Divorced the Cheater, Inherited the Empire

I slammed the custom diamondencrusted fountain pen onto the divorce papers. "Keep the money and our daughter.

I just want her." My husband knelt on the cold hardwood floor, playing the role of a tragic martyr dying for love.

I pressed the nib down hard and dragged my signature across the dotted line.

Three years of marriage, and he was torching his ties to the family, abandoning his wife and child—all for a little secretary. "Your suffocating old money families and trust funds only trap me.

Count me unlucky in this cold tomb reeking of money!" I watched coldly as this overgrown manchild, kneeling on the rug in his bespoke suit, spouted his nonsense.

I snatched up the thick stack of asset transfer documents, gripping every single one of his platinum credit cards in my fist. Take your true love and get the hell out.

I'll take every last cent.

Chapter 1 At my daughter's extravagantly lavish first birthday party, she didn't even glance at the diamondstudded rattles or limitededition Birkin bags.

Instead, she waddled toward a mahogany table to grab the billiondollar family trust fund transfer agreement her grandfather had just signed. The guests around us chuckled.

One of her grandfather's longtime friends joked, "Looks like this little one is going to take over the empire." "Absolutely.

She went straight for the ultimate jackpot." Her grandfather's face practically bloomed with joy. He scooped Leighton into his arms, cooing at her alongside my motherinlaw.

At that moment, Montgomery's aunt, who survived solely on family fund handouts, snatched the agreement from Leighton's hands.

Her lips curled into a tight, crooked smile as she deliberately placed it high up on the European marble mantle of the fireplace. "Come on, let's see if the kid actually wants the paperwork, or if it was just the closest thing to grab." I shot her a look, keeping my mouth shut.

This aunt originally tried to push her own goddaughter onto Montgomery, wildly overestimating her own influence.

The family ruthlessly shot the idea down and chose to ally with my family instead. She didn't dare complain to the family directly, so she directed her petty resentment at me.

I used to let it slide to keep the peace. I never expected her to try and crash my daughter's first birthday. The document sat on the mantle, way out of my daughter's reach.

Leighton looked up at it, then glanced at her grandfather, blinking in confusion. Montgomery's aunt laughed loudly. "Can't reach it now, can you?

Little Leighton needs to grow up faster if she wants to grab that." My jaw tightened. I was just about to step in when my daughter reached out her tiny hands.

Grabbing the document was physically impossible. She wasn't even close to the height of the fireplace. But the next second, she did something that left the entire room stunned.

She gripped the edge of the priceless antique Persian rug tightly with her little hands and yanked backward.

A crystal vase shattered against the floor with a deafening crash, and the billiondollar agreement fluttered perfectly to her feet.

Leighton giggled, scooped up the document, and waddled back into her grandfather's arms like a little penguin. Montgomery's aunt stared, dumbfounded. "Well—she… she really is smart.

Very clever, haha…" Her grandfather beamed, wrinkles crinkling around his eyes. "My precious girl. I absolutely adore her!

Hahaha… Leighton, let Grandpa get a good look at you." The entire room of socialites gasped in shock.

My motherinlaw stood up gracefully, speaking to Montgomery's aunt in that icy tone reserved only for toptier society women. "Darling, using such underhanded tricks to make things difficult for a oneyearold family heir… do you think your trust fund allowance is too high?" The aunt's face flushed crimson.

She stammered out a few awkward pleasantries, and the tension dissolved into forced party chatter. Montgomery and I stood near the edge of the room.

The inner circle crowding the baby consisted mostly of our parents' wealthy friends and family.

The room hummed with lively conversation. "I'm leaving soon." Montgomery leaned in close to me. I shot him a sideways glance. "How difficult for you.

Having to make a special trip just for Leighton's birthday party. Did it cut into your time with your precious soulmate?" Montgomery scowled at me.

Chapter 2 We left the crowded ballroom, finding a quiet corner of the sprawling estate.

The family manor was breathtakingly massive, filled with meticulously manicured French topiary mazes and private rose gardens. "There's no need to take that tone with me," Montgomery said, his voice smooth and irritatingly calm. "People change, Celeste.

I've simply realized I prefer her type." "Do you think I care what you like?

