Chapter 1The Prenup

The night before we were supposed to get our marriage license, Preston slid a prenuptial agreement across the table.

I opened to the first page. Six words immediately caught my eye.

“Separate property shall remain entirely separate.”

My finger stalled on the page. I kept reading. Section 3 was even more absurd.

“Party A’s reasonable financial gifts to Ms. Chloe Sterling, whether prior to or during the marriage, shall not be contested, reclaimed, or made public by Party B.”

I looked up at him.

“Who is Chloe Sterling?”

Preston leaned back against the sofa, not even bothering to look up from his phone.

“She’s the corporate counsel for the firm. She’s handled a lot of delicate matters for me.”

I stared at that line, feeling a bitter laugh bubble up in my throat.

Tomorrow, we were going to the courthouse to get married. But tonight, he was legally writing another woman’s name into our prenuptial agreement.

Seeing my hesitation, Preston frowned.

“Maya, don’t make this difficult.”

“You were with me when I had nothing. I appreciate that. But gratitude doesn’t mean you get half my company.”

I flipped to the very last page. When I saw the title of the addendum, my blood ran completely cold.

Addendum A: Confirmation of Real Estate Transfer to Ms. Chloe Sterling.

The address listed... was the penthouse right next door to the one I had personally picked out for our new home.

He wasn’t just worried about me taking his money. He had already bought a home for someone else.

I closed the folder and slid it back across the coffee table.

“Preston, we can cancel the courthouse appointment. I don’t want your money, and I don't want you. You disgust me.”

……

Preston’s face instantly darkened.

“Maya, what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

I didn’t answer. I stood up and walked straight into the bedroom.

Inside the closet, his bespoke suits were meticulously organized by color.

Over the years, as he got busier, he got more demanding.

His dress shirts had to be hand-washed. His ties had to be rotated by season. His cufflinks had to be matched to the specific event.

I used to think that taking care of him was just the intimacy we earned after surviving our broke twenties together.

Now I realized the truth.

I had just turned myself into his unpaid maid.

I started ripping his clothes off the hangers, throwing them aggressively into his sleek Rimowa suitcase.

Preston stormed in and grabbed my wrist.

“What are you doing?”

I ripped my arm out of his grip.

“I’m packing your bags. You’re leaving.”

“We aren’t getting married tomorrow. You don’t have to worry about protecting your assets from me anymore.”

“Preston, we’re done.”

Preston scoffed, like I had just told a bad joke.

“You’re doing all this over a prenup?”

I looked him dead in the eye.

“I’m doing this because you wrote Chloe into our marriage.”

Preston yanked at his collar, visibly annoyed.

“I already told you, it’s a liability shield.”

“Chloe is our lead counsel. She knows how to navigate corporate loopholes better than you do.”

“Maya, can you stop making everything about some imaginary affair?”

I laughed.

“She’s living in the penthouse next door to ours. Is that a liability shield, too?”

Preston’s eyes narrowed.

“You’ve been digging into my accounts?”

My chest tightened painfully.

His first reaction wasn’t to explain himself. It was to interrogate me on how I found out.

I nodded slowly.

“So it’s true.”

Preston was silent for two seconds before his voice dropped into that cold, CEO register.

“That apartment was an executive retention bonus.”

“She’s saved me from massive contract liabilities. She earned it.”

I grabbed a silk tie from the pile and threw it directly at his face.

“She earned it?! What about me?!”

“Eight years ago, when you couldn't make rent, who slept on an air mattress in a basement with you?”

“When your first supplier scammed you, who begged her mother for a loan to keep you afloat?!”

“When your ulcer ruptured because you couldn't afford a doctor, who carried you to the ER?!”

“Preston, didn't I earn anything?!”

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

For a split second, something that looked like guilt flashed in his eyes.

“Why are you so pale?” he asked, his tone suddenly shifting.

“Did you skip dinner again?”

He turned toward the kitchen.

It was exactly like every other fight we’d ever had. He would deflect, go pour me a glass of warm water, and act like nothing happened.

But then his phone rang. The name Chloe flashed on the screen.

He stopped. He answered it immediately.

“What’s wrong?”

I couldn't hear what she said on the other end.

But Preston’s brow furrowed in deep concern.

“Don’t cry. I’m on my way.”

I just stared at him.

“Preston.”

He grabbed his overcoat, the annoyance immediately returning to his voice.

“Chloe has a crisis with the merger contracts.”

“Maya, stop trying to hold me hostage with the past.”

“Everyone struggles when they’re young. Didn’t I make it up to you?”

“The condo, the Mercedes, the black card—have I ever denied you anything?”

I raised my hand and slapped him across the face as hard as I could.

The sharp crack echoed in the quiet bedroom.

Preston’s head snapped to the side. He didn’t move for a long time.

My palm was stinging, but my voice was completely steady.

“The condo is in my name because I put down the deposit.”

“The Mercedes is in your name. I never asked for it.”

“And I haven’t touched a single cent on that black card.”

“Preston, stop acting like you’re my savior.”

Preston slowly turned his head back. His eyes were dark with suppressed rage.

“Maya, you look pathetic right now.”

I looked down at the pile of expensive clothes scattered on the floor.

“I know. So get out.”

“Get the hell out.”

He violently kicked the suitcase.

Shirts and ties spilled across the hardwood.

“Fine.”

“Let’s see how tough you are after a few days without me.”

He slammed the door so hard the walls shook.

The moment the lock clicked, my legs gave out. I sank to the floor.

The prenup was still sitting on the coffee table in the living room.

I slowly walked over and flipped to the very last page.

Under the section for the Witness Signature.

Chloe Sterling was signed in elegant, cursive ink.

And at the bottom of the second addendum, there was a tiny, easily missed footnote.

“If Party B terminates the engagement citing Party A’s professional relationship with Ms. Chloe Sterling, it shall be deemed a unilateral breach of contract by Party B.”

I stared at that sentence and actually burst out laughing.

He had even paved the legal road for Chloe to walk away scot-free if I left him.