The Unwanted Wife Is A Zillionaire Heiress
On the anniversary of her son's death, Audrey stood in the freezing cemetery for two hours, waiting for her husband.
Instead, his best friend showed up, claiming her husband was tied up with their daughter's emergency. But on her way home, Audrey caught sight of her husband, their daughter Willow, and another woman walking together.
She followed them to a luxury apartment that perfectly replicated her and her husband's humble first home.
Through a crack in the door, she watched her husband passionately kiss the woman.
She watched his best friend hand the mistress expensive gifts.
And she watched her own daughter happily eat cake and say, "Thank you, Mommy Kelsey."
When Audrey returned to her empty mansion, her daughter threw a massive tantrum, screaming that she wished Kelsey was her real mom.
The cruelest part was realizing the mistress was using Audrey's joint credit card to buy Willow's affection.
Her husband, her daughter, and her trusted friend had formed a flawless circle of betrayal. They were playing a happy family while she mourned her dead child alone. She had signed a brutal prenuptial agreement giving up everything for love, only to be treated like a pathetic joke.
But they didn't know the quiet, accommodating housewife was actually the hidden heir to the thirty-billion-dollar Carlisle empire.
Audrey left her diamond ring on the counter alongside a divorce settlement, activated her inheritance, and walked out.
"First step," she told her proxy. "We bleed his stock dry, and we dismantle his legacy piece by piece."
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Chapter 9
At seven o'clock the next morning, the massive foyer of the Christian estate was dead silent.
A single, silver Rimowa aluminum suitcase stood upright near the front door, its metallic surface gleaming in the early morning light.
Audrey sat on a high stool at the kitchen island. She was wearing a soft cashmere travel set, her hair pulled back neatly. She held a mug of black coffee, the heat radiating into her palms.
Directly in the center of the marble island, perfectly aligned, sat the brown manila envelope. The words Divorce Settlement were printed in bold black ink across the front.
Resting directly on top of the envelope, pinning it down, was a platinum ring featuring a flawless, five-carat pear-shaped diamond.
Her wedding ring.
Outside, the crunch of tires on the driveway broke the silence. The heavy engine of a luxury SUV idled, then shut off.
A few seconds later, the electronic keypad on the front door beeped. The heavy door swung open.
Willow walked in, dragging her feet. She was followed closely by Colton's private driver, who was carrying her overnight bag.
Willow stopped in the foyer. She stared at the silver Rimowa suitcase, her brow furrowing in confusion. She ignored it and walked straight into the kitchen.
She looked at Audrey, her face twisted into a scowl of pure exhaustion and entitlement.
"Kelsey's guest bed is too soft," Willow complained loudly, dropping her coat onto the floor. "My back hurts. Go run the bath for me. Make sure the water is hot."
Audrey slowly lowered her coffee mug. The ceramic base clicked sharply against the marble countertop.
She looked at Willow. Her eyes were completely hollow, devoid of the maternal warmth that had defined her existence for the past ten years. She looked at the girl as if she were a stranger on the subway.
"I am not running your bath, Willow," Audrey said. Her voice was quiet, steady, and terrifyingly cold. "I am not doing anything for you. Ever again."
Willow's mouth dropped open. The sheer finality in Audrey's tone pierced through her bratty exterior. Her face flushed red with sudden, defensive anger.
"Why are you always so mean? !" Willow screamed, her voice echoing off the high ceilings. "You're just jealous! I wish Kelsey was my real mom! She's a thousand times better than you!"
The words hung in the air, vicious and cruel.
Audrey didn't flinch. She didn't gasp. Instead, a short, dry laugh escaped her lips.
She stood up from the stool. She looked down at Willow, her expression completely detached.
"As you wish," Audrey said softly. "From this moment on, you are free."
Audrey turned her back on her daughter. She didn't look at the diamond ring. She didn't look at the envelope. She walked straight out of the kitchen, her footsteps echoing sharply on the hardwood floor.
Willow's anger faltered. A sudden, cold spike of panic hit her chest. She turned her head and looked at the kitchen island.
