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Synopsis
Prologue
During all the years I was married to Sean, he missed almost every single important moment of my life.
All because he had to be there for a far more important woman: Chloe.
He went so far as to rip out my IV needle and force me to hand over the design drafts I spent years cherishing—all for her.
Enough was enough.
I stopped waiting for him to look back. I called my lawyer and had the divorce papers drawn up right away.
Sean, since I never had a place in your heart anyway, I'm done with this marriage.
Raven's POV
In all the years of our marriage, Sean left me completely on my own seventeen times.
I remembered every single piece of humiliation with crystal clarity.
I had booked the restaurant for my birthday, the candles were already in the cake, and he flew abroad for an acquisition deal.
I ended up in the emergency room in the middle of the night, waiting for a spouse's signature, and all he said was to let his assistant handle it.
My father was on his deathbed and wanted to see him one last time. Sean was at a contract signing ceremony, and in the end, he never showed up.
All seventeen times, I never threw a fit. I even made excuses for him.
On our wedding night, Sean made it clear: our marriage was just business, and I shouldn't expect anything more.
I held onto my title as his wife only because he treated everyone with that same cold distance.
Over the years, there were never any rumors about other women. Everyone said he was clean.
Until Chloe's name came up.
She was the girl who had stayed by his hospital bed back then, the one who took credit for saving his life.
Everyone said Sean spoiled her rotten.
I refused to believe he could ever treat anyone so well.
I pulled together all my savings and connections over the years, determined to dig up everything on Chloe.
The investigators returned quickly, but their reports were strangely vague.
The first one said, "Mr. Miller truly treats this Ms. Chloe differently. It's the first time we've ever seen him like this."
Another added details: "He picks her up from work in person. He accompanies her while she shops for cheap little trinkets. She only has to make a passing complaint, and the issue is resolved the next day."
I asked, "Is that all?"
The man rubbed his hands together. "That's it. It's Mr. Miller's private business; we didn't dare pry any deeper."
I spent half a month digging, only to get a single, blurry photo.
It was pulled from security footage outside a restaurant. The resolution was poor, but the people were unmistakable.
Sean stood at the bottom of the steps. He pulled the girl gently into his chest, shielding her from the crowd surging behind them, his hand resting tenderly on her shoulder.
That gesture was something he had never, not once, given me since the day we married.
My entire world collapsed.
He knew how to lower his guard. He knew how to reach out. He knew how to hold someone close. He had simply refused to give any of it to me.
All seventeen excuses I had made for him were completely meaningless.
I grabbed the photo and drove onto the highway.
Halfway there, the right front tire suddenly dropped. The steering wheel jerked violently to the side. I gripped it with all my strength, and the car scraped along the shoulder for dozens of yards before screeching to a stop.
A blown tire. Yet I had stopped by a service shop before leaving, and the tires had been perfectly fine then.
I sat in the car, my hands trembling uncontrollably.
In the end, a passing truck driver helped me make a call and helped push my car to the side of the road.
At a nearby clinic, I got the scrapes on my arms cleaned up. By the time I walked out, the sky was completely dark.
Parked outside the clinic was a car I recognized all too well.
Sean’s assistant, Jason, stood by the vehicle. Seeing me walk out, he politely greeted me, "Mrs. Miller."
I asked, "You're waiting for me?"
Jason said, "Yes, ma'am. Please stop looking into people you shouldn't be investigating."
I looked at him. "Where is he?"
Jason lowered his eyes, avoiding my gaze. "Mr. Miller is busy. This comes directly from him. If you take my advice, you'll act as though you never looked into this. The things in your hands—burn them, throw them away, whatever you like. Just don't pursue this any further."
I asked, "And if I refuse?"
Jason didn't answer. He walked over to my car, pulled the door open, and gestured for me to get in.
I stood there without moving.
Did Sean know all along that I was investigating? Was that blowout on the highway really an accident?
Both questions rolled over my tongue, but I swallowed them down.
Even if I asked, he wouldn't tell me.
I had nearly lost my life on the highway today. He knew I was digging, he knew I had an accident, and he knew which clinic I was at. Yet all he sent was an assistant, with a message telling me to burn my evidence.
He knew everything. He just refused to show up himself.
I walked past Jason and slid into my car.Raven's POV
On the third day, the city courthouse called, saying someone had filed a dispute involving Sean and asked his family to come down.
When I arrived, the lobby was packed with people waiting in lines.
Chloe was sitting on a row of chairs along the wall. The moment she saw me walk in, she scowled and immediately caused a scene.
Her voice wasn't loud, but every word pierced straight through the air: "What right do you have to call yourself his family? I'm the one who actually belongs in that house. You've occupied that spot for so long, has he ever looked at you once?"
As she spoke, she glanced out of the corner of her eye at the crowd. Seeing everyone turn around, she got even more dramatic.
A clerk leaned out from behind the service counter and yelled for quiet, but Chloe ignored it completely.
