Papa! That Bad Man Hit My Mom!

After a seven-year relationship, my fiancé Bennett abandoned me on our marriage license day for a "marriage of convenience" with another woman. Heartbroken, I married the reclusive billionaire Damon Levy and disappeared.

Three years later, I returned, pregnant with our second child. The first person I saw was Bennett, now working as a driver, holding a sign for "Mrs. Levy."

He and his new wife didn't recognize me. They publicly humiliated me, mocking my simple dress and calling the priceless diamond bracelet from my husband a cheap fake.

At a gala, their cruelty escalated. They tripped me, stomped on my hand, and shattered my bracelet. Bennett slapped me across the face, hissing at me to stop lying.

Surrounded by their laughter, with my lip bleeding, I saw the man I once loved for the hollow, cruel person he truly was.

But then, the room went silent. My husband, Damon, walked in, holding our son. And my little boy pointed a finger straight at Bennett and shouted, "Papa! That bad man hit Mommy!"

Chapter 1

The pen hovered over the marriage license, a simple, stark document that promised a future I had dreamed of for seven years. My hand trembled, but it wasn't from excitement. It was from the chill spreading through my veins. Bennett wasn' t there. He was supposed to be, right by my side.

I looked at the empty chair beside me. The clerk cleared her throat. She had probably seen this a hundred times. A woman waiting, a man missing.

Then the office door burst open. Not Bennett. It was Jade Dunlap, her perfect blonde hair shining under the fluorescent lights, her smile a cruel slash across her face. And then I saw him. Bennett, walking in behind her, his hand resting casually on her lower back. My stomach dropped.

He didn't even look at me first. His eyes were on the clerk, a practiced charm already in place. Jade leaned in, whispering something in his ear, and they both chuckled. My lungs compressed.

"Addison," Bennett said, finally turning to me. His voice was smooth, too smooth. Like he was talking to a child, or a stranger. He didn't blink at my wide, trembling eyes. "I'm so sorry. Something urgent came up."

Urgent. This was our day. Our marriage license. My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise.

"What do you mean, 'urgent'?" My voice was a thin, reedy whisper I barely recognized.

Jade stepped forward, her expensive perfume suddenly suffocating. "Oh, darling. Bennett's so dedicated. He has to secure a critical business deal for Aurelis Capital. And for my son's inheritance, of course."

She smiled at me, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "It's a temporary arrangement. A marriage of convenience. He promised me it would only last a month."

A month. My world tilted. My seven years, our shared dreams, reduced to a temporary inconvenience.

"You're marrying her?" The words were a physical pain tearing through my throat.

Bennett finally met