"Alright, it’s my fault this time. I promise it won’t happen again..."

"And hey, if there’s anything you’ve had your eye on lately, just let me know, your husband will take care of the bill!"

They were inseparable at the office. Everyone had seen their intimate silhouettes behind the privacy curtain in the CEO’s office.

He never bothered to hide it, taking her to high-end events and shielding her as if she were untouchable. Not even a fly could get close.

And now, without so much as a frown, he bought her a three-million-dollar bag, then had the nerve to call her an “insignificant intern.”

In the past, with my fiery temper and zero tolerance for betrayal, I would’ve caused a scene.

But after living through my past life, I knew one thing: she was Drake’s reverse scale, the one thing no one could touch.

Backing off was the wise choice.

So I moved my parents overseas and quietly took full control of the family business.

Drake’s whole heart was wrapped around that girl, so he never noticed the quiet moves I was making behind the scenes.

“Sir hasn’t been home much lately. In my opinion, madam, you should be more cautious. Don’t let some woman out there steal your husband’s soul,” Gigi, the housekeeper, gently reminded me.

I gave her a faint, bitter smile.

These days, Drake had been flaunting that little girl everywhere, spending without restraint.

A yacht worth tens of millions, he bought it without a blink. The party on board lasted until dawn and even then, he couldn’t bear to let it end.

The villa in the city center was more lavish than a palace.

Even though her family was thoroughly taken care of, her useless brother was suddenly promoted to a manager in the group company.

A mature, wealthy CEO pursuing someone so openly, who could resist?

Seeing the dark look on my face, Gigi quickly softened her voice to console me.

"Men... they all stray a little. Sir has kept himself clean for so many years; he’s already better than most. As long as it doesn’t stir trouble at home, it’s not the end of the world..."

Before she could finish, she was abruptly cut off.

Drake stood at the doorway, holding Meghan’s hand, his gaze locked onto me.

"Zendaya, I really thought you were different from the rest. I didn’t expect you to stoop to gossiping behind someone’s back."

Before I could say anything, he pulled Meghan to the sofa and sat down, as if the two of them were the real master and mistress of the house.

“She’s living alone and I worry. After thinking it over, I decided she should stay here, it’s safer.”

“She’s still young, so look after her properly. Don’t let her get too thin under my watch.”

I gave a faint smile and nodded, turning to head into the kitchen, only to be stopped by his voice again.

“No need to prepare a separate room. She’ll be staying with me.”

My body froze, a sharp pain tightening in my chest.

He was never one to share his bed, even after five years of marriage, we had always slept in separate rooms.

No matter how drained he was after our passionate nights, he would always pull away in the end, toss the towel he used to clean himself and walk off without a word.

But now, he was willing to share a room with someone else.

It seemed he had truly fallen for her.

That night, as I walked past his room, I heard soft, ambiguous gasps from within.

The girl’s voice was sweet and breathy. "President Hemsworth, if you want… Meghan is willing…" But the next second, her words were swallowed by Drake’s kiss.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, his voice slightly held back.

“Silly girl, go to sleep early.”

Then he quickly flipped off the bed and rushed into the bathroom, the sound of running water echoing clearly.

His self-control stunned me—he loved her so much, he couldn’t even bring himself to touch her.

I bit my lip and quietly stepped into Drake Hemsworth’s study.

In my past life, the reason he was able to destroy my parents’ company so quickly was because of a top-secret document.

Inside were key business documents from our Hadid Corporation. This time, I had to move first and prepare before the storm hit.

As I sat at the desk, my eyes landed on the wedding photo. At some point, the picture of Drake and me had been replaced with one of him and Meghan.

Her smile was sweet and innocent, yet it was a harsh reminder that my marriage to Drake was over.

I swallowed the bitterness rising in my chest and quickly searched for the file. But it was locked, password-protected.

Panic rose as I tried every password Drake might’ve used, but nothing worked. On a whim, I typed in a random set of numbers.

When the screen flashed “Password Correct,” my heart skipped a beat.

It was the date he first met Meghan.

“So late and you’re still up, baby?”

Drake leaned casually against the doorway, a playful glint in his eyes.

“Baby, are you jealous?”

I took a slow breath and looked at him with a mocking smile.

“Didn’t you say she was just an insignificant intern?”

Drake shrugged with a helpless smile. "I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Just seeing her makes me feel strangely happy. I just want to be around her all the time. Baby, it’s the first time I’ve ever felt this way. Do you think I’ve been poisoned?"

"But don’t worry, in my heart, no one could ever replace you, baby…"

"Baby, it’s been a while since we… Do you want to?"

As he spoke, he leaned in, pressing against me, the desire he’d held back earlier now rushing back with force.

I quickly stepped away, disgust flickering in my eyes.

Then, I picked up the file I had prepared and handed it to him.

He lifted a brow, amused. "Got your eye on something again? Alright, alright, whatever it is, I’ll buy it for you."

Without even glancing at the contents, he signed his name with a flourish.

My goal achieved, I gently slipped out from under him, feigning fatigue.

