It was our seventh time filing for divorce. An hour later, wedding photos of my husband and his young assistant appeared on my feed. Her hand was intertwined with his, showcasing his elegant fingers. The caption read: Legally, logically, lovingly yours. I clicked his profile—the first “like”—and instantly blocked him. His frantic call came moments later. I ignored it. He seemed to vanish. Days later, he called again: “Withdraw the divorce, Aurora. Come home.” His voice trembled. “Your daughter and I… we’ve missed you.” I laughed bitterly. Missed me? He’d flown his assistant to New Zealand for orcas, then to Norway for Northern Lights—all documented in a hundred boastful posts. I stayed silent, switched to speaker, and playfully pinched the bare chest of the man in front of me. He groaned sharply. The silence grew heavy. “Who was that?” My husband Karl’s voice turned tense, teeth gritted. “Where’s my wife?” 1 The man holding me chuckled softly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear before ending the call and walking out the door. Half an hour later, my front door was kicked open. Karl stormed in, his eyes wild with panic. He grabbed my hands, pulling me up and spinning me around, his gaze frantically checking every inch of me. Only when he was satisfied that I was unharmed did he let out a shuddering breath and pull me into a bone-crushing hug. “Aurora, I missed you,” he whispered, his eyes red-rimmed as he nuzzled his chin against my shoulder. “Are you mad at me? I’m sorry, I’ll never do it again. Just… don’t use some other guy to make me jealous.” Listening to his heartfelt confession, I couldn't help but smile. “He’s not a prop, Karl.” His own smile froze on his face. My voice was light, almost cheerful. “We’re divorced. I have no reason to make you jealous.” Karl let out a forced laugh, his posture immediately relaxing. “Oh, you’re still hung up on that? Don’t be mad, baby. She’s just a colleague. I didn’t do anything to betray you.” “Look,” he said, pulling a small box from his pocket. “To make up for this whole divorce mess, I’ll propose to you all over again. You know how we are—we fight, we make up. Just forgive me one more time.” The box opened to reveal a delicate DR necklace. “I got this for you on my business trip.” My gaze fell to his left ring finger. A faint, pale line circled the base—the unmistakable mark of a ring worn for a long time. We never exchanged wedding rings; he’d claimed it was unprofessional for the office. That, combined with this sudden, out-of-place necklace, made it painfully obvious who he’d been wearing a ring for. Just then, my daughter burst through the door and threw her arms around my waist. She opened her small hand to reveal a lifelike butterfly hairpin. “Don’t be mad anymore, okay? The little butterfly is saying sorry to you.” I took the hairpin and clipped it into my hair. The cold, sharp words I’d been about to say died on my lips. You can’t stay angry at your own child. BOOM! The sudden crack of fireworks made me jump. Karl grabbed my hand and led me outside. A swarm of 999 drones, arranged in the shape of a massive heart, was gliding toward our house. As they hovered over our lawn, they shifted formation, spelling out my name. AURORA, HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY. My daughter looked up at me, her eyes shining with hope. Karl’s smile was as gentle and intoxicating as it was the night he’d laid out 999 candles and asked me to be his girl. It was cheesy. But it was dazzling. Passersby stopped to gasp and applaud. “Now that’s how you do it, kid! So romantic!” someone shouted. “Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!” a group chanted. I stared into Karl’s eyes, saying nothing. He bit his lower lip softly and leaned in, aiming for my cheek. At that exact moment, a pair of blinding headlights flooded my face, and the sound of a woman’s heartbroken sobs cut through the air. 2 Katie teetered toward us on impossibly high heels, her eyes brimming with tears as she stared at Karl. “We just took our wedding photos, and you’re already cheating on me, Karl? You said you would only love me for the rest of your life! You lied to me! I’m just going to go kill myself!” With a dramatic cry, she ran towards a tree on the curb, only to collapse theatrically into Karl’s waiting arms. She pounded weakly on his chest. “You’re a bastard, Karl! If you’re going to break my heart, just let me die!” My daughter ran over to her, gently wiping away her fake tears. “Don’t cry, Mommy,” she cooed. “Daddy and I only love you.” In an instant, the curious glances from the crowd turned into sharp, judgmental glares aimed directly at me. “So, she’s the other woman?” “Obviously. They have a child together. I can’t believe she has the nerve to seduce a married man.” I opened my mouth to explain, but Karl cut me off, his brow furrowed with annoyance. “You should go, Aurora. I can’t do this to Katie.” My daughter then reached up and yanked the hairpin from my head, tearing out a fistful of my hair with it. She snatched the necklace box from my hand. “Did you really think this was for you? Daddy and I got these presents for Mommy.” It had only been a month, and my daughter was already calling Katie ‘Mommy.’ Karl shot me a triumphant smirk before turning and dropping to one knee in front of Katie. “I kept feeling like I still owed you something. Perhaps… it was this ring.” He produced another box, this one containing a massive diamond ring. My daughter clipped the butterfly hairpin into Katie’s hair. “Mommy loves butterflies. I bought this especially for you.” Meanwhile, someone in the crowd was live-streaming. The hashtag #EpicLoveStory was trending. [He and their daughter love her so much! She’s the real winner here!] [OMG, is that a two-carat diamond? I think that’s the ‘Heart of the Ocean’ ring! It took the designer three years to make, it’s worth over a hundred million, and it’s the only one in the world!] Basking in the crowd’s adoration, Katie shot me a look of pure contempt and melted into Karl’s embrace. He scooped her up with one arm, took our daughter’s hand with the other, and walked away. I just stood there, silently taking screenshots of all of Katie’s Instagram posts before blocking and deleting them both. I had no time to be a player in their pathetic little soap opera. 