Chapter 1

Hayley Kennedy found her husband, Blair Jameson has an affair on their 7th anniversary night.

She slipped her hand into Blair's tuxedo pocket and pulled out a sheer red lace thong, still wet with moisture and reeking of a musky, sweet scent.

It wasn't hers.

Hayley stared at the underwear in silence for a long moment before wordlessly stuffing it back into his pocket.

Blair stepped out of the bathroom with just a white towel hanging low on his hips, his eyes dark with lust as he approached her. "Come here, baby. I've been thinking about you all day," he drawled.

He bent down, his fingers sliding beneath her red silk nightgown, but she grabbed his wrist firmly. "Do you love me?"

Blair laughed, bringing her fingers to his lips. "Don't be stupid. I'll show you exactly how much I love you tonight."

She turned her face away, her voice suddenly icy. " I'm on my period."

Despite his obvious arousal, he backed off. "Get some sleep then."

Before dawn, her phone pinged with a notification.

An anonymous email with a video attachment.

The subject line: "Thought you should see this."

She opened it, and the footage began playing instantly.

Blair's husky voice filled the room—"Fuck, you're so tight. I swear I could die in this pussy."

In the video, Blair gripped a woman's waist brutally, pounding into her with savage intensity against the backdrop of—their master bedroom.

Evelyn Grantham, Ansonic Global's pampered princess, Blair's new business partner, and his best friend's little sister.

Hayley watched clip after clip, eyes burning with unshed tears, her fingers nearly cracking her phone screen.

When she finally looked up, Blair's side of the bed was empty.

She rose, throwing on her robe, and walked to the second-floor balcony overlooking the garage.

There sat her white Maserati beneath the amber security lights.

On its hood, Evelyn was spread beneath Blair, manicured hands braced against the cold metal, head thrown back as she moaned loudly.

Blair thrust into her relentlessly, his mouth at her ear: "That's it, take it all like the little slut you are."

At that moment, Evelyn glanced up at Hayley on the balcony, her eyes glazed with pleasure yet suddenly sharp with recognition. Her lips curved into a smirk.

"Game over," her sex-flushed face seemed to say.

Hayley stood frozen, tears blurring her vision.

She bit down on her lip until she tasted blood.

Her pride, her marriage—everything had been trampled to dust in the dead of night.

She was done with him.

Forever.

She turned back to her room and dialed a number: "Mrs. Jones, I'll take your one hundred million. I'm done with Blair. For real."

The voice on the other end practically sang with triumph. "Finally got the message, huh? You never were good enough for my son. Just some nobody who got lucky."

Hayley's voice turned glacial: "You're right. I'm not good enough. The divorce papers will be on your desk tomorrow morning."

The next day, Hayley stood outside the CEO's office at Harmonex Group.

As she entered, she put on a slight smile and walked directly to the man's side. "Busy? I have some documents that need your signature urgently."

He signed everything without even looking.

Hayley collected the signed documents and casually asked, "Will you be home for dinner tonight?"

"I have plans. Don't wait up," he replied without lifting his head.

"Fine. I'll get going then."

As Hayley turned to leave, her smile had already frozen into something mocking.

Passing by the office's adjoining rest area, she heard faint noises—like someone small hopping off the bed. Glancing toward the couch, she noticed snack bags scattered on the coffee table along with a half-finished juice, and a pale pink high heel lying on its side on the floor...

In an instant, she understood everything. Her heart turned to ash.

Back in her own office, Hayley collapsed into her chair. The short walk back seemed to have drained every ounce of her energy. She let out a long, defeated sigh.

She pulled out one document from the stack.

The divorce papers.

Opening to the final page, she traced his signature with bitter amusement, memories flashing through her mind... his passionate promises when he proposed, her mother-in-law's sneering warnings not to get cocky, how Amanda had said men could never be faithful to just one woman, and Hayley's confident reply that Blair was different...

Ha. He wasn't different at all.

Cheating with some young girl, thinking he'd hidden it so well, shamelessly enjoying his affair, even bringing her to the office.

