Chapter 1

"Look at you, smelling of the kitchen. How can you even compare to my Seraphina? What was I even thinking, getting involved with you?" My husband, Marcus Thorne, threw down his fork, his eyes full of unconcealed disdain.

For him, I'd quit my executive position. For six years of marriage, I'd stayed by the stove, trying to recreate his mother's cooking from his memories.

But now, he hated that I smelled of the kitchen. He claimed I wasn't even fit to polish the shoes of his ex-wife, the "Asia-Pacific Vice President."

I didn't make a scene. I just opened the drawer in his study. Inside lay the blank authorization documents he'd signed without even looking.

He thought I was just a stay-at-home parent who hadn't even earned an MBA. He never knew that every night after he fell asleep, I spent three hours studying all the company's financial data. I even understood the proxy ownership structure inside and out.

A week later, he sent me photos of the Northern Lights from Iceland, wearing a suit his ex-wife had given him. Meanwhile, I quietly contacted all the investors.

After replying with a smile, I picked up my phone and called my lawyer.

"Mr. Hayes, we can go ahead and sign that share transfer agreement for the nominee shares."