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Million Dollar Hush Money: I Want Divorce

Chapter 3 3

Word Count: 1001 | Released on: 30/12/2025

rumbled, a dissonant sound in the cathedral-like space. She passed the oil portraits of Ste

e shadows near the library. His eyebrows sho

ng? Are you.

Hampton house for a few days, Alfred. I need some sea air

the driver? Or

at her left hand. The ten-carat diamond solitaire weighed down her finge

o her skin, before sliding off. She placed it on the silver tray usual

ed an Uber

n at her. He didn't move to op

d skin, raw and unforgiving. She didn't look back. She walked down the long, he

ked, a heavyset man w

her bag in the ba

ere

tan. Tr

wling estate behind, Lily felt a phantom

rlooking Central Park, Ethan Sterling picked up

ook a duffel bag. And

felt a flicker of annoyance, like a gnat

On the ha

ter the office. "She's throwing a tantrum, Alfred. S

called a...

attention." He looked at Spencer. "Freeze her supplementary cards. All of them. Lo

hesitate

She'll be back before the gala tonight, crying and apologizing." Ethan hung up and tossed the

amry, Lily's

ansaction Declin

Card Frozen. e

n: Trust Ac

e," she muttered. She opened her wallet. She had four hundred dollars

e into Manhattan. A freezing rain mixed wit

busy corner in Tribeca. "Can't

Lily handed

of her bag and began to walk. The rain soaked through her coat instantly. She was just another f

ng. A puddle of slushy, gray water

rounded the corner, taking the turn

st to neck. She gasped, the shock of the cold stealing her breath.

dow, she saw a profile. Blo

he car disappeared, was a glimpse of fabri

it back. He had si

of exhaust and city grit. She watched t

two blocks to a brownstone bui

?" A voice

e. It

the elevator opened on the fourth floor, Chloe was standing there, holding a glas

shit

were blue. "I left him," she said, her teeth c

ass-it shattered on the floor, red liquid staining

Chloe's guest bed, the television in t

. And look at that-he's accompanied by Sterling VP Serena Vance. A pow

s smiling. He didn't look like a man whose wife was missi

Chapter End

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Million Dollar Hush Money: I Want Divorce

Irene Modern

“The silence in Sterling Manor wasn't empty; it was heavy, pressing against my eardrums like deep water. I sat on the edge of the oversized velvet sofa, waiting for my husband to return from a "merger closing" that I knew was actually a hotel room. At 2:00 AM, a notification glowed on his forgotten work tablet: "You left your tie on my nightstand. I'll keep it safe for next time. - S." When Ethan finally walked in, he didn't look at me. He just smelled like Serena's signature sandalwood perfume and expensive scotch. He didn't apologize for the infidelity; instead, he transferred a million dollars into my spousal account and told me to go buy some jewelry to keep my mouth shut. I realized then that I wasn't a wife; I was an expensive placeholder. I left my ten-carat diamond ring on the foyer table and walked out into the freezing rain with nothing but a canvas duffel bag. But Ethan wasn't about to let his "ornament" escape so easily. He froze my credit cards, revoked my trust access, and used his billion-dollar influence to blacklist me from every architecture firm in New York City. He even tracked me down to a restaurant where I was playing piano for tips, throwing a stack of hundreds at me in front of his mistress. When I still refused to crawl back to the manor, he played his final, cruelest card. He leaned in and whispered that if I didn't return to his bed, he would stop protecting my brother from a prison sentence he had manufactured himself. I stood there shivering, realizing that every "favor" he'd ever done for my family was actually a shackle. He thought he could buy my soul, my talent, and my silence by holding the people I loved hostage. How could the man I once loved turn into a monster who viewed my life as nothing more than a line item on a balance sheet? I looked him straight in the eye, my voice as cold as the winter air outside. "Make the call, Ethan. Send him to jail. I'd rather visit my brother through plexiglass than spend another night sleeping next to you." I'm done being a victim. I've just walked into the offices of Azure Architects, the only firm in the city Ethan can't bully. I'm not just going to finish my degree; I'm going to help his biggest rival burn his empire to the ground.”