He became insufferably arrogant. His mother began calling me a “dependent burden,” and Natalie routinely hinted that I’d struck gold by marrying “a man destined for the tech elite.”

They never had the foresight to realize that those major institutional funds had opened their vault doors for one reason alone: they knew I was the sole heiress of Charles Brooks, founder of Brooks Global Corp, one of the most powerful infrastructure conglomerates in the country.

The bus ground to a halt at a major intersection.

Beside our window, my black luxury SUV pulled up in the adjoining lane. Inside, the Vance family was laughing together on their way to the restaurant.

Dominic didn’t even turn his head to look at the transit line beside him.

Something fundamental snapped completely inside my chest. It wasn’t a wave of sadness. It was an absolute, blinding clarity.