylor, the neglected wife of a billionaire, I was Adelaide Atkinson, a promising young architectural designer. My family, while not in the same stratosphere as the Taylors, had a respectable construction business. I was their only child, passionate about creating spaces that were not just beautiful, but soulful.

Then I met Alonzo Taylor at a charity gala. The media called him a "once-in-a-generation mind," a "kingmaker," a "visionary." They also called him a machine. A work-obsessed recluse who ran his global empire with terrifying efficiency and zero emotion.

I saw something else. I saw the loneliness in his cool gray eyes, the subtle tension in his jaw that hinted at the immense pressure he carried. I was naive. I fell for the fantasy of the woman who could thaw the ice king's heart.

So when my family's business teetered on the brink of collapse and the Atkinsons, in a desperate alliance, proposed a marriage to the Taylors, I agreed without a second thought. My friends were horrified.

"Addie, the man doesn't have a heart," my best friend, Jaxon Martinez, had warned me. Jaxon, a successful architect in his own right, had known me since we were kids. "He's buying a respectable wife to be the face of his domestic life, just like he buys a new company. It's a transaction."

"I can change him," I'd insisted, my voice full of the foolish optimism of a 22-year-old in love. "Love can change anyone."

Jaxon had just shaken his head, his eyes full of pity. "Love requires a heart to take root in, Addie. I'm not sure he has one to offer."

He was right.

On our wedding night, after the lavish reception he had barely participated in, Alonzo stood at the floor-to-ceiling window of our penthouse suite, his back to me.

"Adelaide," he said, his voice as sterile as the room. "Let's be clear. I have fulfilled my end of the bargain. Your family's company is secure. In return, I expect you to be a competent, discreet, and presentable Mrs. Taylor. Do not interfere with my work. Do not make emotional demands. Do not expect anything more than what this marriage is: a contract. Do I make myself clear?"

The words had shattered my romantic dreams, but not my hope. For five years, I held onto that hope. I endured the forgotten anniversaries, the lonely holidays, the public appearances where he treated me like a decorative accessory. I cooked meals he never came home to eat. I designed a home he never truly lived in.

My only solace was the lie I told myself: he doesn't love me, but he doesn't love anyone else either. He's simply incapable of it. His heart belongs to his work.

But seeing him in that police station, debasing himself for Cinnamon Webster, had exposed that lie for the pathetic self-delusion it was. Alonzo wasn't incapable of love. He was capable of a fierce, all-consuming, humiliating devotion.

He just wasn't capable of giving it to me.

The five years of waiting, of hoping, of enduring-it all collapsed into a single, crushing realization. It wasn't that he couldn't love; it was that he wouldn't love me. The pain of that truth was a thousand times worse than the simple absence of affection. It was a rejection of my very being.

That was the moment I knew I had to leave. My love for him had been the only chain binding me to this gilded cage. And now, it was broken.

The next day, my arm in a fresh sling, I had my lawyer draft the divorce papers. I didn't ask for a single penny of Alonzo's fortune. I only wanted one thing: my freedom. My name. My life back.

I went to his office, the towering glass monolith that was the heart of his empire. The receptionist looked at me with a mixture of surprise and pity. "Mrs. Taylor, Mr. Taylor isn't in."

"I'll wait," I said, my voice steady.

"He... he hasn't been in the office for three days," she admitted hesitantly.

Three days. In five years, Alonzo had never been away from his office for more than a day unless he was on a business trip. "Where is he?"

The receptionist fidgeted. "He's... attending the Starlight Charity Auction."

My heart gave a bitter twist. He had missed our anniversary dinner last year because of an "urgent merger," but he had time to attend an auction?

"With Mr. Webster, I presume," I said, the name tasting like ash in my mouth.

She flinched and looked away. That was answer enough.

I drove to the auction house. The hall was glittering with chandeliers and high society. And there, in the front row, was Alonzo. Cinnamon was plastered to his side, whispering in his ear. Alonzo was listening with a patient smile, the kind he had never, ever given me.

The auction began. The item up for bid was a rare pink diamond necklace, "The Heart of the Ocean."

"Five million!" someone called out.

"Ten million!" another voice countered.

Cinnamon pouted, tugging on Alonzo's sleeve. "Lonzo, it's so pretty."

Alonzo didn't even look at the stage. He simply raised his paddle.

"One hundred million," his voice cut through the room, calm and decisive.

A stunned silence fell over the auction hall. The auctioneer, flabbergasted, stammered, "Going once... going twice... Sold! To Mr. Alonzo Taylor!"

The room erupted in applause. Cinnamon threw his arms around Alonzo's neck and kissed him, a long, possessive kiss, right there in front of hundreds of people. The camera flashes were blinding.

I stood in the shadows at the back of the room, feeling invisible. He had bought a one-hundred-million-dollar necklace for his lover without a second thought. For our third anniversary, he had his assistant send me a company-branded pen.

The contrast was so brutal, so ludicrous, it was almost funny.

My feet moved before my brain caught up. I walked through the parting crowd, my steps firm, my eyes locked on him. I stopped right in front of them, the manila envelope containing the divorce papers held in my good hand.

Alonzo's smile faded when he saw me. He instinctively moved to shield Cinnamon behind him, his eyes turning cold and hard. "Adelaide. What are you doing here?"

"I have something for you," I said, my voice surprisingly calm. I held out the envelope.

He didn't take it. "I'm busy."

"It'll only take a moment. It's our divorce agreement."

Cinnamon peeked out from behind Alonzo's shoulder, his eyes wide with feigned innocence, but I could see the triumph glittering within them.

"Divorce?" Alonzo's brow furrowed, not with sadness, but with annoyance. As if I were a minor inconvenience, a fly buzzing around his head. "I don't have time for this now."

"Then make time," I said, my patience wearing thin. "I want to end this. We both know this marriage has been a farce. Let's just sign the papers and go our separate ways. You can be with him, and I can be free."

Alonzo's jaw tightened. He looked at Cinnamon, then back at me, his gaze dismissive. "We'll discuss this later. Leave."

"No," I stood my ground. "We'll discuss it now."

Before he could respond, a slender hand darted out and snatched the envelope from me. Cinnamon giggled, holding the papers up. "Oh, a divorce? Lonzo, you didn't tell me!"

He pulled the papers out, his eyes scanning them with a mocking air. "Net worth separation, no alimony... Tsk, tsk. Adelaide, you're leaving with nothing? How sad."

I ignored him, my eyes fixed on Alonzo. "Sign it."

"He's too busy to sign your silly papers," Cinnamon purred. He snuggled closer to Alonzo. "But... I can sign for him."

I scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Am I?" Cinnamon's smile was pure venom. He reached into his own pocket and pulled out something that made my blood run cold. It was a small, exquisitely carved jade stamp, a personal signature key.

I knew that key. It was a one-of-a-kind digital signature key Alonzo used for his most private and important documents, linked directly to his biometric data. It held more power than a written signature. He had once told me he guarded it more closely than his own life.

And he had given it to Cinnamon Webster. He trusted this vapid, manipulative boy with the keys to his entire kingdom.

"Lonzo trusts me with everything," Cinnamon cooed, seeing the look of devastation on my face. He opened a small ink pad he produced from his other pocket, pressed the stamp onto it, and then, with a flourish, slammed it down on the signature line of the divorce agreement. The crisp thud echoed in the sudden silence around us.

"There," Cinnamon said, his voice dripping with condescension as he shoved the papers back into my chest. "You're free. Now get out of our sight. You're ruining our evening."