The Billionaire's Satisfying Revenge on His Gold-Digging ExChapter 1
"Ethan Ashford, take a good look. That is the court's divorce decree. As of today, we are no longer husband and wife."
Delia Pruitt didn't hand me the papers—she flung them. The crisp sheets slapped against my chest before scattering across the floor.
The words hit like a physical blow. A chill spread from my core, freezing me in place.
I bent down, fingers trembling as I retrieved the judgment. Disbelief warred with the ink on the page. When I looked up, the woman before me wasn't the gentle wife I knew. Her gaze, once warm, had turned to ice—contemptuous and cold.
"Delia... you're joking, right?" The knot in my stomach already knew the answer.
"Look at you, Ethan." She crossed her arms. "I'm one of the wealthiest women in Harbor City now. Chairwoman of a listed company. Do you honestly think a delivery driver deserves a seat at my table?"
Her question hung in the air, dripping with venom.
I hadn't received a summons. No mediation, no warning. She'd been smiling at me just this morning.
Then it clicked. Delia had used her connections to bypass due process entirely. She'd severed our marriage behind my back.
——
The irony was bitter. Just hours earlier, I'd been convinced my life was finally coming together.
I'd been at the delivery station, organizing orders on my battered electric scooter. The air smelled of exhaust and cheap grease. Then a hush fell over the yard as a sleek obsidian sedan with the plate "88888" rolled through the gates.
A coworker nudged my ribs. "Holy hell, look at that."
Every rider stopped dead. The rear door opened and a woman stepped out—stunning, dressed in a tailored gown worth more than our combined annual salaries.
"Damn, is that a celebrity?"
"Idiot, that's Vivienne Ashford's ride," another whispered. "The Ashford Group's Chairwoman. Imagine having a sister like that."
I froze. Vivienne's sharp gaze swept across the sea of yellow vests. She spotted me instantly.
Shit.
I ducked my head, abandoning my scooter and slipping toward the dorms. I needed to disappear. I hurried into the locker room, planning to change and bolt out the back.
But the moment I turned around, she was blocking the doorway.
Vivienne's expression was dark, her posture radiating the kind of authority that made CEOs tremble. I stepped back, clutching my helmet like a shield.