Everyone thinks I've lost my mind when I marry Bryan Sable. That's because I'm the daughter of the richest family in town, while he's just the owner of a small company.

Everyone says he's only marrying me for my money.

They don't know that he's willing to risk his life just to be with me. He also spent years pursuing me.

On the day of the wedding, apart from the wedding ring, I also give him 99 free passes, saying, "If you ever upset me, you can use one of the free passes to cancel it out. But once you've used up all 99 of them, this marriage ends."

Bryan swears he will never even use a single one of the free passes.

But not long after we get married, he gets involved with his secretary, Roxy Upton. From that moment onward, the free passes get used up in rapid succession.

He uses one when he misses my birthday party because of her. He uses another when I find a hickey left on his neck by someone other than me.

It gets to a point where even our butler can't help but remind Bryan, "Mr. Sable, I think Mrs. Sable is upset right now. Are you sure you want to leave now to go to Ms. Upton?"

But Bryan doesn't think much of it. "If she's upset, let her be upset. What's the worst that can happen? I'll just use one of the free passes. I've only used about 50 of them. I've got plenty of chances left."

He has no clue that he only has three free passes left.

And by now, I no longer kick up a fuss. I'm simply waiting for the day he uses up the final chance. I'm going to watch him dig his own grave, losing me as well as everything I've given him.

Stella's POV

At the party to celebrate my first wedding anniversary with Bryan Sable, Roxy Upton ended up spilling red wine all over her dress.

Bryan, who'd been chatting with a few guests, heard the commotion. He immediately set down his wine glass and walked over to Roxy.

"What happened?"

Clutching the hem of her dress, she kept her head low as she said weakly, "I stained my dress…"

Bryan glanced down at it before saying nonchalantly, "Since it's stained now, just change into another one."

He turned to our butler, Edgar Grady, and instructed, "Bring over one of Stella's evening gowns."

Edgar had just acknowledged the order when Roxy tugged on Bryan's sleeve and said even more softly, "But… I don't want to wear a gown that someone else has already worn before."

Bryan paused for a moment before recalling something. He turned to Edgar and said, "Stella prepared a second evening gown to wear for the latter half of the party, right? Bring that one. It hasn't been worn before."

However, Edgar hesitated and instinctively glanced in my direction. "But Mr. Sable, that evening gown was custom-made for Mrs. Sable. Besides, if you give it… to Ms. Upton, what will Mrs. Sable wear later?"

Bryan frowned, and his tone grew impatient. "Just prepare another one for her. She has more gowns than she has space in the closet for. It's not like she'll suffer without this one gown."

The moment he finished speaking, the crowd couldn't help but look at me, as if sympathizing with me for marrying the wrong man.

Some even frowned, knowing full well how improper Bryan's actions were. There were also a few others who were smirking—waiting to see me lose my temper and assert my position as the lady of the house.

I was just about to speak when, through the crowd, Bryan silently mouthed a few words at me.

"I'll use one of the free passes."

Out of nowhere, I let out a chuckle. Turning to Edgar, I said in an even tone, "Go ahead and get it. She can have it."

When Bryan and I first met, he'd only been the owner of a small company. Yet, to pursue me, he'd willingly spend far more than what he earned on me. Even so, I refused to go out with him, thinking he was just playing the long game.

That only changed when I got abducted by a business rival.

Bryan had charged in alone to rescue me, taking the stabs and blows in my place. He'd risked his life to save mine.

Even as he lay in bed at the ICU ward, he gripped my hand tightly and said, "Even if you're not the Ludlow family heiress, Stella, I still won't regret the choice I made."

That truly moved me beyond all else. Ignoring my family's protests, I stubbornly insisted on marrying Bryan.

Given our wildly different social standings, I knew he'd have to endure certain remarks and attitudes from my family. Therefore, the day we got married, I gave him 99 free passes.

"If you ever upset me, you can use one of the free passes to cancel it out. But once you've used up all 99 of them, this marriage ends."

Upon hearing that, Bryan swiftly locked the free passes away in a drawer on the spot, swearing he wouldn't use even one.

