Leaving the Billionaire's Shadow

“I woke up to the sterile silence of my master bedroom, 27 again. This wasn' t a dream; it was my second chance to escape a life everyone else called a fairytale. On my wife Olivia' s side of the king-sized bed, the sheets were undisturbed. She was Olivia Hayes, the tech mogul, a name that carried weight. To the outside world, I was Ethan Miller, the lucky architect married to a billionaire, but looking at our family photo, a chilling emptiness consumed me. I saw a stranger with a forced smile standing next to a woman who was never there, and two children whose affection I' d lost to Liam Thorne, Olivia' s childhood sweetheart. Years of being a shadow, my efforts ignored, my presence taken for granted-I wouldn' t live that life again. I found the file I was looking for: Divorce_Agreement.pdf. After printing two copies, I scrolled through my contacts until I found the name that haunted my previous life. Liam Thorne. He picked up on the third ring, his voice thick with sleep. "Who is this?" "It' s Ethan Miller," I said, devoid of emotion. A confused pause, then. "Ethan? Do you know what time it is? Is Olivia okay?" "Olivia is fine," I replied. "I' m calling about something else. I have divorce papers here. I' m ready to sign them. I want to give you everything. Olivia, the children, this house. It' s all yours."”