The Billionaire's Ego: My Ruthless Divorce

I had been a "decoration piece" for Kenton Parker for three years, a contract wife bought to pay off my father's gambling debts. I lived in a cold penthouse, making his coffee and answering his phones, while he treated me with the clinical indifference of a stranger. On our third anniversary, I waited alone at the city's most exclusive restaurant, only to see a news alert flash on my phone. Kenton wasn't coming. He was caught on camera at a hospital, looking at his "friend," ballerina Blanca Donovan, with a raw, frantic worry he had never once shown me, not even when I fell down a flight of stairs. I finally snapped and filed for divorce, citing his "irreversible erectile dysfunction" just to destroy his massive ego. I thought I was free, but Kenton retaliated with a cruelty that left me breathless. He froze every bank account I owned and had his secretary smash the last photo I had of my mother. He reminded me of the five-million-dollar penalty in my contract-money I didn't have. "You don't get to leave until I say so," he roared, dragging me into his office. He used my father's life as a leash, forcing me to play the part of a doting wife at his family's Hamptons estate to please his sick mother. He wanted to starve me out until I crawled back to his side. I couldn't understand how a man could be so heartless. He didn't want my heart, yet he refused to let me go, treating my life like a line item in a corporate merger. He wanted to keep me as his prisoner while he spent his nights with another woman. But Kenton made one fatal mistake. He thought I was just a broke, submissive secretary with nowhere to turn. He didn't know that I was "Vee," a world-renowned art restorer with a secret legacy and a six-figure commission waiting for me. As we shared a bed in the Hamptons and he pulled me against his chest, whispering that I was "his," I didn't feel comfort. I felt the cold, hard spark of a woman who was finally ready to burn his contract to the ground.

Chapters

Chapter 8

The next morning, Carleigh was standing in Harley's bathroom, trying to make herself look like a professional art restorer using Harley's drugstore makeup, when her own phone rang.

She froze. The screen said Francine Parker.

Kenton's mother.

Carleigh debated not answering. Francine was the only person in the Parker family who had treated her with kindness. But she was also Kenton's mother.

She swiped answer. "Francine?"

"Carleigh, dear." Francine's voice sounded weak, breathless. "Where are you? Kenton said you went to a spa?"

He lied. Of course.

"I... yes. I needed a break."

"Oh." A ragged cough rattled through the phone. "I hate to interrupt your relaxation, darling, but... the doctors. They're worried about my heart again. The arrhythmias."

Carleigh gripped the sink. "Are you okay? Are you in the hospital?"

"No, no. I refused to stay. I'm going to the Hamptons estate for the weekend. To rest. But... I don't want to be alone. I feel... fragile."

"I can come visit," Carleigh said instantly.

"Wonderful. The whole family will be there. You and Kenton. It might be my last family gathering for a while."

The guilt trip was subtle, masterfully executed. Carleigh knew Francine played up her illness to manipulate her children, but she also knew the heart condition was real.

"Francine, I-"

"Please, Carleigh. For me? I just want to see my son and his beautiful wife happy together. Just for one weekend."

Carleigh closed her eyes. She couldn't say no to a dying woman. Even if that woman was the mother of the devil.

"Okay. We'll be there."

She hung up and groaned.

"Let me guess," Harley said from the doorway. "The Matriarch?"

"She wants us in the Hamptons. This weekend."

"Don't go. It's a trap."

"I have to. If she dies and I wasn't there..." Carleigh sighed.

Her phone beeped. A text from Kenton.

Mother called me. She says you're coming. I'll pick you up at noon. Be ready. And wear something that covers that bandage. We are playing happy couple.

Carleigh typed back: I'm doing this for her. Not you.

She quickly emailed Harvey Freeman, rescheduling her interview to Monday due to a "family emergency." Freeman replied instantly: Talent waits for no one, Vee, but for you, I will make an exception. Monday.

At noon, the Maybach pulled up. Carleigh walked out wearing a long-sleeved cream dress that hid her bandage. She got into the back seat.

Kenton was there. He looked tired. There were dark circles under his eyes. He looked at her, his gaze sweeping over her dress, lingering on her face.

"You look..." He stopped himself. "Acceptable."

Carleigh sat as far away from him as the leather seat allowed. "Don't speak to me unless Francine is in the room."

"Fine by me," Kenton muttered.

The car pulled away, heading toward the highway. The silence in the car was heavier than lead.

