The Ex-Wife’s Grand Return

The Ex-Wife's Grand Return

Ardisj Matthies

4.0
Comment(s)
19K
View
24
Chapters

My husband, Brady, was supposed to be the love of my life, the man who promised to protect me forever. Instead, he was the one who hurt me the most. He forced me to sign divorce papers, accusing me of corporate espionage and sabotaging company projects, all while his first love, Hettie, who was supposedly dead, reappeared, pregnant with his child. My family was gone, my mother disowned me, and my father died while I was working late, a choice I'd regret forever. I was dying, suffering from late-stage cancer, and he didn't even know, or care. He was too busy with Hettie, who was allergic to the flowers I tended for him, the ones he loved because Hettie loved them. He accused me of having an affair with my adoptive brother, Callum, who was also my doctor, the only person who truly cared for me. He called me disgusting, a skeleton, and told me no one loved me. I was terrified that if I fought back, I would lose even the right to hear his voice on the phone. I was so weak, so pathetic. But I wouldn't let him win. I signed the divorce papers, giving him Simon Corp, the company he always wanted to destroy. I faked my death, hoping he would finally be happy. But I was wrong. Three years later, I returned as Aurora Morgan, a powerful woman with a new identity, ready to make him pay for everything he had done.

Chapter 1

My husband, Brady, was supposed to be the love of my life, the man who promised to protect me forever. Instead, he was the one who hurt me the most.

He forced me to sign divorce papers, accusing me of corporate espionage and sabotaging company projects, all while his first love, Hettie, who was supposedly dead, reappeared, pregnant with his child.

My family was gone, my mother disowned me, and my father died while I was working late, a choice I'd regret forever. I was dying, suffering from late-stage cancer, and he didn't even know, or care. He was too busy with Hettie, who was allergic to the flowers I tended for him, the ones he loved because Hettie loved them.

He accused me of having an affair with my adoptive brother, Callum, who was also my doctor, the only person who truly cared for me. He called me disgusting, a skeleton, and told me no one loved me.

I was terrified that if I fought back, I would lose even the right to hear his voice on the phone. I was so weak, so pathetic.

But I wouldn't let him win.

I signed the divorce papers, giving him Simon Corp, the company he always wanted to destroy.

I faked my death, hoping he would finally be happy.

But I was wrong.

Three years later, I returned as Aurora Morgan, a powerful woman with a new identity, ready to make him pay for everything he had done.

Chapter 1

The law office of Simon Corp was always cold, the air thick with the scent of paper and quiet ambition. It was a place of power, and Karissa Simon was supposed to be its queen.

"I, Karissa Simon, being of sound mind and body, do hereby declare this to be my last will and testament." Her voice was soft, but it carried in the silent room.

Darcy Dodson, her chief legal counsel and oldest friend, watched her with a worried frown. Karissa was anything but of sound body. She was frail, the life seeming to drain from her a little more each day.

"I bequeath my entire estate, including all my shares in Simon Corp, my personal properties, and all other assets, to one person."

The pen in Darcy' s hand paused. She knew what was coming.

"To my husband, Brady Kennedy."

The name hung in the air, a testament to a love that had never been returned.

Darcy finally broke the formal procedure. "Karissa, are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure, Darcy."

"Let me at least get you some water. Or call a doctor. You look pale."

Karissa shook her head, a faint smile on her lips. "No, I need to get home."

"Why?" Darcy pleaded, her voice cracking slightly. "He won't even be there."

"I have to cook dinner for him." It was a duty she had performed every single day of their four-year marriage. A duty he had never once acknowledged by eating her food.

She remembered the countless nights, the perfectly prepared meals growing cold on the table, her hope dimming with the setting sun.

A deep sense of loss settled in her chest, a familiar ache.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Darcy." Karissa stood, her movements slow and deliberate.

She walked out of the office, her figure looking thin and fragile against the large glass doors.

Darcy watched her go, a bitter thought crossing her mind. Karissa Simon, the celebrated heiress of the city, was now just a shadow, clinging to a man who despised her.

The drive home was quiet. The city lights blurred into long streaks of color, mirroring the tears that welled in Karissa's eyes but never fell.

She pulled out her phone, her thumb hovering over his name. She pressed the call button.

It rang several times before he answered. "What do you want?" His voice was as cold as ever.

"Brady," she said, the name a soft caress.

"Don't call me that," he snapped. "It's disgusting."

The familiar pain twisted in her gut. She had called him that since they were children, back when he had promised to protect her forever.

Then, she heard another voice in the background, a woman's voice, soft and sweet. "Brady, who is it?"

His tone softened instantly. "No one important."

Karissa's breath hitched.

"Don't call me again unless it's to sign the divorce papers," he said, his voice laced with contempt.

