Chapter 1
My wedding had turned into my mother’s funeral.
That day, in front of hundreds of guests, Archer Monroe snatched the ring from my hand and slipped it onto Cassidy Trent’s finger instead.
“Elise, this wedding matters. Don’t make a fuss. I’ll make it up to you later.”
My mother, beyond fury, collapsed and died right before our eyes.
But Archer never even spared her a glance. Instead, he lowered his head and kissed Cassidy on the lips, no shame in his actions.
Heartbroken and enraged, I arranged my mother’s cremation myself. I could no longer share a roof with that man.
That night, I returned home in the pouring rain, holding my mother’s ashes in my arms, soaked, trembling, but determined. When I opened the door, a lacy piece of lingerie flew through the air and landed directly on the urn I was holding.
Archer looked up, annoyed. As if I had disturbed the blissful wedding night he was spending with Cassidy.
Even my seven-year-old son glanced at me coldly, his words sharp as knives.
“Cassidy is my real mom. You’re just some pathetic woman who should leave the Monroe family.”
Facing the two people I had once called family, I wiped away my tears with frozen fingers, forcing my voice to remain steady.
I called my half-brother.
“Brother, sever every last tie with the Monroe family.”
1
Cradling the ashes, I had pushed open the door and found clothes scattered messily across the floor.
Since Cassidy had become Archer's "assistant," they often worked late into the night together in the study.
The first time I voiced my discomfort, Archer shot me a cold, cutting glare.
"If I don’t break my back earning money for you, do you think you'd be living this comfortably? Stop being jealous. Cassidy and I are all business!"
But after too many fights, he packed a bag and vanished into a hotel room, returning only when I swallowed my pride and begged him to come home.
I never imagined that all my bending, all my begging, would cost me my mother’s life.
Brushing away the tears, I sneered and flung the door wider, only to be welcomed by Cassidy’s pink lingerie, shamelessly draped on top of my mother’s urn.
On the sofa, their bodies were knotted together like lovers. Cassidy’s serpent-like waist arched with every breath, her tongue tracing wet trails across Archer’s chest.
Archer looked up, eyes narrowing when he saw me. He snatched a coat from the floor and threw it over Cassidy’s bare body, as if modesty mattered now.
Then he strolled toward me, picked up the lingerie with maddening calm, and tossed it aside like it was nothing.
“Cassidy is the long-lost heiress of France’s Barrett family. I’m fake-marrying her to boost the Monroe business. Right now, we’re just putting on a show for those who are watching.”
“As my actual wife, you should understand, right?”
“I don’t understand! Archer, my mother is dead!”
My voice cracked under the weight of grief, the sob slipping out before I could hold it in.
But my sorrow didn’t stir even a flicker of guilt in Archer’s eyes. Instead, he glanced at the urn, frowning in irritation.
“Hmm, dying on my wedding day, what bad luck.”
My rage surged so hard I nearly collapsed. “You bastard!”
He growled, clearly annoyed.
“It’s not like I killed her. She wouldn’t have lived much longer anyway. Why are you being so dramatic?”
I clenched my fists and shook my head, trembling.
Today was supposed to be the wedding I had waited years for. And worse, I had just learned I was pregnant.
Archer’s sperm had always been weak. After eight years, we had only one child, Dorian.
I had wanted to share this moment with him. But now, I looked him in the eye and said coldly, “Let’s divorce, Archer. After all, the bride you married today wasn’t me.”
I only wanted to take my son and leave this suffocating place behind.
Archer stared at me in disbelief, as if I’d just shattered his world.
“I won’t allow it. In this lifetime, you’re not going anywhere!”
When I stayed silent, his chest rose sharply. He stormed over and gripped my arm tight.
“I told you, Cassidy and I are just business partners. Don’t you understand simple words?!”
Partners?
Last night, I had vomited until my vision blurred, and the moment his phone rang, he left, just to be with Cassidy.
Even when I collapsed beside the toilet, he stepped over me like I wasn’t even there.
“I’ve already called the family doctor for you.”
Then, just outside the door, I heard his low voice telling the butler,
“Have the whole house disinfected. Cassidy might come by tomorrow. She can’t stand this kind of disgusting smell.”
Less than thirty minutes after his car disappeared from view, I saw Cassidy’s tweet.
“The moment I said I was having a panic attack, my boyfriend rushed over to comfort me. To all the unloved people, do yourselves a favor and stay away.”
Attached was a selfie in a hotel pool.
Cassidy clung to a tall man’s neck with fiery passion. I couldn’t see his face, but I recognized him as my husband.
My phone slipped from my hand. The doctor arrived shortly after and, upon examining me, said I was pregnant.
Back then, I naively believed this child might bring him back to me.
But I gained nothing.
And I lost my mother.
That cruel nightmare shattered whatever love I still had left for Archer.
“Let go of me!”
I struggled in fury.
Cassidy, now wearing Archer’s oversized shirt, strolled over with interest in her eyes.
“So this is an urn? It’s my first time seeing one.”
Then she draped herself around Archer’s waist and purred, “I heard ashes are rich in calcium. My Sunshine’s been calcium deficient lately, and I’m just not sure about the safety of supplements...”
Sunshine, her pampered little beagle.
“Cassidy, that’s my mother’s ashes! I will never let your dog desecrate her!”
Cassidy blinked at me innocently. Archer’s eyes turned cold as he spoke sharply, “Your mother was Catholic. I think she would’ve gladly offered all of herself.”
My eyes widened in disbelief.
“What did you just say?!”
