Chapter 1Third time my husband caught me riding someone else? I didn't even stop.
Asher threw divorce papers at me, eyes full of hatred.
"First time—didn't know your fuck buddy."
"Second time—got drugged."
"What's your bullshit excuse this time?"
His personal lawyer Lilith smirked, twisting the knife..
"Ms. Marlowe—prenup's clear."
"Walk away broke, or let Asher screw around too. Your call."
Asher waited for me to cry and beg like always.
I didn't.
Just signed.
Then vanished from his world.
Three months later, Asher slammed me against the wall.
"Just give me any shitty excuse. I'll believe you."
I smiled.
"Sorry, bastard. Already knocked up with your rival's twins."
...
Lilith snatched the signed papers, afraid I'd change my mind.
"Mr. Kingsley, she signed!"
Asher stared at me. Jaw tight.
Waiting for me to rip them up like before.
Then smash my head on the floor till it bled, sobbing.
"Please—just believe me ONCEA. For Theo."
I clicked the pen shut. Set it down.
"I'll grab my stuff soon. About Theo—"
"You don't get to be his mom." His voice was flat. Cold.
"You're never seeing him again."
I didn't look up. Just smiled.
"Perfect. I was gonna say I don't want him anyway."
Asher's cold stare didn't change.
But he looked longer this time.
Like he couldn't figure out why I suddenly stopped fighting.
Four years. He and Theo were my whole world.
I'd spend DAYS upset just hearing Theo call her "Auntie Lilith" too much.
Now I didn't want him? That wasn't me.
"Slut."
He laughed, bitter. Like he finally cracked my code.
"Ditching your own kid for some random dick."
"Then what do you call trapping me with a baby?"
I listened. Didn't feel like defending myself at all.
First time he caught me cheating at a hotel, I was completely lost.
Begged him to believe me. Swore I didn't do anything.
He always thought I couldn't survive without him.
And since the guy supposedly screwed me ran off—just a blurry shadow on hotel cameras—he kinda believed me.
But still took Theo.
Visitation once a month. Had to schedule with Lilith a week ahead.
When I saw Theo? She'd hover the whole time.
Couldn't even hold him longer without her approval.
Every toy, every outfit I got him—had to clear it with Lilith first.
Or it'd never reach him.
I was already breaking when I got caught the second time.
Got a job to stay busy.
Business trip. Somehow ended up in some hotel room.
Woke up next to some fat, drooling guy.
I called the cops.
The officer checked me over and said I hadn't been assaulted.
But facts right there.
Asher still insisted I just "didn't get to finish."
After that? Banned from Theo's school stuff.
Parent meetings? Asher sent Lilith as his MOM.
Told me to stay home. "Don't embarrass yourself."
When Theo pointed at me and yelled "bad woman," Asher just stood there. Silent.
The third time I got caught?
I was done playing their game.
They won.
And now he had the nerve to ask why I didn't want my own kid?
Chapter 2
Lilith rushed over, lowered her voice.
"Mr. Kingsley, I know the prenup says she gives up custody."
"But in all my years practicing law?"
"Never seen a mother walk away from her kid THIS fast."
"Thea's cheated multiple times. She probably planned this all along."
"Kids aren't exactly convenient when you're screwing around."
"Stop trying to convince her."
She glanced at me. Something heavy flashed in her eyes.
I laughed.
She seemed to forget...
Four years ago, that insane prenup—the one that even counted how many times I could cheat—was drafted by HER.
Asher's face went colder.
"You better mean what you just said. Don't come crawling back later."
With that, he turned and left.
I watched him go. Smiled a little.
Not happening, Asher.
Back then, trying to convince myself that marrying you was the right choice, I went to every church in the city.
Every fortune told me to run.
Finally traveled thousands of miles. Knelt for a day and night.
Got one that said "true love defies all odds."
Turns out that "true love" was just a curse.
This time? My knees aren't bending for you again.
Lilith looked at me, lips curling.
"Ms. Marlowe, don't let us interrupt your one-stand fun. Enjoy."
The door clicked shut.
Room went quiet again.
I looked down at the guy still passed out in bed.
Stomach turned.
I woke up before him. Could've left before they showed up.
But I was tired of this endless cat-and-mouse game.
So I stayed.
Grabbed my coat. Walked out without looking back.
The next evening, I returned to pack.
Pushed open the bedroom door.
All my stuff—GONE.