She tried to keep her voice steady, to hide the tremor. "I'll have dinner ready for you."

The line went dead.

She stared at the phone, the silence of the car amplifying the ringing in her ears. A single tear finally escaped, tracing a cold path down her cheek.

She was so weak. So pathetic.

She was terrified that if she fought back, she would lose even the right to hear his voice on the phone.

When she arrived at their villa, the place was dark and empty. It was a house he'd had designed for his first love, filled with things she was allergic to but had never dared to remove.

She went to the kitchen, a space she had transformed from an unfamiliar territory to her only sanctuary. She had learned to cook for him, a world away from the boardrooms and balance sheets she was raised with.

The house was cold, echoing with a profound loneliness. She turned on some soft music, the melody a weak shield against the silence.

The clock ticked past midnight. He wasn't coming home.

She cleaned up the untouched food, her heart a leaden weight in her chest. As she was about to turn off the lights and go to her empty bed, she heard the front door open.

Hope, that foolish, stubborn thing, flared in her chest.

He walked in, bringing a gust of cold night air with him. He smelled of another woman's perfume.

"Brady, you're back," she said, her voice full of a relief she couldn't hide. "Are you hungry? I can heat up some food."

She reached out to take his coat.

He suddenly grabbed her, his grip like iron, and pushed her against the wall. His eyes were dark with a mix of alcohol and something else, something possessive and cruel.

Karissa' s heart hammered against her ribs. She was scared. "Brady, what are you doing?"

He leaned in, his lips about to crush hers, but the sound of his name on her lips seemed to sober him up slightly. He recoiled as if burned.

"Don't touch me," he snarled, his voice a low growl. "You make me sick."

He turned and strode up the stairs, leaving her shaking against the wall.

The emotional whiplash made her stomach churn, and a wave of nausea washed over her. It was always like this. One moment of hope, followed by a crushing blow of reality.

Why did he hate her so much? She couldn't understand.

She cleaned herself up, the shame clinging to her like a second skin. She went upstairs and quietly prepared his pajamas and a glass of warm milk, placing them by his bedside as she always did.

She waited for a long time.

He finally came out of the shower, a towel slung low on his hips. He didn't even look at her.

He looked at the divorce papers on his nightstand, which she hadn't signed. Then he turned to her, his face a mask of cold fury.

"I want a divorce, Karissa."

She stared at him, her world tilting on its axis. "Why? Why now?"

He looked at her, and the words he spoke next shattered what was left of her heart.

"Because Hettie is back."

Continue Reading

Other books by Ardisj Matthies

More
The Billionaire's Silent Bride: Unspoken Vows

The Billionaire's Silent Bride: Unspoken Vows

Modern

5.0

Waking up in silk sheets should have felt like a dream, but the smell of expensive whiskey and masculine musk triggered a warning siren in my skull. I was in Dorian McClain’s bed—the man who could crush my entire existence with a single signature. I fled his hotel suite like a ghost, but in my hungover panic, I snatched the wrong phone. By the time I reached my crumbling apartment in Queens, that one mistake had already set my life on fire. My uncle Silas had trashed my home, demanding money for my grandfather’s nursing home bill. When he saw Dorian’s encrypted phone, he didn't see a mistake; he saw a ransom. He sold me out to debt collectors who held a switchblade to my throat, forcing me to call the billionaire I had just abandoned. Dorian didn't save me out of mercy; he came to reclaim a security breach. He treated my rescue like a cold business transaction. He had me fired from my job and forced me into a marriage contract just to secure his family trust. He even made me beg for my grandfather’s life, demanding a humiliating act of submission for a medical bill that was mere pocket change to him. To him, I was just a mute, broken girl—the perfect silent accessory for his public image. "Welcome to hell, Mrs. McClain," he murmured, his voice a low rumble as he slid a massive diamond onto my finger. He thinks my silence is a trauma-induced weakness. He thinks he bought a submissive pawn who will stay in her gilded cage. But as I sat in his penthouse and bypassed his "unbreakable" firewalls in seconds, I realized he had made a fatal mistake. Dorian McClain didn't just buy a wife; he invited the CIA’s most dangerous ghost into his private mainframe. Echo is back online, and I’m going to burn his empire to the ground.

