Chapter 1

My future mother-in-law, Brenda, slammed my apartment keys onto the floor, spat on the rug, and pointed a finger right in my face.

"A divorced woman like you should be on your knees thanking God my son even wants you! How dare you try to turn him against me and kick me out?"

My fiancé stood beside her, dead silent.

I picked up the keys from the floor and quietly looked at the man I was supposed to marry.

We had been together for three years. I only asked for a modest ten thousand dollar contribution for the wedding, while my family and I paid for the condo entirely in cash.

I only had one single condition.

We live by ourselves after marriage. We had agreed on that from day one.

And now, I was the one manipulating him?

I looked coldly at Chase. "Do you think so, too?"

He didn’t defend me. He just muttered vaguely, "Chloe, she's older. Just cut her some slack."

I scoffed. I didn't cut her any slack.

Instead, I sold the condo.

I wired the cash to my mom so she could take a luxury trip across Europe.

Meanwhile, the thirty thousand dollars his family had begged and borrowed to put into custom renovations was already sank into a place that no longer belonged to them.

Three months later, Chase returned from a business trip to find a whole new family living inside. He completely lost his mind.

I met Chase right after my divorce, which ended a ten-year relationship that had started in college.

After the split, I poured all my energy into my career.

Chase was an intern who got into our firm through a connection.

His college buddy, Dylan, was at my level in the company and was a good friend of mine.

When Dylan brought Chase to my desk, Chase was wearing a crisp white button-down with his sleeves rolled up, sporting two boyish dimples when he smiled. He looked like he hadn't even graduated yet.

He handed me a cup of coffee and smiled. "Hey Chloe, looking forward to learning from you."

I glanced at the cup. Hot Americano, black, no sugar.

My favorite.

That little detail made me look twice, but that was it.

Twenty-six years old. Four years younger than me. Just a fresh kid out of school, so I didn't think much of it.

But he had his eyes set on me.

When I stayed late at the office, he sat at his desk waiting to walk me out.

When my stomach flared up from stress, he ran to the pharmacy in the pouring rain, coming back drenched in sweat with the plastic bag digging red into his fingers.

Whenever I went on business trips, he memorized my itinerary and sent me reminders to eat every day.

Dylan teased him about aiming too high, but Chase just laughed. "Chloe deserves the absolute best."

At first, I found it annoying. Then it became routine. And then, during a client dinner, a sleazy executive kept forcing drinks on me.

Chase jumped in and downed three glasses of liquor on my behalf, his face burning bright red as he blocked me behind him, saying, "She can’t drink anymore."

He ruined the client's mood, and the guy made Chase chug three whole carafes in retaliation.

That night, he threw up on the sidewalk for half an hour, clutching his stomach while groaning, "Chloe, are you okay?"

I crouched down beside him and suddenly thought maybe I could give this a shot.

A year after my divorce, that was the first time I agreed to date someone again.

He was thrilled like a little boy. He posted a photo of us on Ins with the caption: "Hit the jackpot."

When my mom found out, she sighed. "What do you see in him?"

I told her he treated me well, was drama-free, and had a clean past.

My mom hesitated, but stayed silent.

The day we got engaged, his mother visited our new condo for the first time.

It was a spacious three-bedroom apartment, paid in full using all the savings my mom and I had put together.

Brenda strutted around the place three times, squinting and approving of every corner.

I followed her around, playing the gracious host.

Finally, we stopped in the master bedroom. Her face instantly dropped as she pointed at the high-end smart bed I had just purchased.

"Get rid of this bed. Who knows who else you slept on it with before my son."

I froze, the smile dying on my face, and reflexively looked at Chase.

He stood beside her, looking like his mouth had been glued shut.

A weak, awkward smile plastered on his face, saying nothing.

I kept my composure. "Brenda, I bought this bed brand-new."

She snapped immediately. "What's that supposed to mean? Rubbing it in my face that you bought the place? Saying I'm talking too much?"

"And what's with only having one bedroom furnished? You expect an old woman like me to sleep on the floor?"

Hearing that, I looked back at Chase. The tips of his ears were burning bright red.

I said hesitantly,

"Brenda, didn't Chase tell you? We agreed to live on our own after the wedding, so we didn't set up a guest room."