Memories of the past flickered through my mind like scenes from an old movie strip.

Wayne and I met in college, fell in love, and quickly became inseparable.

Back then, the Donaldsons were nothing more than an ordinary middle-class household. On the other hand, I was born into an affluent family and known as the honorary princess of Jynxwood's elites.

I had kept my identity a secret before marrying Wayne, just so he wouldn't feel inferior.

After the wedding, I had quietly mobilized my family's resources. Step by step, I lent him a helping hand to build the Donaldson family's empire.

But somewhere along the way, the Donaldsons caught a serious case of the "new money syndrome". Maria and Harold shed their humility and began posing as aristocratic nobles.

Every sentence they spoke revolved around the sacred words "the Donaldsons". They even tried to set rules for me.

Still, I wasn't bothered because I only had eyes for Wayne. We were married for five years, and were the picture-perfect couple everyone admired.

On our fifth anniversary, he was drugged and ended up in bed with the poor scholarship student he had been funding, Valeria.

When he sobered up, he immediately knelt before me, crying as he apologized. "I swear I'll cut off all contact with her…"

I trusted him until a year later, when I ran into him and Valeria during a routine gynaecological checkup.

Valeria clung to his arm, and they were holding a baby, looking like the perfect family of three.

I never imagined Wayne would lie to me and keep seeing her behind my back, much less expected them to have a baby together.

That was when it struck me that my love was a complete joke.

Just then, my phone buzzed with a message. "The wedding's set for tomorrow. Are you sure you can make it in time?"

I replied with just two words, "No problem."

After sending the text, I was about to get up when Wayne rushed out and grabbed my arm. He had been hovering behind the door the whole time, waiting for me to yield and admit fault.

"If you'd just bow your head and admit you were wrong, you can come back. Why are you so stubborn? Besides, I've told you more than once that Valeria's the mother of my baby, while you're the only Mrs. Donaldson!"

I coolly yanked my arm free.

How could he have the nerve to demand that I yield and admit that I was wrong?

After we married, I had spent years hiding my identity as Jynxwood's princess just to protect his pride. Even now, he believed that the Donaldson family's rise to fame was credited to his brilliance and efforts.

He had no idea that "Mrs. Donaldson" was never a title he had granted to me because, without me, Donaldson Group would never have existed in the first place.

Now, I was done being the lady of the Donaldsons.

My calmness and composure seemed to unsettle Wayne. Just as he was about to speak again, Valeria came running over, tears streaming down her face.

"Something's wrong with the baby, and he won't stop crying, Mr. Donaldson. I'm scared!"

Wayne's face went pale. He was about to get up and leave when I held him back.

Turning around, he shot me a hesitant look and said in a hoarse voice, "I have to check on the baby, Shelby. Just stay here and wait for me."

Instead of responding, I took out the readied divorce papers and held them out to him, beckoning for him to sign.

He paused and probably assumed it was a work contract. So, without bothering to give it a look, he took the pen and scribbled his name.

If he had just flipped back one page, he would have noticed that it was our divorce papers, but it was a pity that he didn't.

After signing the papers, he rushed off.

Behind him, Valeria shot me a triumphant look.

Looking down at the signed name on the divorce papers, I heaved a long sigh of relief.

Five years of our marriage ended with just that single stroke of a pen.

After making sure the divorce papers were signed, I turned and made my way to the bedroom.

All the designer outfits, bags, and luxury pieces I left at the Donaldson residence meant nothing to me, so they could stay.

But there was one thing I had to take with me—a gold hairpin my late grandma had left me. It was a family heirloom.

When I returned to the bedroom, the unfamiliar interior furnishings stopped me cold. All my clothes and belongings were gone.

The air carried the scent of another woman's perfume.

Wasn't this Valeria's scent? It seemed she had taken over my bedroom in my absence.

