Chapter 1

Carter and I were a couple bound by mutual hatred.

He skipped out on our wedding ceremony, utterly humiliating me.

In return, I brought the paparazzi to his hotel suite to expose his affair with an award-winning actress.

On the night the tabloids ran wild with rumors that she was about to replace me as his wife, Carter shoved me down onto our bed.

His face was cold as ice, and his voice dripped with raw, bone-deep venom.

"Chloe, we are in this until the day we die!"

Later, when I was actually dying, Carter completely lost his mind, his hair turning snow-white overnight.

The charity gala hosted by the Vance Corporation was packed with high-society elites and blinding glamour.

The champagne tower shimmered beneath the crystal chandeliers.

Taking a slow sip of my chardonnay, I leaned lazily against the balcony railing, watching Carter make out with a woman down below.

The wet, desperate sounds drifted up. Carter kissed her with intense passion, his usually aloof face flushed with unrestrained lust.

After watching him, I shifted my gaze to the girl locked in his arms.

It was still the same one from three years ago.

The newly crowned Best Actress seemed to sense someone watching. She quietly lifted her head and looked straight up at the balcony.

A flash of sheer panic broke across her gorgeous face.

She grabbed Carter’s hand, which had already slid under her designer gown and was wandering further south, whimpering softly with pleading eyes to warn him.

When Carter glanced up, I lifted my wineglass toward him, the corners of my mouth curling into a smirk.

I silently mouthed a helpful reminder:

"Watch your public image!"

Carter’s brow furrowed.

From just a few feet away on the terrace, I could clearly read his lips.

Merciless as always.

He mouthed:

"Get lost."

I’ve always hated rude people.

Pressing my lips together, I dumped the rest of my chardonnay over the railing. Unsurprisingly, an angry roar immediately echoed from below.

He ground out my name through gritted teeth.

"Chloe Scott!"

I set the empty glass on a side table and leaned over to look down.

Carter’s suit was soaked down the front, dripping with wine. His dark, fathomless eyes glared up at me with murderous fury.

Oh, look at that! What a pitiful sight—he looked just like a drowned dog caught in a downpour.

I arched a brow and let out a delighted little chuckle.

Half an hour later.

The seething man had changed into a tailored silver-gray suit. Arm in arm, we stood together in the main ballroom.

We calmly answered questions from the press.

After running through the details of the charity auction, a reporter brought up last week’s gossip.

"Mr. Vance, someone took photos of you shopping for a diamond ring with a mystery beauty last week. Does this mean your marriage to Chloe Scott is on the rocks?"

Three years of marriage, and Carter and I despised every breath the other took.

For every girl he entertained on the side, I called the paparazzi to blast his infidelity on the front page.

Countless tabloids had run headlines predicting the collapse of the Vance-Scott union.

Over the years, so many people had asked Carter whether he would ever pull the plug and divorce me.

His answer never changed.

"There is no trouble in paradise, and we will not be divorcing."

Carter’s voice was firm and resolute.

Leaving that single sentence behind, he took my hand and led me out of the ballroom.

Our skin brushed together, warm against warm.

The second we were out of the cameras' sight, Carter violently shook off my hand. With a grim scowl, he strode toward the back of his black Maybach.

I quietly pulled open the opposite door. I stared at the road, the trees, the sky—anything to avoid looking at him.

Carter, however, had zero self-awareness.

He sneered. "Haven't you had enough of your little games, Chloe?"

"Did you really think splashing gossip in the tabloids would let you control the narrative and force a divorce?"

He tugged off his black bowtie and rolled it in his palm, his sharp eyes practically dripping with disdain.

"Keep dreaming."