Chapter 1

When Adam Hayes broke up with his first love, Seraphina, she slapped him in public.

"You're a pathetic, broke loser! We were never meant to be!"

I saw his handsome face, his earnest eyes, and decided to date him myself.

So what if he was poor? Money was the one thing I had plenty of.

We married. An Ivy League grad, he started a company with my backing. Seven years later, he took it public.

He'd always say, "My love, you're an angel sent from heaven to save me."

Today, as I held our daughter and fed her, a message came in from the HR manager at Adam's company.

Adam had just hired his ex-girlfriend, Seraphina, as his assistant.

The message hit me. I paused for a single, sharp second, then texted Adam.

"You hired Seraphina Miller. The woman who slapped you and called you trash in front of everyone. And now you're bringing her into your office?"

His reply was instant.

"It was a business decision. The previous assistant quit, and Seraphina aced every test. You know I don't mix work with personal feelings."

When I didn't answer, two more texts followed in quick succession.

"Don't stress over this. You need your rest after having Celeste."

"Send me a picture. I miss my girls."

For a moment, staring at his words, I almost believed him.

The realization hit me a second later. He was deflecting.

That familiar, icy pang returned to my chest.

"You want a picture?" I typed, my fingers cold. "Fire Seraphina. Now."

He went silent.

It wasn't until 4 PM that Adam finally replied.

"Sorry, I was in a meeting."

The tears came then, hot and immediate. A woman's intuition is never just intuition.

I opened a new chat with Adam's HR manager.

"Send me Seraphina's resume."

I own forty-nine percent of Hayes Capital. I have a right to see every employee's record.

The HR manager sent Seraphina's file half an hour later.

A quick scan painted a clear, pathetic picture. After breaking up with Adam, she got laid off. Then she'd bounced through several companies since, with each job ending in a layoff or a bankruptcy.

Once, she'd been a Wall Street star, connected and envied.

No wonder she'd left Adam in the dust back then. She'd been in a different galaxy.

But a gold digger like her begged for an assistant job from the man she'd discarded? No way this wasn't a play.

So that very day, I hired a private investigator to dig up everything. Her life, her debts, her secrets.

My instincts were right.

Seraphina hadn't just come back. She'd come back with an agenda.

The day before she started at Adam's company, Seraphina dumped her sales-rep boyfriend.

She even posted it anonymously on Ins:

"My ex's company just went public. Leaving him seven years ago was the biggest mistake of my life. He's married now, with a newborn. I'm dying of regret. How do I get him back?"

The post blew up. Hundreds of comments poured in, most telling her not to wreck a family.

But a few voices cut through the noise.

"If he ever really loved you, he'd take you back in a heartbeat. Men are simple. They always want the one they lost!"

"Why work a 9-to-5? Even as his mistress, you'd clear six figures a year."

"His wife just had a baby. She's exhausted, distracted. This is your moment!"

To each of these, Seraphina replied: "Thanks for your support!"

After reading the post, I immediately printed it out.

When Adam came home that night, I calmly handed him all of Seraphina's information.

"This is what my private investigator found on Seraphina. You might want to take a look."