But not long after we got married, he unlocked that drawer for the sake of his newly hired secretary, Roxy. And in less than a year, he'd used up 95 of them.

The gown was canceled out with the 96th free pass.

Roxy quickly changed into my evening gown. It was studded with gemstones, making her sparkle brilliantly in the light. With her hanging off his arm, Bryan moved through the crowd, exchanging more pleasantries with the guests.

It was as if Roxy were his wife—that they were the couple celebrating their wedding anniversary.

As I stood nearby, watching this scene, I stayed silent and took a sip of wine.

At that moment, Edgar came up to me and asked tentatively, "Mrs. Sable, shall I contact the brand and have them send over another gown at once? There's still time."

I shook my head. "It's fine. This wedding anniversary no longer means anything to me anyway."

Stella's POV

Before the party ended, Bryan suddenly came over to me. "Roxy's had a bit too much to drink. I'll take her home first. You'll have to tend to the guests instead."

After saying that, he looked at my unusually calm expression. For some reason, his heart clenched, and he added, "She doesn't handle alcohol well. If she starts making a scene later, it'll disturb the other guests, and it'll embarrass you, too. You understand, right, Stella?"

Ordinarily, I would've kicked up a fuss by now. But this time, I simply smiled. "Of course. Drive safe."

Bryan frowned. It looked like he had more to say, but at the very next second, Roxy collapsed into his arms and draped herself all over him.

With her cheek pressed against his neck, she said in a sweet, coquettish voice, "Let's go, Mr. Sable… My body's burning up… I want you so badly…"

Before she could finish, Bryan loudly cleared his throat to drown out the rest of her suggestive words.

He grabbed the mink coat I had draped over the back of my chair and wrapped it around Roxy before turning to me. "It's snowing heavily outside. I'm worried she'll catch a cold. We have to leave on a business trip in three days, so I don't want our work to be affected."

I smiled. "It's just a coat. You don't need to give a long speech just to explain yourself. If you want to take it, just take it."

I turned to leave, but Bryan abruptly called out to me again. He couldn't resist asking, "Stella, you're not angry, are you?"

Although I paused to answer him, I didn't bother turning around. In a matter-of-fact manner, I said, "You've already used a free pass, so I have no reason to be angry."

I picked up a glass of wine and started chatting pleasantly with some of the guests, as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

Only then did Bryan let out a breath of relief and leave with Roxy in his arms. He left in such a hurry that he didn't notice how cold my gaze had become.

After the party ended, a few of my old friends couldn't help but express their indignation on my behalf, but I just smiled and said nothing.

Once the guests were all gone, I looked down at the gown I ended up wearing for the entire duration of the party and let out a long sigh.

I proceeded to call Simon Kirkwood, a lawyer specializing in divorce cases. I wanted him to draft a divorce agreement for me.

As soon as Simon answered the phone, the first words out of my mouth were, "How do I reclaim all the money and resources I invested in Bryan throughout our marriage?"

Simon pondered briefly before giving me a suggestion.

"If you want to secure a larger share of your marital assets, you can have Mr. Sable transfer them to you, making sure it's clear that it's a voluntarily made gift to you."

But after saying that, he couldn't resist laughing. "It's not like you need the money, Ms. Ludlow. Why do you care about the chump change he has?"

After a moment of silence, I chuckled and replied, "It's true that I couldn't care less about that money, but people have to pay for what they've done, don't they? Anyway, email me the divorce agreement within the next two days."

"Two days?" Simon was taken aback. "Why the rush?"

I fiddled with the wedding ring around my finger and let out a self-mocking snort. "Because I'm certain he'll be using up his last three chances within the next three days."

Just then, Bryan came in.

"What chances?" he asked with a puzzled expression, my mink coat draped over his arm.

Stella's POV

I ended my call with Simon, then turned to Bryan with an impassive expression. "It's nothing. Someone has been causing trouble for me. If he crosses me three more times, I'll bankrupt him for good."

Bryan came over. He couldn't resist pinching my cheek as he remarked, "As expected of you, the Ludlow family heiress. You always speak with such imposing authority. If I were in his shoes, I'd be begging for mercy right about now."