People handling their paperwork stopped what they were doing, and every eye turned our way.
Someone pulled out their phone, but seeing her tearful face, quietly put it back away.
Chloe pointed a finger right at me. "What are you staring at? Aren't you just a piece of decoration? In that house, who does he have dinner with at night? Whose bedroom does he sleep in? Can you even control that?"
She slammed her hand against the back of the chair and shouted to the entire room, "This is the wife of Sean Miller himself! And yet, she doesn't even dare say a single word back to me!"
Someone in the crowd couldn't hold back a snicker.
I stood in place without answering. I slipped my hands into my coat pockets and stood tall and straight.
I was waiting for Sean to walk through the door.
I wanted to see who his eyes would land on first.
I already knew the answer in my heart, but without seeing it with my own eyes, I still clung to one last sliver of hope.
Sean jogged through the entrance. His suit jacket was unbuttoned, and his tie was crooked.
The moment he saw Chloe on the bench, his pace shifted instantly. The last few steps were practically a sprint.
Seeing him arrive, Chloe slid down from the chair, dropped right onto the cold tile floor, and burst into sobs.
She pointed at me, crying out with every breath, "She humiliated me here! Her people always bully me! I don't even have a voice in your family!"
The entire lobby watched.
From the second he walked through the door, Sean only had eyes for Chloe on the floor.
He pulled a freshly signed agreement from his briefcase and tore it to shreds right in front of the entire room.
That morning before leaving, I had heard him repeatedly instruct his assistant that he needed that very document today because he had to use it first thing tomorrow morning.
The sound of paper tearing in two was startlingly clear in the silence of the room.
The assistant reached out with both hands to catch the pieces, his face pale as a ghost, lips trembling, not daring to utter a single word.
Sean shoved the torn halves into the assistant's chest. He bent down, lifted Chloe from the floor, took off his suit jacket, and draped it around her shoulders.
Standing in front of her, he coaxed softly, "Sweetheart, don't cry. If she made you uncomfortable, I'll make sure she pays for it. Don't waste your tears on her."
Every time Chloe sobbed, his shoulders dipped a little lower.
Chloe clutched his lapels, rubbing her tears all over his dress shirt, and he didn't even flinch.
It took quite a while before Chloe finally quieted down.
He finally raised his head, as if only just noticing I was there.
He said, "You should leave."
He sounded just like a bureaucrat dismissing an intern who had wandered into the wrong office.
A few people waiting in line turned to look at me.
I stood my ground. "You were rushing that contract this morning."
Sean’s eyes didn’t even waver. "If a document is gone, I'll just have another one drafted."
Just because Chloe threw a tantrum, he ripped up a critical contract on the spot. I swallowed the words before they could leave my lips.
I used to believe that to this man, business always mattered more than people.
Today, I finally understood. His business could wait, and my dignity was worth less than torn paper.
One tear from her could erase his hard work. My standing here couldn't earn me a single word.
He turned, pulled Chloe behind him to shield her, and walked toward the exit. At the door, he stopped and ordered his assistant without looking back, "Have that agreement redrafted overnight. Put it on my desk first thing tomorrow morning."
Clutching the two torn halves, Jason mumbled, "Yes, sir."
Sean didn't say another word to me. He escorted Chloe out the door, bent down, and helped her into his car.
The crowd in the lobby gradually dispersed, each returning to their own affairs.
Someone passed by me, slowed their steps to glance at me, and then walked away.
My status as his wife was completely shattered today in front of a whole room of strangers.
I didn't plan on asking him for an explanation anymore.
The things I wanted were things I could never get from him again.Raven's POV
I went home and sat in the dark for a long time, remembering why I had fallen for him in the first place.
That year, I saw him at an industry gala.
He stood in the middle of the crowd, a man of few words, yet everyone treated him with immense respect.
I fell in love with him at first sight. I couldn't sleep that entire night.
Back then, I thought that as long as I was good enough, sensible enough, and never caused him trouble, he would eventually look back at me.
On our wedding night, he sat on the edge of the bed without even taking off his coat. "This is just a business arrangement. Don't expect anything more. I will ensure you keep your place as my wife safely for the rest of your life."
I nodded back then.
I kept that promise close to my heart, holding onto it through all these years.
Today, in that municipal lobby, he bent down to comfort another woman, soothing her endlessly.
He knew how to care. He just refused to spare a single drop of it for me.
During the first year of our marriage, he was in a car crash.
I was in that car with him.
The car flipped on a road outside the city, landing upside down with glass shattering everywhere.
I was the first to crawl out of the twisted door, my arms and legs scraped raw, my palms shredded by broken glass.
I looked back and saw him pinned beneath the driver’s seat. His worst wound was pouring blood, and it wouldn't stop no matter what.
I crawled back, leaning into the wreck, and pressed both hands firmly against the wound.
Blood welled up between my fingers. I didn't dare let go. Whenever my hands grew weak, I pressed harder.