Just as I was searching for the gold hairpin, Wayne unexpectedly returned. He paced briefly behind me before saying, "Look… I overreacted today and embarrassed you in front of everyone. But I'm the head of the Donaldsons, so I have to be fair to maintain respect. If you'd just go and apologize to Valeria…"

"Excuse me," I said, completely ignoring his words.

He grabbed my wrist and anxiously snapped, "I told you! Valeria and I aren't like what you think!"

His desperation was almost funny to me, so I chuckled and asked in return, "What does it have to do with me?"

"Please don't do this, Shelby," he said. "The Donaldsons need an heir, and since you can't conceive, why won't you let another woman carry on the Donaldson family name?"

I jerked my head up and gawked at him in disbelief.

Had Wayne forgotten that three years ago, he had driven drunk and landed in a car crash that nearly killed him?

I had desperately dragged him out of the wreckage, and when it exploded, the shrapnel had caused me severe injuries.

When the doctors announced that I might never conceive again, he swore with red-rimmed eyes, "You're all I need in this lifetime, Shelby."

But now, he had forgotten that vow and let another woman bear his child behind my back.

Seemingly realizing he had misspoken, he turned away and added, "Whatever. There's a family dinner tonight, so don't forget to be there."

After a pause, he explained, "This room is the quietest in the house, and Valeria needs rest, so she and the baby will be staying here for now. I've moved your belongings to the storage room in the south wing.

Do this for me, Shelby. Don't cause trouble today and tarnish your reputation as Mrs. Donaldson."

I gave him a long, cold look and walked out. Since I was leaving, which room I stayed in no longer mattered.

I found the gold hairpin in the storage room and carefully tucked it away. After removing the wedding ring from my finger, I casually tossed it into the trash can.

As I was about to leave, I saw the entire Donaldson family gathered in the main hall.

Wayne and Valeria stood in the center holding their baby, looking every bit the picture of a happy family.

When the Donaldsons noticed me, the looks they gave me were sharp and judgmental.

"As Mrs. Donaldson, how dare she arrive late to a Donaldson family dinner. She has no manners at all!"

"Shelby can't have children, yet she still tries to stop others from having them. If I were her, I'd have left with nothing. How does she even have the face to cling to the Donaldsons?"

Maria was as sarcastic as ever.

I almost laughed at her haughtiness. Sure enough, it was amazing how wealth changed someone.

When we first met, Maria was just an ordinary housewife living in a cramped apartment. She held my hand and enthusiastically said, "We'd be family from now on. I'd treat you like my daughter."

When she learned that I could no longer conceive after saving Wayne in an accident, she hugged me, cried, and swore. "Child or not, you're the only daughter-in-law of the Donaldsons. I'll be the first to stand up for you if anyone ever messes with you!"

Now that the Donaldsons were wealthy, she had lost her humanity.

Wayne turned to look at me with hesitation in his eyes. His lips moved to speak, but he ended up saying nothing.

As I turned to leave, Valeria approached with a glass of wine and suddenly lunged at me. When I stepped aside to dodge, she collapsed onto the floor, and the wine glass shattered around her.

"I was just trying to give you a toast, Mrs. Donaldson. Why did you push me?"

I coldly watched her pathetic performance and was too unbothered to engage. But Wayne charged over from afar and shoved me back so hard that I hit the floor.

"Valeria! Are you okay?" he gasped in concern and helped her up.

"I'm fine, Wayne. I just think I've sprained my ankle," she theatrically complained.

Wayne immediately turned to glare at me and furiously snapped, "I'm so disappointed in you, Shelby! Did you really have to go this far? Apologize to Valeria right now!"

Valeria had tripped over on her own, yet Wayne was demanding that I apologize to her. She wasn't even hurt, while I was shoved into a pool of broken shards with blood trickling down my hand.

But Wayne didn't even notice. He helped Valeria up and rushed her to the hospital.

After the farce was over, I left the Donaldson residence and got into the Maybach waiting by the curb.

Then, I popped the SIM card out of my phone and flicked it out the window.

Goodbye, Wayne.