Continue to next part

After a devastating betrayal by her long-term boyfriend, a heartbroken woman finds her life taking an unexpected turn. Just as she struggles to move on from the pain of his lies, a powerful billionaire enters her world, offering a chance at a fresh start. Caught between her lingering scars and the magnetic pull of a new romance, she must decide if she can trust again. It is a story of healing, newfound passion, and the strength to leave the past behind forever.

Billionaire Modern Romance

9.1

Forget Past for New Romance

9.1

After a devastating betrayal by her ex-fiancé and her own half-sister, a heartbroken woman decides to leave her painful past behind. Seeking a fresh start, she unexpectedly crosses paths with a powerful and wealthy CEO. As they navigate their growing feelings, she must learn to trust again while facing the shadows of her former life. This modern romance explores the journey of healing and finding true love in the arms of a billionaire.

Billionaire Modern Romance

7.8

Groveling at Her Feet

7.8

After five years of hiding her relationship with Donald Hoover, the protagonist asks to go public, but he responds by smashing her phone and insulting her family. Her heartbreak turns to clarity when Donald's secretary, Gigi, shares a photo of the boss kneeling at her feet. Realizing her sacrifice was worthless, she finally gives up on him. She messages her father, ready to stop playing the victim and return home to inherit the massive family business she once walked away from.

Billionaire Modern Romance

8.2

Married To The Cold Disabled Billionaire

8.2

After twenty-four years, I return to the wealthy Townsend family with my DNA report, but my biological parents and brother only protect Juliet, the fake daughter. At her birthday party, Juliet humiliates me like a servant. When a scandal forces Juliet to abandon a multi-billion-dollar marriage contract, my parents eagerly substitute me to wed Julian Sinclair, a paralyzed, cold billionaire. On our wedding night, he orders me to stay away, and his jealous therapist poisons my dinner with a deadly nerve toxin. Everyone in this privileged world sees me as a disposable pawn. But I am a master medical expert backed by the world's most powerful underground syndicate. Staring at the poisoned sauce, I calmly set down my fork and smile. It is time to show these vipers who they truly invited home.

Action Billionaire Modern Mystery Romance

8.7

Tangled With The Other Brother

8.7

After a night of reckless passion with a magnetic stranger, Elara discovers her mystery lover is none other than her fiancé’s brother, Silas. Trapped in a high-stakes world of billionaire duty and family secrets, she must navigate a treacherous path between the man she’s promised to wed and the one who has awakened her heart. As forbidden desires clash with loyalty, Elara faces a choice that could shatter a dynasty and change her life forever.

Billionaire Modern Romance

9.7

The Billionaire's Secret Heir In Hiding

9.7

I woke up in a bed of cold marble and silk, lying next to Armond Emerson—the billionaire CEO who treats people like disposable assets. Five years ago, I escaped his world with a secret that could destroy me; now, a single night of desperation had put me right back in his crosshairs. My nightmare was only beginning. My ex-boyfriend, Lucas, had me followed to the penthouse and was now using my family as target practice to force me back under his thumb. Within twenty-four hours, my gallery was seized, my bank accounts were frozen, and my brother was left bleeding on a warehouse floor with his painting hands crushed. Lucas’s threat was clear: "Kneel and beg, or I’ll make sure your little bastard in Queens has an accident." That "bastard" was Leo, my four-year-old son. He was the secret heir to the Emerson empire, and Armond had no idea he existed. To protect him, I sold my soul. I walked into Armond’s office and offered a deal: I’d be his fake fiancée to stabilize his board of directors if he destroyed Lucas. He agreed, but his touch was a brand and his suspicion was a knife. He started digging into the five-year gap in my resume, hiring investigators to peel back the layers of my time in Switzerland. I thought I could play the part of the harmless socialite until the danger passed. I thought I could keep my son hidden in the shadows of a crumbling Queens apartment while I played house with a monster. But after a brutal attack in a parking garage, I collapsed in Armond's arms, my consciousness fading as I whispered the one name I should have kept buried. As I lay sedated in his penthouse, my phone buzzed on the nightstand. Armond answered it. "Mommy? Are you okay? Uncle Nate said the bad man hurt you." The silence that followed was the sound of my world ending. Armond stared at the caller ID, looking at the face of the son I had stolen from him, and finally realized exactly what I had been running from.

Billionaire Modern Mystery

The Billionaire's Ego: My Ruthless Divorce

Chapter 8

You may also like