She snapped a photo of the signed divorce papers and sent it to her mother-in-law: He signed it.

In one month, Blair Jameson would be erased from her world forever.

"Knock, knock—"

Hayley quickly tucked away the divorce papers. "Come in."

Ronald Hills, Blair's assistant, entered.

"Ms. Kennedy, the CEO asked me to bring this to you." Ronald placed a dark green velvet box on her desk.

She opened it casually to find an expensive diamond jewelry set. The first image that flashed through her mind was... a short-haired girl in a bathrobe, playfully holding up a diamond necklace, with mood lighting behind her, rumpled bedsheets, and kiss marks clearly visible on her chest.

Nausea churned in her stomach.

"Thank you, Ronald."

"The CEO personally selected this set. It's one of a kind, the only set in the world."

Too bad his heart wasn't so exclusive.

She no longer wanted anything from him.

Hayley forced a smile. "Is that so? How touching that he found time to buy me gifts in his busy schedule."

Something feels off about her response... Does she know about the CEO and Miss Grantham?

Ronald broke into a cold sweat and quickly left the office.

Hayley stared at the jewelry with disgust, as if looking at something filthy. She took out her phone, snapped a photo, and texted her luxury reseller: Sell this jewelry set and donate the proceeds to the Children's Special Needs Foundation.

The reseller: "..."

5:00 PM. Parking garage.

Hayley had just reached her car and opened the door when her eyes casually swept across to the opposite side, noticing a car that was already running.

Through the window, she saw Blair in the back seat, with the short-haired girl nestled intimately against him, her round face youthful and cute, radiating energy and vitality.

"Sir—!"

Ronald yelled in panic, slamming on the brakes.

Through the air and glass, Hayley's eyes met Blair's.

Chapter 2

His eyes were dark and intense.

Hers were empty and cold.

The tension in the parking garage was suffocating.

Evelyn spotted Hayley but instead of creating space between herself and Blair, she deliberately wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, her actions even more brazen.

Hayley felt like someone had stabbed her eyes. She looked away, got in her car, and drove off without a backward glance.

Shortly after arriving home, she heard another car pulling up downstairs.

She was removing her necklace in front of the glass cabinet in their walk-in closet when a hard wall of muscle pressed against her back. Blair's dominating presence instantly invaded her space.

He planted his hands on the glass cabinet, leaning forward to see her face. "Pissed off?"

Without looking at him, Hayley calmly put away her necklace. "Pissed enough to commit murder. You might want to sleep with one eye open."

Blair studied her silently before speaking again. "The Granthams want in on the Polaris Program. I've been meeting with Jayden Grantham for weeks. Evelyn is his sister."

"What, he won't sign unless you screw his sister too?"

"...Hayley, I'm trying to explain here. Cut the bitchy attitude!"

"No explanation needed," Hayley finally turned to look at him, her eyes cutting through him like ice. "Blair, if you're bored with this marriage and want fresh meat in your bed, I can walk away."

Blair's face darkened instantly. "What the hell did you just say?"

Hayley sighed. "I said, let's get divorced."

She pushed past him.

As she tried to leave, he yanked her back forcefully, grabbing her face. "Don't even fucking think about it."

Hayley said nothing.

She'd done more than think about it.

She. Was.

Done with him.

Blair stayed home until late that night before being called away by a phone call. Hayley clearly heard a young woman's voice on the other end, whining and crying.

The next morning, her divorce lawyer and friend Summer Spears sent her a screenshot: Evelyn's latest Instagram post—a mountain summit at dawn, showing a heart shape made by a large hand and a small one. The caption read: "Feeling our heartbeats merge in the gentle sunrise."

She recognized Blair's hand instantly.

Hayley sat there, holding her water glass for what felt like eternity.

When she finally set it down, it made a sharp clink, as another piece of her heart crumbled.

For several days after, Blair didn't come home.

They only saw each other at company meetings, where he sat in the center chair while she sat with other executives. No eye contact, no acknowledgment.