Why are you even telling me this?" Bile rose in the back of my throat the second my eyes landed on him. "If you're so obsessed, go marry her.

Stop trying to compare her to me." Montgomery fell silent, a tight, rigid line forming around his mouth.

I turned to head back, but he caught my arm, his grip firm. "Celeste, what is it going to take for you to be the one to tell our parents we're getting a divorce?" "You're the one who screwed up.

You're the one who got another woman pregnant. Why should I be the one to break the news?

So I can take the fall for your mess?" He sighed, looking at me with a patronizing pity. "There's no point in dragging this out. A clean break would be better for everyone.

Do you really enjoy staying in this house, knowing your husband is in love with someone else?

Can't we just end this gracefully?" "My company is preparing for a Nasdaq IPO, and our family trust funds are tied up with billions of dollars in crossshareholding.

Why on earth would I walk away from that kind of money?" "Is that all you see?

Money?" Montgomery's voice softened into that polite tone he used to manipulate people. "Celeste, you've never lacked for anything. You're an only child; your family is loaded.

Do you really need to be this greedy?

Have you completely lost yourself in the numbers?" He continued to lecture me with his refined, gentlemanly logic. "Our family backgrounds are identical. You aren't going to starve.

Peace of mind is what matters most." To be fair, Montgomery had been a decent partner—if you ignored the blatant betrayal.

He came from money, cruised through Ivy League schools, and had never faced a single day of real hardship.

Because his life had been a series of easy wins, he was perpetually polite and wellmannered. Even when dealing with people he despised, he maintained a polished, civil veneer.

Maybe his life was too easy. Maybe he was so bored that he needed the drama of an affair to feel alive.

Now, the man who used to be decent was obsessed with one thing: bringing his true love into the family fold. "She's not getting in, and you aren't getting out—unless you're willing to walk away with nothing," I said, laying it all out with cold objectivity.

I wanted the money. All of it. The Montgomery family was obsessed with appearances and had zero tradition of divorce.

If I didn't sign off on it, he would never get what he wanted. "You have such a vulgar view of me." Montgomery actually smiled. "Celeste, money doesn't make a difference to me.

I'm not like you or my parents. I don't live my life looking at a balance sheet." I offered him a thin, placid smile.

Chapter 3 "Celeste, think about it," Montgomery said, letting out a long, heavy sigh. "Don't you feel that living in a family like ours actually leaves us with very few choices?

We have zero right to pursue true love.

I honestly thought you'd have the same courage to rebel as I do, but instead, you're…" He shook his head. "Looking at Leighton today… I just felt so sorry for her.

Sure, she was born at the absolute top of the pyramid, with a background everyone envies. But she probably won't end up happy.

Her future choices are just too limited…" I took a deep breath, my nails digging into my palms to anchor my temper. "Are you out of your mind?" I snapped. "Too few choices?

Sorry, I'm not following your twisted logic. Montgomery, what did you drink growing up? Fairy dust?" "Your delusion is actually comical.

Since childhood, you've lived in toptier beachfront estates in the Hamptons, casually standing in your Manhattan penthouse looking down at the entirety of Central Park." "The threeMichelinstar restaurants you dine at overlook the Hudson River… Could you enjoy a single second of this without your parents' bank accounts?" "You had the absolute best tutors.

Elite agencies plotted your life path exclusively for you.

You went to the most expensive, toptier private boarding schools in Switzerland, then straight to the Ivy League." "Sure, you put in some effort—but without your family's empire acting as your bulletproof shield, do you really think your life would be this smooth?" I stared at him, the disgust rising thick in my throat. "You dropped out of the Ivy League the second you got bored.

You ran off to Brooklyn to start some indie art studio.

You burned through all the cash, bankrupted the company, and then applied for another Ivy League MBA like absolutely nothing happened—have your parents not paved enough safety nets for you with their money?" "Do you seriously think your life is a tragedy?

Anyone else—anyone who actually had to feed a family or didn't have a bottomless trust fund—would never survive your level of comfort." Montgomery dodged my gaze, sharply pivoting the conversation. "Did you teach Leighton to do that today?" A sharp throb of tension pulsed at my temple. "I really don't want to slap you across the face on my daughter's birthday.

Don't push me." "I'm not saying you're manipulative.