She saw the brown envelope. She saw the words Divorce Settlement. And she saw the massive diamond ring sitting on top of it.
Even at ten years old, Willow knew exactly what a discarded wedding ring meant.
The color drained from Willow's face. She spun around and ran toward the foyer.
Audrey was already at the front door, her hand wrapped around the handle of the Rimowa suitcase.
"Where are you going? !" Willow yelled, her voice trembling with genuine fear now. "Are you leaving? Are you abandoning me? !"
Audrey paused with her hand on the doorknob. She didn't turn around. She only turned her head slightly, offering Willow a profile carved from ice.
"You abandoned yourself, Willow," Audrey said. "Good luck."
Audrey pushed the heavy door open and stepped out into the freezing morning air.
A massive, black Maybach sedan was idling in the driveway. A driver in a sharp suit immediately stepped forward, took her suitcase, and opened the rear door for her.
Audrey slid into the back seat. The heavy door slammed shut, instantly cutting off the sound of Willow crying in the doorway.
The Maybach began to glide smoothly down the driveway. Audrey didn't look back at the mansion. She didn't look back at her daughter.
She pulled her phone from her pocket. She opened her contacts, selected Colton's number, and hit Block. She did the same for Willow's number, and then for the mansion's landline.
She locked the screen and leaned back against the leather seat, staring straight ahead as the car carried her toward Manhattan.
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7.1
I waited a year for my mate, Alpha Justin, to return from the border war. While he was gone, I used my ten-million-dollar dowry to keep his crumbling pack afloat and buy life-saving elixirs for his mother.
But when he finally walked through the door, he reeked of another female's scent.
He brought back Gamma Brenna and a Royal Decree, coldly announcing she would be his "Co-Luna."
His family, who survived entirely on my wealth, immediately turned on me. They mocked me for being a wolfless orphan since my father and brothers were slaughtered defending the kingdom.
"You're just a fragile woman who belongs hidden away," Justin told me.
They demanded I accept this humiliation, step aside for his new warrior mate, and continue funding their luxurious lifestyle. Justin even arrogantly offered to sleep with me just once to give me a pup as a "consolation prize," declaring his heart and body belonged entirely to Brenna.
They thought my ruined pack meant I had no backing. They thought I was a pathetic victim who would cling to their scraps and accept a polluted mate-bond just to avoid being cast out into the woods as a Rogue.
They had no idea I had already visited the Alpha King.
I wasn't going to cry, and I certainly wasn't going to share my mate. I packed up every last cent of my ten million dollars, secured a Royal Severance Decree, and prepared to watch their arrogant pack starve to death.
7.2
Elmore Thomas rushed into the emergency room, clutching his feverish seven-year-old son, Buddy, tightly to his chest.
When the privacy curtain was pulled back, the air in Elmore's lungs vanished. The attending physician standing under the harsh lights was his wife, Kendal—the woman everyone believed had burned to death eight years ago.
But there was no tearful reunion. Kendal looked at him, and her eyes froze into impenetrable ice. She treated him like a biohazard, strictly referring to him as the family member.
Worse, she didn't recognize Buddy. She comforted their crying son with the same gentle warmth she used to reserve for Elmore, completely unaware she was soothing the baby she thought had died.
Days later, Elmore watched from the shadows as she picked up another boy outside a prep school, her left hand flashing a massive diamond engagement ring.
When his butler accidentally recognized her, Kendal shielded her new stepson with pure disgust in her eyes.
"Tell that psychopath to sign the divorce papers immediately. I have a new family now."
The words 'new family' echoed in Elmore's skull, tearing him apart. For eight years, he had lived in a hell of guilt and madness, raising their son in the shadow of her ghost. How could she just erase their past? How could she give her tender smiles to a stranger and look at him with absolute revulsion?
Standing in a luxury ballroom, Elmore squeezed his hand until his crystal champagne flute shattered, thick blood dripping onto the rug. The murderous obsession in his dark eyes returned as he called his lawyer.
"Freeze her divorce application. Use every dirty trick in the book. She isn't leaving."
