Chapter 4

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.