Love Turned to Ash: He Cheated Again, So I Took His Empire

On the third anniversary of our marriage, Adrian Griffin had a new face in his passenger seat. This time, I, Audrey Lawson, didn't storm over to tear them apart. I didn't scream or demand explanations. I simply went home and poured the dinner I had spent the entire afternoon preparing into the trash. The housekeeper tried to stop me. "Mrs. Griffin, you worked all afternoon on those dishes…" I wiped my hands, my voice flat. "It's cold. I don't want it anymore." Not the food. Not the man I had once given up my career to marry. I took out the divorce papers I had prepared long ago. Without hesitation, I signed my name—slowly, carefully, stroke by stroke. Then I began packing my things. Clothes. Jewelry. And the honors that were rightfully mine. Adrian had no idea that every award-winning design Griffin Group had received in the past five years had come from my hand. He had built his reputation in the industry on my work. I dialed a number that had lain dormant for three years. "Professor, I'm back." From this day forward, I would reclaim everything that belonged to me. ...... The next day dawned bright and cloudless. I had a follow-up appointment with my private dentist in Southridge Enclave, that discreet pocket of wealth in the southern district of Asterford. As I stepped out of the clinic, I passed a bespoke jewelry boutique next door. The emerald necklace in the display window looked familiar. I had once casually admired that very design at an art exhibition last month. The glass door opened, and a familiar figure stepped out. It was Adrian. He was wearing the charcoal-gray suit I had pressed for him. A young woman I didn't recognize clung to his arm. She looked fresh out of college, dressed in a white sundress, her smile bright and sweet. "Adrian, this is way too expensive. I can't accept it." "Silly girl, if you like it, I'll buy the whole store." His voice was gentle—laced with a tenderness I hadn't heard in a long time. I stopped without meaning to. Not because it hurt. Because it was absurd. Just three days earlier, he had held me close and sworn I was the only woman he would ever love. The others, he said, had meant nothing—mere transactions in the world of business. I had caught him cheating more times than I could count. Each time, a different woman. Models. Minor celebrities. Even a distant cousin of mine. The first time I found out, I broke down and smashed everything in the house. He had knelt outside in the rain all night, burning with a fever of 104 degrees, begging me not to leave. Back then, my heart had softened. I told myself a prodigal could come home. I told myself he loved me—he just lacked self-control. But when it happened again and again, I grew numb. He grew bolder. He believed that no matter what he did outside, a few sweet words at home would keep me waiting forever. Just like now. Adrian looked up—and our eyes met. The smile on his face froze. The shock in his expression was almost comical, like he'd seen a ghost. He yanked his arm free from the girl's grip and even shoved her aside. She stumbled, nearly twisting her ankle, and looked at him with wounded eyes. "Mr. Griffin…" Adrian rushed over to me, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "Audrey, what are you doing here?" His hand trembled as if he wanted to grab mine, yet he didn't dare touch me. Watching him squirm like a guilty thief, I felt nothing. No anger. No hurt. Not even the energy for sarcasm. The girl also approached, timidly looking at me, yet her eyes held a hint of provocation. Adrian stepped in front of the girl and began speaking rapidly. "Audrey, don't get the wrong idea. She's Marcus's cousin. Her name's Jasmine Jensen. That idiot got drunk and can't even get out of bed. It's his mom's birthday, so he asked me to bring her to pick out a gift. You know Marcus. If I don't help him, no one will." The excuse rolled off his tongue smoothly, almost rehearsed. Marcus Chandler was his closest friend, and he did come from a large, influential family. If this had happened before, I would have demanded to know why picking out a gift required linking arms, why she was calling him something so intimate. I would have dug into Marcus's entire family tree. I would have turned the world upside down. But now, I was simply tired. Watching sweat bead across Adrian's forehead, I suddenly found him pitiful. Living inside a web of lies like that—wasn't it exhausting? I nodded, my tone even. "Oh. Marcus's cousin." Adrian froze. He clearly hadn't expected me to accept it so easily. All the vows and explanations he had prepared clogged in his throat. "Then… what are you doing here?" he asked, gesturing toward the dental clinic behind me. "Toothache. I came to see the dentist." I adjusted the collar of my coat, my gaze drifting to the girl named Jasmine. She was looking at me like a victor surveying the defeated, a faint trace of mockery hidden in her eyes. I gave a small smile and said to Adrian, "Since you're helping a friend, make sure you choose carefully. Marcus's mother likes jade. Don't get it wrong." With that, I turned and walked away. My steps were light, not a trace of hesitation in them. Behind me, Adrian called out in disbelief, "Audrey? You're not mad?" I wasn't. The dead don't get mad. Adrian hurried after me for a couple of steps, as if trying to decide whether I was being sarcastic. But I was already inside a taxi. In the rearview mirror, he stood frozen in place, his face clouded with confusion and unease. He was used to my hysteria. Used to my tears and accusations. My calm unsettled him far more than any outburst ever had. But he didn't know this was only the calm before the storm.