After My Return the CEO Fell in Love with the Stand in

I received a divorce text message.

The sender was my husband, whom I had never met despite being married for a year through an arrangement.

He said he had been in love with a girl for ten years and wanted to divorce me to pursue her.

I agreed and casually asked for twenty million dollars as a settlement.

Later, I met a man who blushed because of a single glance from me.

He seemed to fall for me at first sight and asked for my contact information.

I told him I had a husband and was in the process of getting divorced.

He clenched his teeth in anger, swearing to make my jerk husband pay.

When I appeared before him in divorce court, his face turned pale instantly.

...

That afternoon, I was analyzing the latest experimental data when my phone buzzed.

An unfamiliar number sent a brief message. "Hello, this is Simon Pierce. We need to talk."

I paused my lab notes, staring at the name that existed only on my marriage certificate.

I replied, "What's this about?"

His response came quickly. "I want a divorce."

Plain and direct.

A year had passed, and I had nearly forgotten I had a husband.

I stared at the message for a long time.

For the first time in a year, this name appeared to me as a living person.

I set the phone down and resumed analyzing data.

The results were as expected, nothing surprising.

Before I could reply, a second message followed. "I've loved a girl for ten years. To pursue her honestly, I need to end this arranged marriage. Name any compensation you want."

I set down the test tube and leaned back in my chair.

My thoughts drifted back to a year ago.

The man who called himself my father, Richard Vance, had proposed this marriage with the same cold, businesslike tone. "The Vance Group needs to merge interests with the Pierce Group."

His voice carried sharp calculation. "Simon Pierce is rumored to avoid women. My other daughters wouldn't take the risk. But you're different. You're clean, no scandals."

The father I had never met since birth spoke only in transactions.

My mother, before she passed, warned me he was no good and told me never to contact him.

But for my research funding, I agreed, also hoping to secretly investigate and seek justice for her.

Later, I met Simon's mother, the elegant and sharp Victoria Pierce.

"Simon's past makes him wary of women who approach him deliberately," she said, explaining the need for the marriage.