She's Back, With The World In Her Grasp

"Let's get a divorce."

The offhand declaration hit Kaelyn Curtis before she could catch her breath, and only then did it sink in—her husband Leland Morgan was discarding her.

She froze, staring at the handsome man who sat at his desk regarding her with icy indifference.

Her fingers tightened around the lunchbox and the Cradle Project contract she'd brought with such hope.

"Leland… you can't be serious, I..."

Her protest died as Leland cut in, his tone sharp enough to slice through air, "I'm completely serious. Our company is about to lock in the Cradle Project, and that victory belongs to Davina. I already gave her my word—I'll marry her. She's the one who deserves to be my wife."

He dragged his gaze over Kaelyn's modest dress and the worn lunchbox she had dutifully delivered to him every single workday for three long years, his expression sharpening with thinly veiled contempt.

A slow squint narrowed his eyes. To him, she had been nothing more than a dependable shadow—obedient, quiet, and painfully dull. He had never felt even a flicker of affection for her.

"If not for my grandfather's ridiculous will forcing our marriage, Davina and I would've been together ages ago," he muttered, his tone dripping with disdain.

Disgust darkened his stare as he went on, "You and my grandfather are both unbelievably foolish."

A cruel sneer tugged at his lips, arrogance blooming where humility had once lived during his early struggles. Her years of quiet sacrifice had only helped him forget the man he used to be.

He didn't register the shift in Kaelyn's face—the way her once-timid expression hardened, ice settling behind her glasses.

Her voice cut through the air, low and frostbitten. "What did you just say?"

He went still, and then recovered with a derisive snort. "I said you and my grandfather were both fools. He always wanted the company to go to my uncle. And look how that turned out. He—"

A crack split the air as her palm struck his cheek.

"You have no right to insult your grandfather!" Kaelyn bellowed, her voice trembling with fury.

Heat surged through her for the first time in years.

She had swallowed every slight, endured every cold glance—but Leland never realized that the only reason she stayed, the only reason she supported him in silence, was because his grandfather, Aaron Morgan, had once pulled her back from the brink of death.

For that debt, she had hidden who she truly was and stood behind Leland without complaint.

If he found her presence so unbearable… maybe it was finally time to walk away.

A stunned silence followed as he clutched his burning cheek, staring at Kaelyn like she'd completely lost it.

She actually had the nerve to slap him!

"Insult him? That man never lifted a finger to help me. He forced me to marry some orphan with nothing to her name—should I bow in gratitude for that? I've tolerated you for three years before asking for a