MY BILLIONAIRE TYCOON HUSBAND

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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As she stared up at the blazing hot sky, she wondered what her life was going to look like. The clouds floated around happily in humor to her predicament. Being fired from the only place she had worked so hard to get into after graduation was quite a comic story indeed.

As she crossed the pathway leading up to her rundown apartment close by, a few blocks away from the building that had held all her dashed hopes and dreams, her heel got stuck in the broken cemented sidewalk. Thrusting out with all her might, the heel of her favorite suede stiletto broke. She stumbled backwards and landed on her butt, grazing her hands onto the ground. It hurt. She knew that right at this moment, the universe was mocking her.

Working endlessly and tirelessly for years, only to come out with the best degree and getting admitted into the workplace she had applied for, seemed so far away now. She looked down at her stubbed heel and wept for her bleak life.

"What's a beautiful girl like you doing on her ass on the sidewalk?"

Her head whipped around so fast she was afraid her neck would snap. She raised her head up to look at the stranger who had his hand outstretched with a huge smile on his face.

"Am sorry, who are you?" she spoke before her body could register what she had said.

The said man was gorgeous, with chestnut brown hair and blue eyes; he looked so handsome it took her breath away.

"Why don't I help you up?" he offered, gesturing to his outstretched hand.

She nodded because words had seemed to fail her. "Yes, thank you," she stammered.

He pulled her up; stumbling due to her wobbly legs, she collided with his chest. "Sorry," she said abruptly, straightening up.

"Can I buy you a cup of coffee?" he asked politely.

Nodding, her lips widened in a shy smile as she felt her cheeks redden.

"There's a great coffee shop just two blocks away if we can just make it," he took the lead.

Being careful not to lose him, she walked as fast as her legs could carry her to match his long strides. She noticed that he slowed down a few times to give her time to catch up, which was very thoughtful of him.

"Come on in," he said, ushering her in through the double glass doors that held the coffee sign.

The place had an aesthetically pleasing mahogany feel to it. There wasn't much of a crowd for the lunch hour, but it wasn't completely empty. There were customers scattered around the shop, chatting away and sipping away at their coffees, worry-free.

She let out a defeated sigh.

"What's wrong? Don't you like coffee?" he asked.

She shook her head vehemently. "No, no, I do. I was just... thinking about something else," she reassured him.

He nodded and walked over to the counter to place their orders. Busing herself, she picked a table at the far end of the coffee place and slid into the curved seats overlooking the floor-to-ceiling windows.

She watched as the people breezed by, some tired, some happy, but most of all she noticed the satisfied looks they all had as they passed by, probably on their way back to work.

Clearing his throat, she jerked back away from her internal musings.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Concern etched on the creases at the base of his forehead.

She gave him a wan smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yes, I'm fine. Just work," she summarized.

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