Ethan looked me up and down in disgust. “That’s the whole point — you’re not going. Just look at yourself, Ava. You smell like grease, your hands are rough. You look like an employee. I am a vice president now, and tonight, I will be among executives, investors, and elite families. You make me look bad. You no longer have a place in my life.”
“Ethan… I’m the reason you’re even there! I was there with you when you couldn’t buy food!” I yelled, my voice shaking.
He smirked. “So? I give you money every month, don’t I? Consider it even.”
He then adjusted the expensive watch he wore on his wrist and looked down at me. “Stay home. I’ve already invited someone else to sit with me at the gala — Madeline, one of the daughters of the board members. She fits my world better than you do, so don’t even try to go there tonight. Security will toss you out before you make it through the door.”
He then turned and got in his car and drove away from me.
I continued to kneel in the grass, looking at the ashes of the dress, which I had fought so hard toAs the smoke dissipated into the night sky, I felt something deep inside of me change.
I was no longer sad.
In its place, I felt something cold.
Sharper.
More dangerous.
Ethan thought I was just some average woman.
A disposable wife.
Someone that he would discard as soon as he got to the top of his game.
What Ethan didn’t know was that Sterling Global—an entity he idolizes, like a golden throne—was owned by my family.
I wasn’t just Ava.
I was Ava Sterling.
I was the sole heir to the company where he worked.
I was the hidden Chairwoman of the entire conglomerate.
I had walked away from a wealthy lifestyle seven years ago, and changed my last name to escape the stigma of wealth in order to experience true love, wanting to be loved for who I was instead of what I owned.
I permitted Ethan to believe that I was merely a woman working hard to survive.
I was supportive.
Encouraging.
I helped him transform into the man that he is today.
Now I find I have learned that Ethan possesses no loyalty, no appreciation, and only desires richness.
I stood slowly in my grief.
I wiped the tears away.
I retrieved my cell phone from my blazer.
I called a private line that only a few people know about.
The call was answered immediately.
“Madam Chairwoman,” my executive assistant answered respectfully. “Everything is ready for tonight’s gala, as well as your official introduction to the company.”
“Yes,” I responded in a cool manner. “Send the styling team to my home as soon as possible. Bring me both the couture gown from Paris, along with the diamond collection from the safe.””Tonight, as I step into the ballroom, I shall be like a queen… and I will crush his dreams.”
The smell of smoke from the yard made my heart sink deeper. I had now been married to Daniel for seven years. Throughout all of those years, I paid for Daniel’s future. I worked non stop, sold everything I owned, and sacrificed every last bit of comfort, all in order to allow him to finish school and be hired by Crown Dominion, a company with over a billion dollars in sales.
The night was intended to be a time to celebrate Daniel’s promotion to Vice President of Operations. For months, I saved money to buy a beautiful blue dress because I wanted to be proud to stand next to my husband.
Just before we were meant to leave, smoke filled my yard. My heart dropped to my stomach.
I quickly ran outside to see Daniel standing in the yard in a designer tuxedo, holding a can of lighter fluid and standing over the grill, with my dress on fire.
“Daniel?! What are you doing?!” I yelled while trying to put out the fire.
He roughly shoved me away.