"I’m exhausted. Maybe next time."

Let him use me to put out a fire another woman started?

Never.

Clutching the divorce papers, a wave of relief washed over me.

Very soon, I’d be free again.

The following week, Drake flew abroad to attend a business gala. Meghan couldn’t get her passport processed in time and was forced to stay behind.

She showed no restraint at all, strutting around like she owned the place, bossing every servant as if they answered to her.

She stuck her nose into everything. The entire household buzzed with complaints.

Gigi came rushing to me in a panic.

“Madam, you need to come quickly. Miss Kardashian says the crabapple tree in the yard is an eyesore and insists it has to be removed. We tried to stop her, but she grabbed a ladder herself. Now she’s up in the tree, saying she’s going to trim the branches one by one!”

That crabapple tree was planted by my parents the year I married Drake. They said it would bless us with peace and lifelong happiness.

Now, Meghan wanted to cut it back—her message couldn’t be more obvious.

I rushed out and told her to come down from the ladder.

She shot me a defiant look, but the moment she spotted someone in black in the distance, her foot slipped and with a sharp scream, she fell backward.

“Ah!”

I gasped in pain, but before I could speak, Drake’s furious voice thundered through the air.

"Zendaya! Must you always go against her?"

"Don’t you realize a fall from that height could’ve been fatal?"

I answered weakly, "It was an accident, it had nothing to do with me…"

"Don’t think I don’t know, it was you who swapped the ladder! You even had it smeared with oil! You did it on purpose. You wanted Meghan to get hurt!"

His eyes burned with anger, as though I’d committed an unforgivable crime.

Even though Meghan didn’t have a single scratch, Drake scooped her into his arms without hesitation and rushed her to the hospital, not even glancing at my legs, crushed and bleeding beneath the fallen ladder.

It took ninety-nine stitches to piece me back together.

When I finally pushed through the pain and wheeled myself to the payment counter, I saw Meghan bouncing beside Drake, radiant, carefree, completely unbothered.

She spotted me too and looked up with wide, innocent eyes.

“President Hemsworth, maybe you should check on your wife. Maybe she didn’t mean it after all.”

Drake glanced at me with pure contempt, then pulled Meghan into his arms.

“This time, she went too far. Don’t worry about her, let her cool off.”

“Right now, the only thing that matters is being with you.”

I sat there, staring blankly at their backs as they walked away, my fingers tightening around the arms of my wheelchair.

In that moment, whatever affection I had left for Drake disappeared.

Since that was how it was, Drake, I had prepared a grand gift for him.

I hoped you would enjoy it.

After spending half a month in the hospital, I was finally discharged.

But I didn’t go home. Instead, I changed into formal wear and headed straight to the auction house.

Drake and Meghan were seated in the front row, gazing into each other’s eyes, flaunting their affection without shame.

"Meghan, I’ll win the final auction piece today, as a gift to confess my love to you..."

"But..."

Meghan hesitated, her brows knitted with worry. "Mom and Dad always told me not to be the other woman. President Hemsworth, I know you’re good to me, but I can’t do something so wrong!"

Tears shimmered in the corners of her eyes and that stubborn little look on her face instantly melted all of Drake’s defenses.

“I’ll take care of everything.”

“Megan isn’t a homewrecker. Once the auction is over, I’ll talk to Zendaya about the divorce.”

Even though I’d seen it coming, hearing him say divorce out loud still hurt. With that, I quietly lowered the brim of my hat, hoping no one would notice me.

Still, the moment Drake turned around, his eyes found me, his brows instantly pulling together. "Since when did you start following people around?"

He started scolding me right away, completely forgetting that I’d told him three months ago I planned to bid on this jewelry set as a gift for our fifth anniversary.

I didn’t say a word and just mouthed, “The auction’s starting.”

Drake turned back without hesitation. “I’ll deal with you later!”

Nestled in Drake’s arms, Meghan glanced back at me with a smug little smile, her face full of quiet triumph.

As the jewelry was wheeled onto the stage, the diamonds lit up her features with a dazzling glow.

It was the first time Drake had seen that kind of sparkle in her eyes and in that moment, he melted completely, as if ready to kneel and hand it to her right then and there.

Drake kept raising his paddle, again and again, until the price soared to an astonishing five billion dollars. Only then did the room finally fall silent.

“Five billion dollars. Any higher offers?”

The auctioneer swept his gaze across the room, wearing a practiced smile.

Drake gave a slight nod, soaking in the admiration around him and the awe glowing in Meghan’s eyes.

“President Hemsworth really is something, five billion without even blinking!”

“Looks like he’s serious this time. Meghan is truly lucky. His wife’s entire wedding didn’t even cost ten million and now he’s giving this girl a five-billion-dollar gift!”

“If I were Mrs. Hemsworth, I’d want the ground to swallow me, what a public humiliation.”

The auctioneer hesitated for a moment, his hand slightly raised with the gavel.

“If there are no further bids, the item goes to Mr. Hemsworth. Congratulations…”