Chapter 2

My heart shattered completely when I saw the men in the private booth taking turns handing Julian cash.

Those men, clutching my photos, stood together, boasting loudly, their eyes on me leering and sticky.

"Audrey's really wild in bed, isn't she? I can practically smell it through the photos. Man, I've slept with all kinds of women, but this is the first time I've gotten off on a piece of paper."

"Tell me about it! She looks so innocent on the outside, but underneath, she's a total slut. Who knew she knew so many positions?"

"Probably because she's a dancer. They're the most fun to play with."

Their disgusting words buzzed in my ears. I bit down hard on my lower lip, trembling as I looked at Julian.

He sat there, perfectly at ease, his arm around his new lover, Chloe. Our eyes met.

"What's wrong, Mrs. Davies? Why the sour face? Are you unhappy?"

A faint smile played on his lips. He turned to the dozen men.

"Hey, you rascals! Mrs. Davies is a little sensitive about public displays. Keep it down, don't scare her off, okay?"

As he spoke, he gestured, flicking the money he'd just collected onto the table in front of me.

"Consider this an apology from my friends. See? This is all money you earned yourself. Much more glorious than the money you used to just ask for."

Everyone erupted in laughter.

"Julian's got his head on straight, alright! But some women, who are just gold-diggers to their core, never get it. Didn't Audrey use every trick in the book to marry into the Davies family, just hoping to marry into wealth and live a life of luxury without lifting a finger?"

"Yeah, Julian's really unlucky, isn't he? Stuck with a leech like her. Probably can't shake her off for life."

If this were before, I would have endured their cruel words for Julian's sake.

But this time, I picked up a ten-dollar bill from the floor, walked over to Julian, and said,

"Thank you for going to such lengths to teach me this lesson. As a token of my gratitude, I'll give you ten bucks. Consider it the processing fee for our divorce papers."

Julian paused, then let out a sneering laugh.

"Audrey, have I been too lenient with you lately? Are you getting brave enough to threaten me with divorce?"

"Do you really think I let you in here to watch you play these cheap tricks?"

His voice was laced with disgust, his eyes filled with deep mockery.

I clenched my fingers, my heart aching with a thousand tiny pricks.

Of course, I knew why he let me in.

He wanted to see my dignity stripped away, to see me bow down and apologize to Chloe.

He hated me. So he used every method to get revenge, to humiliate me.

All because I accepted twenty million dollars from his parents years ago, when my family faced an emergency.

He believed I was a manipulative woman, who used every trick to marry him, just to pay off my parents' debts.

But Julian didn't know that I had already repaid that money.

As for the stubborn love I once held for him in my youth, it was now completely buried.