I just think it's not good for a child to be that calculating." "Say one more word about my daughter, and I will ruin you." I stepped closer, closing the distance. "Did I predict your aunt was going to bully a toddler?

I was standing thirty feet away. Did I use telepathy to tell Leighton how to kiss up to her grandfather?

Montgomery, in case your brain is completely fried, your father put that book on the mantle on a whim." He raised his hands defensively. "Maybe I overthought it.

I apologize." "Keep your garbage apologies." I sneered. "Save your breath and figure out how you're going to explain your mess to your parents." I turned on my heel and walked away.

Halfway down the hall, I glanced back at him over my shoulder. "Psycho." The atmosphere in the manor remained flawless all afternoon. Montgomery's parents wore perfect smiles.

It wasn't until nightfall, after the last Maybach pulled out of the driveway, that Montgomery dropped to his knees on the hardwood floor.

The sky is always dead calm right before a hurricane. Chapter 4 "Dad, I…" Montgomery started.

His father's face instantly hardened. "I know exactly what kind of bastardly things you've done, and I know exactly what you're about to say.

I'm warning you—the moment those words leave your mouth, don't blame me for disowning you." "Mom." Montgomery pivoted.

My motherinlaw froze for a second, then scooped up Leighton and sat down right next to me. "Do not call me Mom." Montgomery lowered his head, his jaw tight.

A suffocating silence spread through the room. "Dad," Montgomery started again. "You should know me by now.

Since I was a kid, if I wanted to do something, nobody could stop me." "Dropping out to start a business was my choice. Opening that photography studio was my choice.

Even going back to get my degree was my choice." "You opposed every single one of those decisions at first, but I did them anyway, with or without your permission.

So, if I am truly determined to do this, you can't stop me." "Are you threatening me now?" His father's voice was low, likely to keep from scaring Leighton, but every syllable landed like a heavy steel vault clicking shut. "I just don't want to be a puppet in this financial empire anymore.

I only want true love and freedom." A short, dry laugh escaped my throat at his sheer delusion. "It's exactly because I gave you too much freedom that you've shattered every moral baseline step by step!

Do you think you're some kind of selfmade badass, Montgomery?" "When everyone told you not to drop out, you ignored us.

You submitted the paperwork, claimed your 'freedom,' and just walked away. Who do you think sent a team of lawyers to clean up the administrative mess you left behind?

I did." "When you said you wanted to start a business, I didn't say no. I didn't interfere with your precious dreams like you claim.

I merely pointed out you were being too idealistic." "I told you not to base everything purely on your whims.

I told you to at least consider if the market you chose could sustain your company longterm! But did you listen?

You just swiped your black card and flew off." "Who the hell did you think you were over there? You had no money and no connections!

If it weren't for me backing your ridiculous idealism by having Wall Street venture capitalists inject funds into your vanity project, do you really think anyone would have given you the time of day?" "I threw tens of millions of dollars down the drain to be your safety net, and you still bankrupted the company!" "You called home whining about how the market environment wasn't what you expected.

Your mother and I told you not to be so impulsive, that Rome wasn't built in a day… But did you listen?

No, you ignored us again!" The old man's chest heaved as the words poured out. Montgomery's jaw clamped shut, the veins on his neck bulging. "But I never asked for your help!

Even without your interference, I would have tried it myself. You and Mom are always like this.

You constantly guilttrip me." "You say you just want to help and not interfere, but years later, when I have nothing to show for it, you rub it in my face!

You use all this 'secret help' just to point fingers at me!" Chapter 5 "Fine.

Excellent," the old man sneered. "So according to your twisted logic, everything in the past was our fault. We just had too much free time. And now?

You want a divorce…" "You make a decision this massive all by yourself, and you expect a medal for it?" "I'm still so young.

Why can't I just do what I want?" "What you want is to violate basic human decency and cheat on your wife?

I'd rather have never had a son!" "What's the point of arguing about this now? I'm just making a reasonable request. What law says a marriage can't end?

I'll walk away with absolutely nothing, okay?" Montgomery turned and knelt right in front of me. "Celeste, I'm giving up everything, alright?" "Everything in this estate that belongs to me, I'm leaving it to you and our daughter.

I'm giving it all to you both. Just let me go, okay