Chapter 1

I was kidnapped 99 times by my husband Caleb Hayes's enemies.

The hundredth time, I cut my ropes and escaped home, just wanting to fall into his arms and cry.

But at the door, men's and women's clothes were strewn across the floor. The tie I'd given him for our anniversary was draped over a piece of sexy lingerie.

From the bedroom, Willow Fairmont's voice drifted out. "Caleb, you have Mia kidnapped every time you want to avoid taking her out, and then you sleep with me. What exactly is she to you?"

Through the crack in the door, Caleb's low chuckle echoed.

"What can Mia compare to you? She doesn't even have a high school diploma. She's too embarrassing to bring out."

"Besides, even if she found out, what could an orphan with no money or power do?"

I froze, my blood running cold.

It turned out that every single kidnapping over the past five years had been orchestrated by him.

But he didn't know that my billionaire parents had just reconnected with me three days ago.

Mia POV

I was kidnapped 99 times by my husband Caleb Hayes's enemies.

During the 100th kidnapping, I used a small knife hidden in my shoe to cut the ropes and escape.

Stumbling and scrambling to my feet, my first thought was to go home.

Caleb must be frantic, searching for me.

But when I opened the door, what I saw were men's and women's clothes scattered from the entryway into the living room.

Among them was the tie I'd given Caleb for our fourth wedding anniversary.

Draped over the tie was a piece of sexy lingerie.

My mind went blank, and my breath hitched.

I stiffly walked toward the bedroom, the intimate sounds growing clearer as I approached.

"Caleb, every time you need a date for a public event, you have Mia kidnapped and send me in her place. I'm the one you're sleeping with, so who's really your wife? Aren't you afraid she'll find out?"

"Or is it that Mia just can't satisfy you?"

The voice belonged to Willow Fairmont, Caleb's former arranged marriage partner, and supposedly his enemy.

Yet now, despite her provocative words, her tone was clearly triumphant.

Then, Caleb's husky, satisfied voice came from behind the half-closed door.

"What can Mia compare to you?"

"Her embarrassing appearance at her first formal event cost me a major project and made me a laughingstock for a year."

"Business is war, and the woman by a man's side reflects his capability. I can't have a woman without even a high school diploma standing beside me. She just lacks the refinement I need."

"Besides, even if she found out, what could she do?"

Caleb sounded supremely confident. "She'd never give up the status of Mrs. Hayes now."

"I only have her kidnapped because I'm afraid she'll make a scene if she knows. It's a hassle."

Willow chuckled. "Then why not just drug her? We could even do whatever we want while she's incapacitated. Wouldn't that be more exciting?"

"Drugging her..."

Caleb mused for a moment, then replied lightly, "Drugging her would be too harsh on her body. Kidnapping is more straightforward."

He laughed, teasing, "What, are you jealous? Want a title? How about being my mistress?"

"You think you qualify as my lover?" Willow wasn't offended. "Don't forget who called me a bitch and then crawled into my bed."

"Yes, I fell first. From the first time I saw you, I was captivated."

"Willow, I'll tell them to keep Mia for a few more days... will you stay with me for another week?"

The atmosphere grew increasingly intimate, and I couldn't bear to listen anymore.

I fled from what, just a second ago, had felt like my safest haven.

I ran faster and faster, but my leg injury, still not fully healed from a previous kidnapping, flared up.

With a thud, I fell into the mud from the recent rain, splattering myself from head to toe. My elbow scraped raw, leaving me utterly disheveled.

"Don't cry." I bit down hard on my lower lip, forcing myself to hold back the tears.

"Mia, there's nothing to cry about!"

From childhood, when I was homeless with no parents, I didn't cry. When I was robbed of food and beaten on the ground, I didn't cry. Every time I fell, I never cried.

I shouldn't cry now either.

But tears welled up uncontrollably.

It turned out that all my suffering over the past five years had been inflicted by Caleb.

From the first kidnapping, I was pushed from a third-story window, breaking my leg.

During the second kidnapping, I was so traumatized that I miscarried the baby I was carrying, making it impossible for me to conceive again.

The third kidnapping left me with claustrophobia. I nearly suffocated.

By the 99th kidnapping, I was suffering from severe PTSD.

I was terrified of strangers, the dark, ropes. Any small fright would send me into trembling fits and make me vomit.

At my worst, I spent three months in the hospital, surviving only on IV drips, unable to eat anything.

My stomach churned. Even though I was safe now, the illness struck, and I couldn't stop dry heaving.

I began to sob softly, then burst into uncontrollable tears.

It was as if I needed to release all the love I had for Caleb.

It started twenty years ago, when I was six and saved a dying Caleb.

We scavenged for food together, hid from human traffickers, and then entered the same orphanage.

When I was in tenth grade, the orphanage closed, and we ended up on the streets.

Our teacher said Caleb's grades meant he had a good chance of getting into a prestigious university like Harvard. I couldn't bear for him to miss a life-changing opportunity, so I started working to support his education.

During our poorest times, I gave him all my money, surviving on instant noodles once a day for three months.

Caleb watched me waste away, his eyes red as he promised, "Mia, I will give you the best life possible."

His promise was fulfilled in another way.

After graduating from Harvard, the Hayes family found him.

Still with grease stains from the kitchen on my pants, I was brought by Caleb to their opulent mansion.

The Hayes family was extremely displeased with me, threatening Caleb with disinheritance if he didn't break up with me.

"Who are you to be his wife?"

Caleb immediately took me to register our marriage.

"My Mia deserves all the best things in the world. I can disown myself from your family, but I will only marry her in this lifetime."

So, when Caleb said he was worried I'd be kidnapped by more enemies and therefore never appeared with me in public or in the media, I understood.

No matter how much pain I suffered because of him, I never blamed him.

But I failed to notice that Caleb had changed long ago.

From the first formal event I attended, where, unaccustomed to high heels, I was intentionally tripped, and a champagne tower spilled all over me.

I became a laughingstock.

But that wasn't my last public embarrassment.

Some people laughed because I didn't understand French and deliberately taught me to insult myself in the language.

They mocked my cheap food, called my name old-fashioned, and covered their noses, saying I smelled.

I endured it.

I thought as long as Caleb didn't find me embarrassing, it didn't matter.

But now, his heart belonged to another woman.

All that was left for me was deceit and pain.

If that's the case, then I don't want him anymore.

I don't want our twenty years together.

Wiping away my tears, I stood up and borrowed a stranger's phone to call his mother.

"As you wish, I agree to divorce Caleb."