3 A few minutes later, a video call came through from my new boyfriend, Julian. “Aurora, I’ve just wrapped things up at the office. I’m on my way back now. Want me to pick up some late-night snacks?” I thought for a moment. “No, that’s okay. I don’t have much of an appetite.” His expression immediately turned serious. “What’s wrong? Did that man from this afternoon bother you? He… he didn’t do anything to you, did he?” He tried to sound casual, turning his head away, but the way he bit his lip betrayed his concern. I shook my head, a small smile touching my lips. “Don’t be silly. It’s just the heat. And from now on, don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. It’s always spam.” When Julian got home, he found the living room empty and rushed into the bedroom, looking panicked. He visibly relaxed when he saw me packing a suitcase. “I thought we weren’t leaving for another month. Why are you packing already?” I smiled and gave him a quick hug before returning to my task. “I changed the flight. We leave in three days. We can get there early and do some sightseeing.” There was nothing left for me here. Just one last piece of business to take care of, and I could leave this all behind. The next morning, I arrived at the auction hall. My parents had gone missing during a round-the-world trip years ago. An island up for bid today held the only clue I’d managed to find about their disappearance. I hadn’t even reached my seat when a stiletto shot out, tripping me. I stumbled and fell to the floor. Katie let out a snort of laughter. “Seriously, Aurora? I know your daughter calls me ‘Mom’ now, but you don’t have to bow to me.” She tutted. “You’re so much older than me. I’m worried this will shorten my lifespan.” Despite her words, she didn’t walk away. Instead, she had one of her friends help me up. “You’re so good at playing the victim,” Katie cooed. “If I were a man, I’d probably fall for it. Too bad for you, Karl is completely devoted to me.” I brushed her friend’s hand away. “Does it feel good being a homewrecker? You must be enjoying it, judging by that smile.” Her smile vanished. “You’ve got a sharp tongue. Let’s see if you’re still smiling in a few minutes.” I assumed she was talking about Karl and shrugged it off. Why would I care about a man who had already cheated on me? But when the bidding for the island began, one of Karl’s employees took the stage and began presenting my proposal. My bid, my research, my entire plan—it had been stolen. I stared at Karl in disbelief. He flinched and looked away, unable to meet my eyes. I had poured my heart and soul into that proposal, working sleepless nights for a month, all for the chance to get access to that island and investigate my parents’ last known location. I never thought he would do this to me, not even for Katie. Katie tilted her head, pointing to the presentation on the screen. “Isn’t it a great presentation, Aurora? This island is mine.” To get the answers I needed, I had no choice. I clenched my jaw and signaled my assistant. “Add another ten percent to our budget. I don’t care what it takes. We are winning that island.” Karl’s mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, to explain, but Katie tugged on his arm. “Karl, you promised you would give this island to me. How can you let Aurora use your money to steal it?” A bitter laugh escaped me. So, after all the years we’d spent building our company from nothing, in everyone else’s eyes, I was just a freeloader living off his success. I was about to tell Karl that I would fight him to the end for this, but he suddenly stopped Katie. “Why are we fighting over a deserted island? I have a much better gift for you, my love.” 4 After my employee presented our revised, much higher bid, the auction organizers smiled with approval. Seeing her chances evaporate, Katie burst into tears and fled the room. Karl shot me a dark look before following her. I frowned, wondering what new drama they were cooking up. Their malicious bidding war had already forced me to sell off all my company shares to cover the cost. Just before the auction concluded, Katie returned, wrapped in Karl’s arms. She gave me a cryptic, triumphant smile. As I was leaving the venue, I noticed people pointing and whispering. Snippets of ugly rumors reached my ears, souring my victory. Just as I reached the exit, a woman stormed up to me and blocked my path. “Are you the one sending nude photos to my husband?” Before I could react, she slapped me across the face, sending me sprawling to the ground. “Can’t you go one day without a man, you slut? Sending him videos of you in lingerie, calling him ‘daddy’?” A crowd started to gather, including some of my own business partners. “Whoa, she sent them to me, too,” one of them snickered. “I had no idea Ms. Hayes was hiding all that under her business suits. Look at all those toys… she’s wild.” “Well, now we know how she kept Mr. Shaw wrapped around her finger for so long. She probably slept her way to the top. Can’t blame the guy, what man could resist that?” My head was spinning from the slap. I looked at the explicit images on the woman’s phone, and my blood ran cold. The woman in the video was wearing lingerie so sheer it was more provocative than being naked, drawing the eye to the most intimate parts of her body. I tried to explain, but someone threw a cup of coffee at me. The hot, sticky liquid streamed down my head, soaking my blouse. At the end of the video, my voice, breathy and seductive, echoed from the phone. The entire crowd fell silent, their eyes fixing on my coffee-stained lips.
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