Gorgeous Mommy

No Longer Mrs. Cooley: The Architect's Return

Xiao Xiaosu

I went to the City Clerk’s office for a routine copy of my marriage license to finalize a trust fund audit. I expected a simple piece of paper, but the clerk’s pitying look told me my entire life was a lie. "The license was never finalized, Ms. Oliver. In the eyes of the state, you are single." The three-hundred-guest wedding at the Plaza and the Vogue features meant nothing. My husband, Gray Cooley, had intentionally filed the documents with a "procedural defect" so he could discard me without a legal divorce. Moments later, an iCloud invite titled "Our Little Secret" popped up on my screen. It was a photo of my best friend, Brylee, holding a positive pregnancy test at our Hamptons estate. Gray’s text to her was the final blow: "Happy anniversary, babe. This baby is the best gift. Once the trust unlocks today, we’re done with the charade." I soon discovered they were even stealing my career, reassigning my architectural masterpiece to Brylee while preparing my eviction notice. Gray's mother called me a "barren mule" in a leaked recording, mocking the infertility I suffered after saving Gray’s life in a construction accident. I wasn't a wife; I was a three-year placeholder used to secure his inheritance. How could the man I bled for treat me like a disposable prop? How could my best friend carry his child while pretending to comfort me through my darkest moments? The betrayal burned until it turned into a cold, hard stone of fury. I didn't cry. Instead, I walked into the penthouse of the Barretts, the Cooleys' most powerful rivals. I signed a marriage contract with Kane Barrett, the man the tabloids called the "Beast of Wall Street." "I want a wedding," I told his father, my voice steady and lethal. "Bigger than the one I had with Gray." If they wanted me gone, they would have to watch me become the woman who owns their world.

Modern Revenge Divorce

Download the Book on the App

People that are broken are terribly gorgeous.

"You placed a wager." Those four words shattered my heart. I was saying it out loud stung. I should have known better. I should've learned that the jock would never ask a lady like me out unless it was for his benefit.

"Yes." You'd think he'd be upset about it, but he wasn't.

He had a smug on his face. He could have cared less. I hadn't seen him with that look before. He was no longer the sweet, loving lover I had imagined him to be.

"How long will this last?" I asked.

"Five months," he said. "However, it was the longest five months of my life." Another hit to the chest. I felt as though I were in the film She's All That. It was odd because it was one of my favorite movies, and now I find myself in the same scenario.

"Why?" My voice cracked, humiliating me even more.

"You came up with an excellent challenge." He didn't care that he had torn my heart out and was now walking on the fragments. He was pleased with himself.

My body was malfunctioning. My eyes did not well up, at least not yet. I felt hollow. 'How could I have missed this?' was all I could think. 'Didn't you see that wasn't real?'

"I didn't expect it to take me five months to convince you to admit you love me, but getting in your trousers was worth it."

People stared at us. Of course, Mitch had to do it at the center of the school entrance, where everyone could see him. It was as though they summoned everyone to the front of the school. And those who weren't there would hear about it in less than 30 minutes. Whether you liked it or not, gossip spread quickly in high school.

"I didn't do-" I began to talk, but he cut me off. I never slept with him. We didn't do anything like that.

Read Now