Chapter 1

As I was driving down the street, an intern from my husband's company suddenly collapsed in front of my car.

Before I could even process what had happened, my husband jumped out of nowhere, fiercely accusing me of being vicious.

He demanded I pay the intern four million dollars as compensation for her emotional distress.

When I refused, he secretly wired all the funds out of our joint account behind my back.

Seeing the notification from my bank app, my head felt ready to explode. I tracked him down immediately to confront him. "Are you insane, Ethan? That woman staged the whole crash, and you just handed her our entire life savings?!"

Ethan, who was busy packing a bento box with loving care, shot me an irritated glare. "Cut the act, Serena. Chloe is far too sweet and innocent to pull a scam like that! You obviously dug into my company, found out I had feelings for her, and deliberately triggered her heart attack out of pure, psychotic jealousy!"

"If you don't want to get sued and rot in prison, just let the money go and drop it right here."

I laughed aloud from sheer anger.

What he didn't know was that the money had been set aside for his sick parents' life-saving medical treatments.

Now, I couldn't wait to see how he was going to clean up this mess.

I dialed my father-in-law's number right then and there, looking back at Ethan one last time.

"Are you absolutely certain you want to hand all that money over to a company intern?"

Her name was Chloe Vance, someone I hadn't paid any attention to before.

It wasn't until Ethan rushed to the hospital, aggressively covering her bills and tending to her every whim around the clock, that I discovered she was an intern at his firm—and that the two of them had been flirting behind my back for the past six months.

"I'll say it one more time, Serena: this is restitution," Ethan snapped.

"Don't think that just because you married me, you can run wild and hurt the people close to me. Hand over this money quietly, and we can still stay married. But if you dare harass Chloe while she's trying to recover, I'll press charges against you for aggravated assault. The Miller family has no room for an ex-con wife."

Looking at his threatening expression, my self-restraint finally shattered. My fingernails dug deep into the palms of my hands.

Even though my feelings for him had long died out, hearing such freezing, merciless words still left me struggling to breathe.

Years ago, it was his parents' charitable foundation that saved my life. After graduating from a top university, I joined their family business to repay their kindness.

Looking at the Miller family through rose-tinted glasses, I eventually accepted Ethan's advances, and before long, we walked down the aisle.

Little did I know that after the wedding, Ethan would reveal his true colors. He chased after other women relentlessly. I tried everything I could, but instead of making him change his ways, it only made him worse—and made him despise me from the bottom of his heart.

To avoid shocking his ailing parents, I had held off on getting a divorce, throwing all my energy into my career instead. The only reason his business hadn't gone under yet was because I was carrying it on my shoulders.

Yet, after pouring out so much, in his eyes, I was merely a wicked woman. The intern had blatantly staged the accident, yet with just a few tearful words from her, he had given away every cent to my name!

"Ethan, the dashcam caught the whole thing on video! Chloe deliberately blocked the driveway and refused to move. I only tapped my horn twice. Her heart attack had nothing to do with me!"

"I'm willing to cover her hospital bills, but I will never accept paying damages!"

"Besides, Mom and Dad have been sick for three years. The specialists finally found a curative treatment, and that money was specifically saved to keep them alive. Are you really going to throw away your own parents' lives for some intern?!"

Their treatment couldn't be delayed any longer. Realizing Ethan was useless, his parents had transferred their liquid capital to me. Those four million dollars were their only lifeline!

Yet Ethan only cared about chasing cheap thrills. He barely visited them a few times a year and knew next to nothing about their actual condition. He even assumed I was using his parents to manipulate him.

"If they need treatment, don't they have their own money? I've already transferred the four million to Chloe. If you don't want to go to jail, get the hell out of my sight!"

Carrying the lunch he made for Chloe, he shoved me violently aside. "This is the price you pay for hurting her! Consider this your only warning. If you try anything again, no amount of money will save you from me!"

Before I could utter another word, Ethan stormed out the front door, vanishing into the distance.

Knocked onto the floor, I took several deep breaths to steady my racing heart. I pulled out my phone and spoke to my father-in-law. "I'm sorry, Dad. Ethan transferred all the funds away. Your procedure will have to be pushed back."

"Don't worry, though. Even if I have to mortgage and liquidate all my assets, I'll scrape together enough for your medical bills."

On the other end of the line, my father-in-law let out a heavy, weary sigh.

"It's not your fault, Serena. I heard your conversation with that worthless boy."

"You've suffered enough over the years. You don't need to worry about our medical expenses. Your mother and I still have other assets; liquidating a few will be more than enough. Go ahead and divorce that ungrateful brat. Whatever family assets are left, I'm putting entirely in your hands..."