SAMHAIN

No Longer Mrs. Cooley: The Architect's Return

Xiao Xiaosu

I went to the City Clerk's office for a routine copy of my marriage license to finalize a trust fund audit. I expected a simple piece of paper, but the clerk's pitying look told me my entire life was a lie. "The license was never finalized, Ms. Oliver. In the eyes of the state, you are single." The three-hundred-guest wedding at the Plaza and the Vogue features meant nothing. My husband, Gray Cooley, had intentionally filed the documents with a "procedural defect" so he could discard me without a legal divorce. Moments later, an iCloud invite titled "Our Little Secret" popped up on my screen. It was a photo of my best friend, Brylee, holding a positive pregnancy test at our Hamptons estate. Gray's text to her was the final blow: "Happy anniversary, babe. This baby is the best gift. Once the trust unlocks today, we're done with the charade." I soon discovered they were even stealing my career, reassigning my architectural masterpiece to Brylee while preparing my eviction notice. Gray's mother called me a "barren mule" in a leaked recording, mocking the infertility I suffered after saving Gray's life in a construction accident. I wasn't a wife; I was a three-year placeholder used to secure his inheritance. How could the man I bled for treat me like a disposable prop? How could my best friend carry his child while pretending to comfort me through my darkest moments? The betrayal burned until it turned into a cold, hard stone of fury. I didn't cry. Instead, I walked into the penthouse of the Barretts, the Cooleys' most powerful rivals. I signed a marriage contract with Kane Barrett, the man the tabloids called the "Beast of Wall Street." "I want a wedding," I told his father, my voice steady and lethal. "Bigger than the one I had with Gray." If they wanted me gone, they would have to watch me become the woman who owns their world.

Modern Revenge Divorce

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Growing up as an only child was not easy. Expectations were high. I have no one to depend on but myself whenever my parents were out of town for their respective jobs. I grew independent not because I had to but because I wanted to prove to myself that I can always survive whatever circumstances life throws my way.

Being Saphira Zobel Castello will always be a challenge. Not only do I have to live up to the fame of being the only heiress of a shipping magnate but also because of the influence of having a mother who is a senator.

"Saphira! Please come down here at my office this instant."

I heard my mom's voice in my room's intercom. Yes, since our house is huge, three-storey high with 10 bedrooms, the use of intercom is essential.

"Coming Mom!"

Both of my parents have their own office at the first floor where they stay most of the time whenever they are at home.

"Mom, you called?"

"What is this?"

I looked at the piece of paper she was holding and I knew that I am in deep trouble.

"An invitation to my graduation?"

"I am very disappointed in you Saphira. How can you let this happen? Weren't you studying all the time? Do we need to hire a tutor for you?"

"Mother, I am doing well in school."

"Doing well? Is this what you call doing well?"

"Mom, please calm down."