The maid wouldn't look at me. Stammered.
"Mrs. Kingsley, your things got moved to storage."
"Ms. Monroe said the master bedroom needs to be cleared out."
"For the new mistress."
I smiled.
Four years of marriage—I couldn't even get a decent goodbye.
So I headed to the storage room out back.
Boxes stacked on boxes. Bags piled on bags.
I crouched down and started digging through everything.
Nothing else mattered.
I just needed to find my mother's jade bracelet.
Passed down from Grandma to Mom. Mom to me.
It was the only thing in this house that was actually mine.
Finally, I found it at the bottom.
Held it tight. Let out a long breath.
Then a young voice came from the doorway.
"What are you doing?"
I turned around.
Theo stood there, blocking the entrance with his small figure.
Looked exactly like Asher.
But the way he looked down at me—cold and superior? Pure Lilith.
"Getting my stuff."
I kept sorting through things.
Usually when I saw him—even when he pushed me away—I'd hug and kiss him anyway.
Not this time.
"This isn't yours!"
He walked in when I ignored him.
Stepped right on my clothes scattered on the floor.
"Auntie Lilith said everything in this house belongs to Dad."
"You can't take ANYTHING."
Chapter 3
I froze for a second.
"This is MY stuff."
"You bought it with Dad's money."
Theo crossed his arms behind his back.
"Dad's money belongs to the Kingsleys. Kingsley stuff has nothing to do with outsiders."
Outsiders?
I looked up at him.
A four-year-old kid standing there, staring at me like I was a thief.
Those eyes were colder than Asher's ever were.
"I'm only taking one thing."
I gripped the bracelet tighter. Stood up.
"I don't want anything else."
"No."
He stepped forward, blocking the doorway. Arms spread wide.
"You can't steal from the Kingsleys."
"Theo, move."
"No!" His voice got louder.
"You're a beggar! A thief!"
"Auntie Lilith said once you leave, you're not allowed back."
"If you come back, you're stealing!"
My temples throbbed. "I'm telling you one more time. MOVE."
"No! Put it down!"
He lunged at me. Grabbed the cloth pouch in my hand.
I pulled back instinctively.
The pouch tore open in an instant.
The jade bracelet slipped out. Hit the floor. Shattered into pieces.
I stood there frozen.
Remembered the day Mom put it on my wrist.
"Thea, this has been in our family for six generations."
"You'll pass it to your daughter."
"No daughter? Your daughter-in-law."
I didn't have a daughter. I didn't have a daughter-in-law.
I only had this bracelet.
Passed down for generations.
And my own son just destroyed it.
Theo stood beside me and muttered quietly. "You should've let go..."
I stared at him, eyes burning.
"I told you. Grandma left this for me."
"You know why your grandma's stuck in that hospital?"
Theo froze. Took a step back.
"I don't know any grandma."
"Just some old hag wasting money."
Blood rushed to my head.
"Auntie Lilith told me."
"Said she's in that fancy room, spending Dad's money, and she's not even getting better. Just burning cash—"
"SAY. THAT. AGAIN."
Theo looked scared for a second. Bit his lip.
Then pushed through.
"She's just a money-burning old hag. So what!"
I shoved him.
He stumbled and fell hard on his butt.
Stared at me for a second. Then burst into tears.
"Dad! Daddy!"
I stood there. Hands numb.
Watched my son kick his legs on the floor, crying.
That phrase kept echoing in my head.
"Money-burning old hag."
That "money-burning old hag" was my mom. His grandma.
The woman who, one month after his birth, dragged herself out of post-surgery recovery to hand-sew him a little jacket.
The woman who called every year on his birthday from the hospital.
And he called her a "money-burning old hag."
The sharp edges of broken jade dug into my palm.
Pain snapped me back.
Asher burst in.
Saw Theo on the floor crying. Scooped him up.
"Theo, what happened?"
Theo threw himself into Asher's arms, sobbing.
"Dad, she pushed me. Make her leave. I want Auntie Lilith..."
Asher held him and looked up at me.
Nothing but cold disapproval in his eyes.
"Thea Marlowe, are you insane? You hit your own kid?"
"I didn't hit him."
My voice came out quiet. "I just pushed him."
"What's the difference?!"
I looked down at the broken jade in my hand.
"Yes."
"Hit him—would be me being his mom, teaching him a lesson."
"Pushing him? He deserved it."
