When Marriage Comes Before Love

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

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At Seamarsh Airport, Stella Anderson stood waiting at the waiting area with a large suitcase at her feet.

She glanced at her watch again. It had been thirty minutes since she got off the plane. And yet, her husband whom she had gotten married to a year ago was nowhere in sight.

She fanned herself with her fingers while frowning. She already had a bad impression of someone she had never met.

This was supposed to be their first meeting. How could he be so late?

As she watched people come and go, she couldn't help but recall her hasty marriage.

It had happened a year ago after her grandfather came down with a serious illness.

Stella, who was abroad at the time, rushed home to see him. It was then he made it known that he hoped to see her get married soon.

Stella wanted to say no. But when she remembered how her grandfather adopted her from an orphanage and raised her into the adult she had become, she didn't have the heart to disappoint him.

And so, she got married to the man her grandfather picked for her; a man she had never met.

The groom wasn't present on their wedding day. Someone else stepped in to handle the registration of the marriage.

She didn't know her husband at all. All she knew was his name and that he was a businessman.

To this day, Stella wasn't sure if her compromise was the right choice. Her so-called husband wasn't particularly giving her something to like about him.

She glanced at her watch for like the hundredth time. An additional ten minutes had passed.

Stella sighed exasperatedly. Just as she took out her phone to call her grandfather, a screeching sound pierced the air and almost burst her eardrums.

A silver Aston Martin came to a screeching halt in front of her. The driver's seat window rolled down.

Stella took a step back. Once she saw a familiar face, she blurted out, "Why are you here?"

Behind the wheel was the last person she expected to see now—her cousin, Oliver Palmer.

"Ouch! That hurts!" Oliver clutched his chest as though he was really hurt. After getting out of the car, he pouted. "Your return is so important. We haven't seen each other for a long time. As your cousin, I couldn't resist the urge to come pick you up. But you are so mean to me. It's not fair!"

Stella wasn't surprised or deceived by his poor acting.

She rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth, refusing to speak.

"Hop in, Stella. You must be tired and hungry. I'll treat you to lunch." After grabbing her suitcase with one hand, Oliver placed his other hand on her shoulder and shoved her to the car.

"Wait! I can't go with you." Stella stopped him.

"Why?" Oliver stopped. He scoffed when something occurred to him a moment later. "Is it because of your husband? You still want to wait for him?"

Stella didn't utter a word, but her look said it all.

Oliver snorted. "Don't wait for him anymore. Need I remind you that he has never contacted you since you guys got married? Doesn't that tell you enough?"

Stella was lost for words.

"If he wanted to come pick you up, he would have shown up before I did. How can you trust a man that has ignored your existence for one year?" Oliver added in a more sarcastic tone.

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