From Widow to His World: Claimed by the CEO

Five years ago, I, Claire Parker, ran away for love with Daniel Carter, the broke boy everyone looked down on. But on the very day we were supposed to leave together, he abandoned me. Overnight, I became the laughingstock of the entire city and was forced into a marriage alliance with a terminally ill man, Ryan Cooper. Five years later, my husband died, the marriage alliance fell apart, and the Cooper family threw me out without a shred of mercy. Meanwhile, Daniel, the man everyone once sneered at, returned home in glory and became the hottest rising name in the business world. And somehow, he ended up becoming my boss. I wanted nothing to do with him, yet he kept closing in on me, cornering me with sarcasm sharp enough to draw blood. Then one day, Daniel caught me on a date with another man. His eyes reddened instantly as he pinned me against the wall. "Claire... are you abandoning me again?" ...... Daniel had me pinned against the window, one hand gripping my waist as his teeth brushed against my earlobe. Whenever we made love, he always liked forcing me to tilt my head up and look at him. "Weren't you the one who said you'd leave with me?" he murmured against my ear. "Then who are these tears for now?" His kisses left my legs weak. My fingers instinctively clutched at his shirt as even my breathing fell apart. And then, right at that moment, my phone rang. My eyes flew open, my chest rising sharply. The moment the call connected, a calm, professional voice came through. "Is this Ms. Claire Parker speaking? This is City General Hospital. We're very sorry to inform you that your husband, Ryan Cooper, passed away despite emergency treatment. Please come to the hospital as soon as possible to handle the necessary arrangements." My hand froze, and I nearly dropped my phone. Something lodged itself in my throat. After several long seconds, I finally managed to whisper, "What?" It took me several more seconds to remember that I even had a "husband." Half an hour later, I stood outside Cooper Mansion. The mansion was shrouded in mourning. Guests dressed in black moved quietly through the halls, and funeral flowers filled the entrance foyer. Ryan was really dead? The second I stepped inside, every person chatting in the living room turned to look at me. A cup came flying at my face the very next second. My mother-in-law. Patricia Cooper's shrill voice pierced through the room. "You cursed little witch! You brought death into this family!" The cup shattered at my feet, porcelain fragments scattering everywhere. She stormed toward me, jabbing a finger so close it nearly hit my face. "You've been married into this family for five years and couldn't even give Ryan a child! Now that he's gone, what are you even doing back here?" The others immediately joined in, their voices growing louder and harsher one after another. I stared at Ryan's black-and-white memorial portrait and felt nothing but irony. While Ryan had still been alive, the Cooper family had at least bothered to maintain the illusion of decency. Now that he was dead, even that thin layer had collapsed completely. Just then, Patricia lifted a hand, and her assistant placed a document in front of me. "Sign it." Her tone was casual, almost indifferent. "You'll be giving up all inheritance rights." I glanced over the papers but didn't move. "Of course, you can refuse." She sounded fully prepared for this. "Ryan's medical bills from the past few months, his hospital expenses, and several unresolved financial issues under his name will all become your responsibility." So that was their game. They thought they were forcing me into a choice. But to me, there had never been a choice at all. I had never intended to take anything from the Cooper family in the first place. There had never been love between Ryan and me, and now that this marriage had finally come to an end, all I felt was relief. I picked up the pen and signed my name on the last page without bothering to look at the agreement again. "You don't need to threaten me." I slid the papers back across the table, my voice perfectly calm. "I never wanted any of it anyway." Patricia's expression faltered for a brief second. "From this moment on, the Cooper family and I owe each other nothing." After saying that, I didn't spare anyone another glance before turning and walking straight out. Over the next few days, the Cooper family quickly finished handling Ryan's funeral. I only showed up when absolutely necessary. The rest of the time, I stayed busy packing up my belongings. By the time I returned to the office, everything seemed exactly the same as before. "You're back?" My colleague, Lily Wilson, looked visibly relieved when she saw me. "Perfect timing. There's a file that needs to go to the CEO's office, but I'm stuck here. Could you take it for me?" Carrying the documents, I walked to the CEO's office and knocked on the door. "Come in." A low male voice came from inside. I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The next second, my entire body froze. The man sitting behind the desk looked cold and distant. His features were sharper than I remembered, harder somehow, and far more unfamiliar. Even so, I recognized him instantly. Daniel. The man who had promised to run away with me five years ago... and never showed up. My fingers stayed clenched around the doorknob, so tight that my knuckles turned ashen. For a moment, I forgot to let go. Behind the desk, Daniel slowly lifted his head. The instant our eyes met, he visibly paused. I looked away almost instinctively and walked over to place the documents on his desk. "These are the documents that need your signature, Mr. Carter." He didn't reach for them. Instead, his gaze dropped to my hand and stayed there. Following his line of sight, I finally realized I was still wearing my wedding ring. The past few days had been such a mess that I'd completely forgotten to take it off. After a long silence, he finally spoke. "Leave it there." He leaned back in his chair, yet his eyes never once left me. I gave a quiet acknowledgment and placed the file in front of him. He opened it, flipped through two pages casually, then let out a cold laugh before tossing the file back toward me. "The data's a mess, the logic's all over the place, and you still thought this was good enough to bring to me for approval?" I had checked that file carefully myself. There was no way it contained mistakes. It was obvious he was making things difficult on purpose. "Mr. Carter, we've already double-checked everything in this file..." Before I could finish, Daniel cut me off and looked up at me coldly. "Ms. Parker, is this really your attitude toward work?" The pressure coming off him was suffocating. I took a slow breath and forced down the irritation rising in my chest. "I'll revise it again." With that, I picked up the documents and turned to leave. I had barely reached the door when Daniel's mocking voice came from behind me. "Wasn't the Cooper family filthy rich? What, they still need you out here working for a paycheck?" My breath caught sharply, bitterness and pain crashing into my chest at once. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Five years ago, he was the one who broke our promise and disappeared with another woman, leaving me waiting at the station like a complete joke all night long. And in the end, I was forced to marry the dying heir of the Cooper family. For five entire years, I'd been trapped in a marriage without love, without warmth, without even the illusion of happiness. All the humiliation, disappointment, and resentment had been swallowed by me alone. And now he stood in front of me acting like the abandoned victim, mocking me for being materialistic? In that instant, every ounce of grievance I'd buried over the past five years surged violently to the surface. Why? I was the one who'd been abandoned. I was the one who deserved to hate him. A sharp sting shot through my palm. Only then did I realize my nails had dug deep enough to break the skin.