Hayley didn't bother going to his office.

In her free time, she hunted for a new apartment and purged every gift he'd ever given her—anniversary presents, birthday gifts, Valentine's Day trinkets, wedding presents... she even sold her wedding ring.

If she was dumping the man, why keep his trash?

***

That evening, Serena Quinn, the owner of Vankco Technologies, invited Hayley to Midnight Wild.

It was almost eleven, and she initially didn't want to go, but considering she'd need connections after leaving Harmonex Group to start her own venture, she went anyway.

As soon as she entered the club, she spotted Serena.

"Serena, I could have found my way up. You didn't need to come down."

Serena linked arms with her as they entered the elevator. "I was afraid you'd get lost. First time here, right?"

That was true—she had never been here before.

They went upstairs, and Serena led her into a large private room divided by glass partition walls.

Entering, Hayley noticed several people on the other side of the partition, but Serena didn't take her there. Instead, she seated Hayley on the side with just one other woman—someone vaguely familiar, likely the girlfriend of one of Blair's buddies.

The woman clearly recognized Hayley, looking uncomfortable but managing a tight smile.

After Hayley took off her coat and sat down, Serena stepped out.

She took a sip of her drink, gradually picking up the loud conversation from the other side of the glass. Soon, the conversation turned to her.

"Notice how Jameson doesn't bring that Kennedy girl to anything anymore?"

"Duh. Evelyn's young and hot. He parades her around everywhere, treats her like his fucking princess."

"About damn time Blair got some fresh pussy after all these years."

"Doesn't matter how hot Hayley is, eight years in the same bed would bore anyone."

"She's such a dumb bitch. Spent all those years with Blair only to get fucked and tossed aside. Hey, if Blair's done with her, maybe I should give her a ride. Been wanting to grab that tight ass for years."

...

Hayley's eyes turned glacial.

She recognized two of the voices—Blair's friends who always called her "sis" with fake smiles plastered on their faces.

The woman sitting with Hayley looked so mortified she couldn't meet her eyes. When Hayley stood up, the woman thought she was going to run away humiliated.

Instead, Hayley cleared her throat, picked up her drink, and walked to the other side. S

he casually leaned against the glass partition and joined their conversation in a bored tone, "Gentlemen, let's be fair here. When Blair and I first hooked up, he was an eager little virgin who couldn't last five minutes. Couldn't I say I've been suffering through bad sex for eight years too?"

The room went dead silent.

Everyone on the sofa stared at her in shock.

Just as she finished speaking, two tall men walked into the room.

Everyone looked at her, then behind her... and their faces went white with horror.

Chapter 3

Blair stood behind Hayley, his face frozen in cold fury.

Hayley noticed everyone's eyes suddenly shift and glanced over her shoulder.

So he was here after all.

She turned back, looking toward the petite figure in the corner of the sofa. Evelyn had been sitting with her legs crossed, twirling her short hair around her finger with that smug little expression moments ago.

Now her smile had vanished. Her face had soured completely, glaring at Hayley like she wanted to claw her eyes out.

Clearly, they were here for a regular hangout with friends. From how casually everyone talked, this was obviously routine. They'd reached the stage of flaunting their relationship in public without a shred of shame.

Blair stepped forward.

Everyone else suddenly snapped to attention, like they'd been electrocuted.

"Holy shit, Hayley, we were just talking trash! Don't listen to us!"

"Blair and Evelyn are totally not a thing, I swear to God!"

"Please don't take it seriously—we're idiots!"

Blair grabbed Hayley's wrist, attempting to drag her out.

Hayley whipped around and threw her drink straight in his face.

The room went dead silent.

Everyone watched in horrified disbelief—did she actually just do that?

A second later, she smiled sweetly and said, "Go back to fucking your little princess. I wouldn't dream of ruining your good time."

She tried to pry his fingers from her wrist.

Blair's expression darkened dangerously. He simply hoisted her up and threw her over his shoulder, stalking toward the exit.

Everyone in the room: "..."