Amnesia's Kiss, Divorce's Demand

Amnesia's Kiss, Divorce's Demand

Romance

5.0

The first thing I felt after waking up from surgery was a dull ache and the annoying beeping of a machine. My eyes fluttered open to a sterile white ceiling. I didn' t know where I was, and I couldn't recognize the woman in a sharp business suit standing by the window-Chloe Davis, my wife. The doctor said the surgery was a success, and that I, "Liam," would make a full recovery. Liam? I had just donated a kidney, but not to myself. It was for her ex-fiancé, Liam, a fact she didn't even acknowledge. "The press is waiting outside," she said, spinning my near-death experience into PR for her company, hoping it would help with Series B funding. I stared at her, my mind blank. The past seven years, gone, erased by a surgical complication. I was twenty-two again. The man who had sacrificed a part of his body for her ex was a stranger to me. I grabbed a clipboard and wrote two words: DIVORCE AGREEMENT. Then I signed my name. "I want a divorce," I told her. She laughed, a short, ugly sound. "Don' t be ridiculous, Ethan. Is this some new way to get my attention? It' s pathetic." The pitying glances from the nurses and other patients' families made me sick. They saw a devoted husband, a hero. Chloe, seeing their sympathy, leaned in. "You think this stunt will work? You've been trying to guilt me for years. It won't work now." Then, as if discussing the weather, she said, "You' re fired, by the way... Think about your mistakes, Ethan. When you' re ready to apologize, you know where to find me." But it wasn't a mistake. "I just woke up," I said to her retreating back. My voice was stronger now. My friend Mark burst in, "Chloe' s assistant called me. A kidney? For Liam? Are you insane?" I looked at him. "I don' t remember... I don' t remember the last seven years." A seven-year chunk of my life, just… gone. Now, that memory, and all the others like it, felt like they belonged to someone else. It was like reading a sad story about a character I didn't know.

Reborn Bride, Deadly Betrayal

Reborn Bride, Deadly Betrayal

Romance

5.0

The silk sheets felt too soft, the air too clean. I sat up quickly, my hands flying to my stomach. It was flat, but not with the emptiness of starvation. It was the familiar flatness of the night before my wedding. My past life wasn\'t a nightmare. It was a memory. And today was my wedding day. Again. A sharp cramp seized my stomach, and cold sweat broke out across my forehead. That feeling was horribly familiar. It was happening again. In the grand hall of the Stone family estate, filled with the city\'s most powerful, the air was thick with fear that kept them silent. No one wanted to upset the Stones. Next to me, Brittany whimpered softly. We were both on our knees, captives in the middle of my wedding reception. Whispers started to ripple through the crowd, quiet but sharp. "Who will Liam choose?" "Chloe is probably done for. Liam never wanted this arranged marriage anyway. Maybe he' ll use this to get rid of her for good…" Liam stood before us, his handsome face a mask of stone. His eyes never left Brittany. "I want both," he said, his voice level. A cruel joke. The blade pressed deeper into my back. Brittany cried, "Liam, save me!" Without hesitation, Liam said, "Chloe, Brittany is different. She only has me. So I have to save her." He paused. "If something happens to you today, I' ll take care of your parents. I' ll repay you in the next life." My heart stopped. He was offering my family' s company as compensation for my life. I stared right back at him, the man who had killed me. "Why do you think the Kingston Corporation would still partner with the Stone family if you don' t choose me today? Liam, you overestimate yourself. And who the hell wants a next life with you?" His face darkened. "Chloe, are you pushing me?" he asked, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. The old Chloe would have fallen silent. That Chloe died in a cold basement, her baby dead inside her. I was awake now. "I wouldn' t dare push you, Mr. Stone," I said. "But today is our wedding. The security is extremely tight. If Brittany' s presence here was your doing, then tell me, how did this kidnapper get in with a knife?"

You'll also like

His Discarded Gem: Shining In The Ruthless Don's Arms

His Discarded Gem: Shining In The Ruthless Don's Arms

Temple Madison
5.0

For four years, I traced the bullet scar on Chace’s chest, believing it was proof he would bleed to keep me safe. On our anniversary, he told me to wear white because "tonight changes everything." I walked into the gala thinking I was getting a ring. Instead, I stood frozen in the center of the ballroom, drowning in silk, watching him slide his mother's sapphire onto another woman's finger. Karyn Warren. The daughter of a rival family. When I begged him with my eyes to claim me, to save me from the public humiliation, he didn't flinch. He just leaned toward his Underboss, his voice amplified by the silence. "Karyn is for power. Ember is for pleasure. Don't confuse the assets." My heart didn't just break; it incinerated. He expected me to stay as his mistress, threatening to dig up my dead mother’s grave if I refused to play the obedient pet. He thought I was trapped. He thought I had nowhere to go because of my father’s massive gambling debts. He was wrong. With shaking hands, I pulled out my phone and texted the one name I was never supposed to use. Keith Mosley. The Don. The monster under Chace's bed. *I am invoking the Blood Oath. My father’s debt. I am ready to pay it.* His reply came three seconds later, buzzing against my palm like a warning. *The price is marriage. You belong to me. Yes or No?* I looked up at Chace, who was laughing with his new fiancée, thinking he owned me. I looked down and typed three letters. *Yes.*

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book