“You know, the moment Drew took over the company yesterday, he landed a huge deal. Things are only going up from here!”

She scoffed. “Seriously, you thought the company couldn’t survive without you?”

I listened to Nicole’s sneer and gave a faint smile.

After all, I knew exactly what deal she was talking about.

It was one I had been working on before I left. I always had a bad feeling about it. The client's deadline was insanely tight—so tight that there was no way we could produce the volume they needed in time.

If anything went wrong, the penalties would be astronomical.

Any company with common sense would never take on that deal.

But I hadn’t expected Drew and Nicole to be reckless enough to go through with it.

Standing there, watching the two of them gloat, I couldn’t help but laugh. They had no idea that if this went south, it could drag the entire Morgan Group down with it.

But honestly? That had nothing to do with me anymore.

I signed the divorce papers and right after that, I watched Nicole pull Drew to the side and walk straight into the county office. Ten minutes later, they walked out holding a marriage certificate.

I’m Mrs. Hastings now.” Waving it in my face, Nicole couldn’t wait to rub it in. “As for you? Just a washed-up loser. Good luck finding a real job.”

I didn’t respond. I just turned and walked out of the building.

Behind me, Drew called out with a smug grin, “Hey, Mr. Anderson, I have a message from all the staff you used to work with. They said, ‘Good riddance.’ According to them, you were all bark and no bite—and the company’s better off without you.”

I glanced back at him. He looked so damn proud of himself.

I just smiled. “Got it.”

There was no point getting angry. I was strangely calm.

The moment I stepped outside, a sleek luxury car pulled up at the curb.

Out stepped my father’s assistant, Lauren Scott.  I’d met her a few times before. This time, my father had clearly sent her to pick me up.

She gave me a polite nod and opened the door. “Mr. Anderson, your father is waiting for you.”

“Thanks, Lauren,” I said with a nod and got into the car.

But just as we were about to drive off, Nicole’s voice rang out from behind.

“Ryan, wow—you’ve really learned how to put on a show.”

“You think renting a luxury car and hiring some woman to play along is gonna make me regret dumping you?”

I turned to look at her.

She was clinging to Drew’s arm, smirking at me like she was the one who had won.

“Let’s be real here. You’re an orphan, Ryan. You’ve got no money. You spent all those years working your ass off for my family’s business and ended up with nothing. No way someone like you could afford a car like that.” 

I just smiled. I didn’t say a word. I didn’t have the energy to argue with Nicole anymore.

When I didn’t respond and simply got in the car, her smile faded and her voice sharpened.

“Let me guess—you spent every last dime you had on this rental, didn’t you?”

“I can’t wait to see what happens to you now. If you end up starving on the streets, don’t come crawling to us!”

I turned my head and looked at her. She still had that arrogant expression, like she thought she had everything figured out.

And I just smiled. “Don’t worry—I won’t. But if you two run into trouble later on… don’t come knocking on my door either.”

The words had barely left my mouth when Nicole suddenly barked, “Ryan, do you even hear yourself right now? What makes you think you’re in any position to talk like that?”

“You really think our lives fall apart without you? Let me tell you something—Drew’s way more capable than you ever were. With him around, the company’s only going up. And you? You’re nothing. A pathetic loser who’ll never amount to anything.”

I didn’t say a word. Just smiled to myself.

I’d heard that kind of garbage more times than I could count.

Even after I took over the Morgan Group and business started booming, Nicole’s parents never missed a chance to belittle me—like it was their way of keeping me in check.

I knew why. They were scared. Afraid I might get ideas. That I might actually have a voice. So they kept trying to keep me small, thinking they still had control over me.

And now that Nicole was back, they tossed me aside without hesitation.

Four years of marriage, four years of giving everything I had to that family—and this was how it ended.

I ignored Nicole and asked Lauren to drive me home.

When I got there, my parents were waiting. Dad looked especially pleased. He told me he’d already prepared everything for my return and handed over the majority of the company’s operations to me.

He said just having me back was enough. He and Mom were ready to retire. The company was mine now.

With his help, I took over smoothly. In no time, I had things running better than ever.

Then one day, I got a call from Nicole.

“Ryan, where are you?” The moment I picked up, her voice came through, tense and frantic.

“Where I am doesn’t concern you,” I said calmly. 

I could guess what was happening. One of those brilliant business deals she and Drew had taken on was starting to go sideways.

And Nicole? She had no idea how to fix it.

As for Drew—hell, even when he was just an intern, I knew exactly how useless he was. There was no way he could handle something like this now.

Nicole sounded increasingly desperate. “Ryan, get back to the office. Now!”

“Did I miss something here? Have you forgotten that I don’t work for you anymore, Nicole? We’re divorced. I have zero obligation to step foot in your company ever again.”

“You’re unbelievable,” she snapped. “I’m giving you a chance here because I didn’t want to see you end up jobless and starving!”

I chuckled. “Thanks for your concern, but I’m doing just fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

I was about to hang up when she suddenly yelled, “Wait! That contract you signed before you left—there’s a problem with it! If you don’t come fix it, I’ll sue you for causing damages to the company!”

Her voice was practically shaking with rage.