In the hallway, Hayley thrashed violently against Blair's shoulder.

The elevator had just arrived.

As he carried her in and turned around, she found herself staring at a pair of expensive black leather shoes, perfectly tailored pants, and pale, elegant hands hanging at the sides—each finger long and refined like they belonged on a pianist.

The atmosphere was painfully awkward.

As they exited the elevator, Hayley couldn't help looking up, meeting a pair of intense, calculating eyes that glanced down at her.

Hayley: "..."

She covered her face and dropped her head in embarrassment.

Outside Midnight Wild, Blair dumped Hayley into the back seat of his car and slid in beside her.

Hayley struggled to sit up, disoriented and queasy. Being carried upside down and then tossed into a car wasn't doing her equilibrium any favors.

Blair grabbed wet wipes from the console and wiped his face.

Hayley's sharp eyes caught sight of what was definitely a condom behind the tissue box. Meanwhile, he had the nerve to demand, "What the hell are you doing here? Playing detective now?"

She yanked the door handle to escape.

This car was disgusting.

"For fuck's sake, Hayley!" Blair roughly pulled her back in. "Where do you think you're going? Are you seriously not done with this shit?"

Hayley breathed rapidly, digging her nails into her palm. "I want to go home. Now."

Blair called Ronald, who was hovering at the club entrance, to drive them.

They sat in icy silence the entire ride. Hayley pressed herself against the door, her face ashen, looking like she might vomit any second.

When they arrived home, she bolted from the car.

In the kitchen, she downed an entire glass of ice water before she could breathe normally again.

When she emerged, Blair was sitting in the living room. Hayley reluctantly joined him.

After another suffocating silence, Blair finally spoke. "I was there for business. You barging in and causing a scene—you made me look like a complete joke. Do you realize how pathetic you look? Like some crazy, desperate housewife?"

"Anything else you'd like to get off your chest?" Hayley responded with bored indifference.

"If you want this marriage to last, drop the paranoid bullshit. I don't have time to manage your insecurities."

"Got it. Finished yet?"

"..." Blair's jaw clenched. "Hayley, do you know how goddamn annoying you are right now?"

Hayley stood up, a cold smile playing on her lips.

Soon you won't have to be annoyed by me at all.

She headed upstairs.

Her smile only infuriated Blair further. He brooded in the living room before following her up to find her already in bed.

After showering, he slid in beside her.

In the darkness, Hayley lay on her side, facing away from him. She edged further away, avoiding any contact whatsoever.

Blair turned and forcefully yanked her back against his chest, his movements rough with barely contained anger.

His body was large and powerful; when he tightened his grip, she couldn't move an inch.

She spent the night rigid in his embrace.

In the morning, Hayley made breakfast only for herself.

When Blair came downstairs and saw her eating toast alone, he changed direction and approached the table. He leaned down close to her ear, his voice softening as if talking to a child. "This weekend, let's take the yacht out for a couple days. Just us."

Hayley mumbled "whatever" while drinking her milk.

Predictably, the day before their supposed getaway, he canceled, claiming he needed to fly to Singapore.

Hayley didn't even flinch.

Maybe he hadn't noticed how long it had been since they'd shared a meal or actually spent time together. He warned her against divorce, but in reality, he treated her like she was invisible. If she vanished tomorrow, he probably wouldn't even notice.

That weekend, she removed her books from their shelves and packed them into suitcases to take to her new place.

While sorting through them, she received a rare call from her mother-in-law.

Hayley answered with forced politeness, "Hello, Mrs. Jones."

Amanda Jones responded with her typical condescension, "Come over today. We need to put our arrangement in writing."

"Is that really necessary?"

"I say it is, so it is."

"Fine, I'll come by this afternoon."

"No. Be here at noon."

"Whatever."

Hayley agreed, having nothing better to do anyway.

On the other end of the line, Amanda Jones stood at her second-floor window, watching with smug satisfaction as Evelyn walked with Blair through the garden.

She wanted Hayley to see who truly belonged with her son, who his real soulmate was.