Startled, I looked at him. "Is that so? But he doesn't seem the least bit inclined to beg for mercy."

"Then you should let him suffer for a bit. He'll fall in line then."

Bryan was right about that. People only behaved themselves after they were made to suffer.

Meanwhile, Bryan changed the subject by bringing out a gift box.

Before even opening it, I already knew what was inside. Back when he was pursuing me, he loved giving me jewelry. Since I was in the habit of collecting jewelry, even when he had no money, he would still do everything he could to buy the best jewelry he could afford.

Even though the jewelry pieces he gave me were the cheapest ones in my entire collection, I still placed them in the center—simply because they were tokens of his love.

I took the gift box and slowly untied the ribbon. However, my gaze soon froze. The box did contain a piece of jewelry, but it was so crudely made that it was barely even wearable.

With just a single glance, I recognized it. It was the complimentary gift that came with the necklace Roxy wore earlier this evening.

When Bryan saw me stilling, he asked, "What's wrong? Is it not to your liking?"

I slammed the box shut and reined in my temper as I replied, "Nope. It's fine."

Bryan remained silent for a moment before snatching the box out of my hands. "Stop pretending. I know you're unsatisfied with it. You've always had high standards for everything. Since I made you unhappy by giving you something you don't like, let's just cancel it out with a free pass, okay?"

That floored me. Did the free passes mean so little to him?

I couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure you want to use one?"

Bryan nodded without thinking much of it. "I've got plenty left anyway. Using one won't hurt."

He wrapped his arms around me from behind, his tone becoming a lot more suggestive as he said, "After all, it's our wedding anniversary tonight. I don't want you to be unhappy."

For a moment, I truly wanted to inform him that he only had three more free passes left. And since he just used one for the gift, he only had two chances to go.

But in the end, I said nothing. Since he wanted to use it, so be it. I wasn't the one losing out on anything.

Seeing that I was smiling again, Bryan kissed my cheek and turned me around to start undressing me, but I soon grabbed his hand to stop him.

"I'm pretty exhausted tonight. We can do it tomorrow instead."

Bryan froze before saying in a somewhat grumbling tone, "But today's a special occasion! You're seriously ruining the mood, Stella. Well, since you're tired. I won't force you. You should go to bed then."

He took off this shirt and stepped into the bathroom.

I bent down and picked up his shirt. When I saw the lipstick mark on the inside of his shirt, my gaze dimmed.

Just then, Bryan's phone started ringing. Roxy's name flashed on the screen.

I took the call, and her coy voice immediately rang out. "Why did you leave in such a rush, Mr. Sable? I wanted to go for another round. It's such a thrill to make love to you on your wedding anniversary, and while wearing your wife's gown, too.

"Don't forget what you promised me, okay? The next time she leaves for the office, we'll do it in her bed! Mr. Sable? Are you there? Why aren't you saying anything?"

I ended the call. All the color had drained from my face.

When Bryan, wrapped in a towel, came out of the bathroom, he saw me sitting by the window with a document in hand.

"Stella? What's that?" he asked.

I didn't turn around. Looking out at the high-rise buildings in the distance, I said coolly, "Bryan, I want Star Tower, the building located in the city center."

Bryan froze, not quite understanding what I was talking about—until I held out the purchase agreement and asked quietly, "Are you willing to give it to me?"

When he saw the astronomical sum listed in the contract, his eyes flashed with hesitation.

"What's the matter? You don't want to?" I withdrew my hand, pretending to be disappointed. "You used to be so generous with me…"

"Who said I didn't want to?" Bryan snatched the document and signed his name to it.

When he handed it back to me, he bent down, his gaze serious as he looked at me. "Stella, from the moment we made our vows at our wedding ceremony, everything of mine became yours."

Smiling, I hugged him. Since my face was behind him, he couldn't see the tears clinging to the corners of my eyes.

What Bryan just said was a lie. His heart started belonging to someone else long ago.

Since that was the case, at the very least, everything else should be mine.