Chapter 1Go Bankrupt for Your First Love

At the space agency's awards ceremony, my husband gave the honor that should have been mine to his first love, who had just returned from overseas.

He accused me of plagiarism and rescinded my promotion in front of everyone.

Everyone thought I would argue and make a scene, but I simply smiled and personally placed my work badge around his first love's neck.

"A new position calls for a celebration, doesn't it? Why not make it a wedding? I'd be happy to officiate."

They didn't know that I was the only one capable of drawing the rocket's design blueprints.

Even the resources keeping the project alive had been secured because of my reputation and connections.

This time, I wanted to see whether she really was the brilliant overseas-trained expert they claimed she was—or merely a pretty face with nothing to back it up.

* * *

The entire venue went into an uproar.

After all, as the chief female designer of the new rocket, I, Stacey Everton, had practically lived at the company throughout the year-long development process. Everyone considered me the hardest-working person on the project.

Yet all the honors had gone to a newcomer who had simply parachuted into the company.

Standing onstage, Timothy Jackson's expression darkened.

"Stacey, what exactly do you mean by this?"

I smiled faintly.

"Since there's a better candidate, of course I should step aside as soon as possible. Otherwise, wouldn't I be standing in the way of a truly talented person?"

Back then, Timothy had said he didn't want our marriage to affect the project, so we had kept it a secret all this time.

He was also the one who'd promised to announce our relationship at the year-end meeting once the new rocket project was officially approved.

So this was the surprise I'd waited for.

Watching him humiliate me without mercy just to elevate Karina Lincoln, I felt a bitter mix of emotions. My heart ached terribly.

I couldn't be bothered to say anything more. I turned around and walked out.

If I hadn't exhausted every connection I had and worked day and night to optimize the project proposal, the new rocket project might never have entered the research phase this quickly.

Yet all my hard work and dedication had been dismissed with a casual accusation of plagiarism from Timothy.

If that was how things were, why should I stay?

Karina thought that spending a few years overseas and coming back with a shiny resume meant she could take over the project with ease.

What she didn't know was that in the field of rocket development, it was impossible to take even a single step forward without the right resources.

More importantly, she couldn't even produce the most basic blueprints required during the development process.

Heavy was the head that wore the crown.

I was looking forward to seeing exactly how that crown would crush her.

After leaving the conference room, I walked somewhat dejectedly down to the company parking garage.

I was just about to get into my car when I suddenly noticed the old silver ring on my left ring finger.

When Timothy and I first got married, we weren't well-off. We couldn't even afford proper wedding bands, so we had them custom-made at a small jewelry shop.

There were no diamonds and only two simple silver bands, but I had never taken mine off. I had worn it for years simply because Timothy himself had slipped it onto my finger.

If his love was already gone, what was the point of keeping the ring now?

I had just taken it off when a red sports car pulled up beside me.

I saw Karina's smiling face through the lowered window.

She had also noticed the silver ring in my hand, and the mockery in her eyes became even more obvious.

"Stacey, don't worry. From now on, I'll lead the research team to greater heights. I won't let you down.

"Oh, right. I accidentally damaged Timothy's wedding ring when I was opening a package a couple of days ago. You can take it and have it repaired."

She tossed a heavily scratched ring to me, a provocative smile still plastered across her face.

I stared at the ring in my palm, scratched almost beyond recognition.

Suddenly, I recalled Timothy holding me a few days earlier. He'd told me he'd accidentally lost his wedding ring and asked me to wait until he received his year-end bonus before helping him choose a new one.

So that was the truth.

To him, our wedding ring had become nothing more than a piece of trash he could casually discard.

I gave a faint, bitter smile and got into my car.

But I had barely gone a short distance when Karina suddenly slammed on the accelerator and crashed straight into me.