From Strangers to Lovers

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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Wiltspoon's hot weather in October was a killer. Still, the mornings and evenings were eased by the late autumn breeze.

Serenity Hunt got up first thing in the morning to make breakfast for her sister's family of three before grabbing her birth certificate and slipping away in the silence.

"We're going Dutch from now on, and I'm talking about everything – the living expenses, the mortgage, and auto loans! Your sister should be splitting the cost since she's

staying at our place. Sure, she pays two thousand bucks a month, but it doesn't stretch very far. She's basically mooching off us."

Serenity overheard her brother-in-law's comment during the couple's argument last night.

She had to move out of her sister's place.

However, there was only one way to put her sister's mind to rest, and that was to get married.

Since Serenity wanted to tie the knot on short notice without ever having had a boyfriend, she decided to take up on Grandma May's offer. Serenity had saved the old lady by chance and came to know that Grandma May was trying to marry off her grandson, Zachary York, who had trouble settling down.

Twenty minutes later, Serenity got off to her pit stop at City Hall.

"Serenity."

A familiar voice summoned her attention the moment she got out of the car. It was Grandma May.

"Grandma May."

As Serenity hurried over, she took notice of a towering yet distant figure standing next to Grandma May. He must be Zachary, her husband-to-be.

At a closer distance, Serenity was dumbstruck after getting a load of Zachary's face.

According to Grandma May, her eldest grandson, Zachary had no luck with the ladies despite hitting thirty. Needless to say, Grandma May was worried sick.

Serenity had always assumed that he must be hideous.

After all, she heard that Zachary had a high-paying job up the corporate ladder in a major group.

Now that they had met face-to-face, Serenity realized that she got it all wrong.

Zachary was attractive and carried himself with an air of aloofness. Standing next to Grandma May with a sour face, he appeared standoffish and gave off vibes to stay away from him.

Serenity's gaze strayed to a black MPV parked nearby.

Judging by the logo, it was a national car rather than some multimillion-dollar vehicle. Serenity deduced that the economic difference between her and Zachary was not that far off.

She and an old friend from school had started a bookshop at the entrance of Wiltspoon School.

During her free time, Serenity would also knit little knick-knacks to sell online. The sales were not too bad.

In a month, she could bring home a steady income of twenty thousand dollars. The same amount in Wiltspoon would position her among the white collars. That was why she could afford to hand her sister five thousand bucks for living expenses.

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