Chapter 4

Grayson called me during the last week of the waiting period. His grandmother’s birthday gala was that weekend, and he needed me to attend as his wife one last time.

“She doesn’t know about the divorce,” he said. “Her health is fragile. I’ll tell her after the party.”

I wanted to refuse. But he went quiet on the line, and then he used that low voice he always used when he needed me to clean up a mess. “Sienna, I’m asking you. Just this once.”

For five years, whenever the Ashford family faced a crisis, he had come to me like this. I knew every guest’s dietary restrictions, which two board members couldn’t be seated at the same table, and exactly which painting would lift his grandmother’s spirits. He was tired of high society, but he still needed me to maintain its facade.

I went.

Halfway through the gala, Maisy rode her VoltRider straight onto the estate grounds. She was wearing ripped jeans and carrying a box of butter cookies from some roadside bakery.

“Gray said his grandma likes these,” she announced, entirely oblivious to the sudden, deafening silence in the room. “I waited in line for half an hour!”

The old lady, having no idea who this girl was, simply smiled and waved her over. As Maisy walked past me, she whispered, “Your parties are exhausting. I’m glad I live my life the easy way.”

She handed the cookies to the grandmother, but her phone was still live on Streamly, the camera facing the crowd. Through her lens, the public could see a major partner the Ashford Group was secretly negotiating with—a deal completely under wraps.

I immediately signaled security to cut the Wi-Fi and told her to delete the stream.

Maisy’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. “I just wanted to give her a surprise.”

Grayson rushed over and pulled her behind him. “Sienna, watch your tone.”

“She just leaked a confidential project,” I said quietly. “If it hits the stock price, who takes the fall?”

“I will,” he said, without a second of hesitation. “She doesn’t know the rules.”

“Does not knowing the rules mean she doesn’t have to suffer the consequences?”

His eyes turned cold. “This is exactly why I have to leave. You never used to count the cost before anything else. Maisy waited half an hour to buy cookies for my grandmother. You don’t see her thoughtfulness. All you see are projects and share prices.”

The guests were staring. In their eyes, I was the cold, calculating wife who had ruined a sweet moment—when I was the only one actually keeping the party from falling apart.

I didn’t bother explaining.

That night, the leak still made the news. Grayson stayed behind to handle the fallout, but he told me to take Maisy home.

“She won’t get in my car,” he said, exhausted. “The Aurelian is in your name now. Have your driver take her.”

I looked at his tired face and almost laughed. He complained that the luxury car trapped him, but he used it perfectly well when it was convenient.

I agreed.

Halfway to Maisy’s place, she suddenly asked, “Do you hate me?”

“For what?”

“Gray is divorcing you because of me.”

I looked out at the blurred city lights. “If it weren’t you, it would have been someone else.”

She didn’t seem to understand. She lowered her head and started fidgeting with a silver ring on her finger. It was the first gift Grayson had ever given me.

“He gave you that?” I asked.

Maisy smiled. “He said you only wear diamonds now, that you think this cheap stuff is beneath you. I thought it was cool, so I took it.”

My fingers curled inward. Grayson had bought that ring with his first paycheck. I had searched for it for three months, assuming I had lost it.

“Keep it,” I said.

When I got back to the hotel, Grayson wasn’t there yet. The only thing waiting for me was a new settlement document from his assistant. Because of the gala disaster, he had added two percent of Ashford Group shares to my settlement.

Tucked into the back was a handwritten note.

Sienna, I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve tonight.

I stared at it for a long time until a tear fell, smudging the ink.

He knew I had been humiliated. But if we rewound the clock, he would still stand in front of Maisy and tell me to yield.

The next morning, we signed the final divorce decree at the courthouse.

When we walked out, Maisy was waiting on her VoltRider by the curb. Grayson strapped the helmet onto her head and looked back at me.

“Sienna. Call me if you ever need anything. We don’t have to be strangers.”

I shook my head with a faint smile. “That won’t be necessary.”

Something in his eyes shattered. It was as if he only realized in that moment that I wasn’t going to wait for him. He took a step toward me, but Maisy called out from behind, “Gray! We’re going to miss the sunrise!”

He stopped. Then he turned and climbed onto the scooter.

I stood there, watching them disappear into the morning traffic.

Margot pulled up in her car and handed me a sealed document. “The final two percent of the shares have cleared. Sienna, the day you’ve been waiting five years for is finally here.”

I opened the file, looked at the equity percentage on the first page, and let out a slow breath.

Grayson thought that today, he had only lost a wife he no longer loved. He had no idea what I had just taken with me.