I held on until the paramedics arrived. Only when they forced the door open and lifted him onto the stretcher did my hands finally pull away.
My legs had long lost all feeling; someone had to drag me to the ambulance.
I rode with him to the hospital and signed my name on the paramedic intake sheet, my hands trembling so violently I could barely hold the pen.
The nurse glanced at me. "You need your injuries checked too."
I shook my head. "I'll wait until he's out."
I had broken two ribs that night. It hurt like hell, but I didn't utter a single sound.
It was almost dawn when they finally wheeled me in to treat my wounds.
Later, my family took me home, and I spent over a month recovering.
Only the two of us had been in the car. It was pitch black, and he was unconscious, so he never saw my face clearly.
While he was still out cold, his family arranged a transfer back to his regular private hospital in the city with a single phone call. I was left behind at the suburban facility, and the intake sheet I had signed stayed in that roadside clinic's archives.
When he woke up, Chloe was the one sitting by his bedside.
She was holding something I had dropped at the crash site, an item pulled from my personal belongings during the emergency intake transfer.
When his family arrived, all they saw was her keeping vigil by his bed, holding the wreckage token in her hands. When they asked who had saved him, Chloe claimed it was her.
His family took her word for it and told him the same story. Not a single person ever mentioned what truly happened before that.
From the day he opened his eyes, he was convinced that Chloe was his savior.
When I recovered and returned, I brought it up once.
It happened to be right when he was preparing gifts to reward his savior, with lavish packages already laid out.
I barely started: "Actually, that night..."
He raised his hand and cut me off coldly. "You don't need to speak about this."
I swallowed the rest of the sentence.
He turned away to inspect the gifts, picked one out, and ordered his staff to wrap it beautifully.
After that, I never mentioned it a second time.Raven's POV
Back then, I told myself that saving him was my own choice; it didn't matter whether he remembered or not. I also believed that the truth would come to light one day, and on that day, he would finally see who I truly was.
I waited for that day. I waited for years.
Now, I'm done waiting.
Even if that day came, he wouldn't listen to a word I said.
I dug up a number I hadn't dialed in years and called a lawyer, my voice flat: "Draft a divorce settlement for me. I don't want a single penny of his assets. I just want a clean break."
The lawyer paused on the other end. "Mrs. Miller, are you certain? Once you take this step, there's no turning back."
"I'm certain," I replied.
A beat of silence followed. "Understood, Mrs. Miller."
The next day, I went to his corporate headquarters.
The receptionist recognized me, her face tight with awkwardness. "Mr. Miller hasn't been in the office for a while. Word around here is that he's spending every day with Ms. Chloe and ignoring company business. If you're looking for him here, you probably won't find him."
"Where is he today?" I asked.
The girl hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "There's a press conference this afternoon. Mr. Miller took Ms. Chloe with him."
I tracked him down at the event venue.
On the stage, the spotlights flared. Sean stood dead center, introducing Chloe to everyone below: "This is Chloe. From now on, she belongs under my wing."
A few people in the audience recognized me, sneaking glances in my direction. I stood off to the side of the stage, refusing to hide.
He leaned slightly toward Chloe, his voice dropping into a gentle cadence.
I had never seen that kind of patience in him before.
A familiar acquaintance beside me leaned in, keeping her voice down: "Raven, what's going on with that woman on stage?"
"I'll tell you when there's time," I muttered.
I waited beside the stage until he stepped down, then held out the settlement papers.
He took them, didn't even look, and shoved them straight into his coat pocket. "We'll talk later."
"Take a look at it," I said.
His expression didn't shift an inch. "I told you, later."
My thinking had been simple: leaving with nothing was the easiest way out for him. He wouldn't even need to say a word; he just had to sign.
Yet he wouldn't even glance at it.
Chloe stepped over, pulled the papers right out of his pocket, and tore them in half, page by page, right in front of my face. She did it deliberately slowly.
"There's no need to bother Sean with this," she said smugly. "If you want to leave, find your own way out. Don't count on him signing a thing."
She jingled a set of keys in her hand—the keys to the Miller estate. "I can walk through those doors whenever I want. From now on, I run his life."
I stood frozen, completely at a loss for words.
I watched Chloe clutch the shredded papers, spin around, and return to Sean's side, tilting her face up to murmur something to him.
Sean reached out and gently smoothed a stray lock of hair that the breeze had blown across her face.
My fingers on my purse strap slowly loosened.
I had walked in as a woman asking for his signature, but now I didn't even have the right to ask.
He gave her those keys. From now on, Chloe was in charge of that household.
Begging him was useless. He wouldn't sign that paper, and Chloe wouldn't let him.
I didn't bother asking a second time.
When I got back, I filed a contested divorce petition directly with the court, taking the path that didn't require his consent.
If he refused to sign, I would walk away on my own terms.
Chapters (4)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Watch & Promotions
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