7.6
I am the illegitimate, mute daughter of the wealthy Owen family, kept hidden in the attic like a shameful secret.
To save his failing company, my father decided to sell me off to a repulsive, predatory investor named Grossman.
At the family dinner, Grossman's sweaty hands roamed my bare legs while my half-sister Kaleigh intentionally spilled red wine on my dress, laughing as she watched me suffer.
When I grabbed a steak knife to defend myself, my father slammed his fist on the table.
"Sit down, or I will cut off the maintenance payments for your mother's grave."
My stepmother and sister sneered, treating me like a piece of meat meant to be sacrificed for their luxury. I was starved, locked away, and treated worse than a stray dog, all while my family paraded their high-society status to the world.
I couldn't understand why they hated me so deeply, or who really ordered the hit that killed my mother twenty years ago. The police reports were buried, and I was entirely powerless, trapped in a house of monsters.
But they didn't know that the night before, I had accidentally stumbled into the secret life of Burleigh Livingston—the ruthless, supposedly paralyzed billionaire who was faking his madness.
When Burleigh suddenly crashed our family dinner and threw a limitless Black Card on the table to outbid Grossman and buy me for the night, I didn't hesitate.
I grabbed the handles of his wheelchair, accepted his twisted deal, and prepared to use the devil himself to tear my family apart.
8.7
I was trapped in a greasy diner by my own mother.
She was forcing me to marry my abusive cousin because he had paid her twenty thousand dollars.
To escape, I used a contract marriage app and begged a complete stranger to marry me at City Hall that very day.
Ethan drove a cheap Ford and wore a plain suit. I thought he was just an ordinary guy needing a fake wife.
When my mother found out, she brought thugs to destroy my flower shop—my only home and livelihood.
To protect Ethan from her endless extortion, I shielded him and screamed that he was bankrupt and drowning in credit card debt.
My mother fled in disgust, and Ethan took me into his apartment for the night.
But out of trauma and habit, I locked my bedroom door, muttering that he must be old and desperate.
He stormed out into the freezing night, leaving me terrified that I had ruined my only lifeline.
I didn't understand why he was so furiously offended, completely unaware that my "broke" husband was actually the most ruthless billionaire in New York, and I had just trampled his massive ego.
The next morning, his face was a mask of ice as he dragged me back to City Hall to annul the marriage and get rid of me.
"Annulment. Now," he demanded.
But the clerk just popped her gum and slid a pink paper across the counter.
"State law changed. Mandatory thirty-day cooling-off period."
8.6
To save my father's failing workshop from ruthless loan sharks, I sold one year of my life.
I signed a fake marriage contract with Cameron Fox, an icy billionaire who needed a wife to pacify his sick grandmother. The rules were strict: it was purely a commercial transaction, with absolutely no physical contact and no emotional attachments.
Soon after, that cold hearted man seemed different to me. Wait, is he pursuing me?
9.5
I joined a brutal wilderness survival reality show, playing the perfect role of a pathetic, uneducated girl from a trailer park.
I needed the five million dollar prize to fund my revenge against the wealthy family that drove my father to his death.
I played everyone flawlessly. I outsmarted the arrogant contestants, ruined a corrupt restaurant owner, and secured enough food to guarantee my absolute victory.
But just as I was dominating the game, a massive black helicopter landed in our camp.
The show's new billionaire sponsor had arrived, and he immediately ordered his tactical guards to confiscate every ounce of food I had earned.
My hard-won advantage was wiped out in seconds. The other contestants cheered, pointing at my empty hands.
"Take that, you greedy bitch!"
But the real nightmare wasn't the stolen food or the sudden rule change. It was the man who stepped out of the chopper.
Glenn Ryan. The ruthless CEO from my past life as an elite heiress.
He took off his sunglasses, his dark eyes locking onto my muddy shoes and frayed flannel shirt with a terrifying, obsessive smirk.
Why was he here? Why did he instantly target me the moment I started winning?
He didn't just know my true identity.
He had bought this entire game just to hunt me down.