My best friend’s neighborhood was being bought out by a major developer. The city was handing out massive payouts based on the number of legal family members registered under each household. She asked if she could borrow my husband. She promised to give me five hundred thousand dollars once the deal went through. In my past life, my mother was diagnosed with severe heart failure and urgently needed two hundred thousand dollars for life-saving surgery. For the sake of the money, Logan—my husband—convinced me to agree to this absurd arrangement. Chloe, my best friend, married him on paper. They successfully scammed an extra million dollars from the developer, but then she refused to get a divorce. Whenever I confronted Logan, he would stutter, making up endless excuses for Chloe. It wasn’t until later that I found out they had already been sleeping together and she was pregnant with his child. Once their secret was out, they stopped pretending. They hired a ruthless lawyer, stripped me of everything, and kicked my mother and me out of our own house. My mother died tragically on the streets. Heartbroken and numb, I wandered by the river, slipped, fell into the freezing water, and drowned. But when I opened my eyes again, I had traveled back in time. It was the exact day Chloe asked to borrow my husband.
“Ashley, please, just let me borrow Logan for a bit! We’ll just get a marriage certificate. As soon as I get the buyout money from the developer, I’ll divorce him immediately!” “The government is paying out bonuses based on headcount. Everyone around me is rushing to get married, but I don’t want to waste this opportunity on some random stranger.” “You’re my best friend. You’re the only one I trust!” “And don’t worry, I won’t let you do this for nothing. If you agree, I’ll transfer five hundred thousand dollars to you the second the papers are signed!” Chloe pleaded, holding up five fingers in a solemn promise. Looking at her fake, eager face, a cold chill ran down my spine. In my past life, Chloe had used the exact same soft-soaping tactics, dangling that five hundred thousand dollars in front of me like a carrot. Logan and I both came from average families. I had been grinding in the corporate world for ten years, making only about ten thousand a month. Five hundred thousand was equivalent to five years of my hard work! On top of that, Chloe had sworn on her life and even wrote me a signed contract. She promised that as soon as the marriage certificate was registered and the payout cleared, she would transfer the cash. I had refused at first. But a week later, my mother suddenly collapsed at home. My dad rushed her to the ER, where she was diagnosed with advanced heart failure. The doctor said she needed an urgent valve replacement surgery. The cost? Two hundred thousand dollars. In the end, cornered by the medical bills, I compromised and agreed to Chloe’s proposal. But once they got married and pocketed the millions, she didn’t give me a single dime. Instead, they fooled around behind my back, and she got pregnant. The memory of being left penniless, of my mother dying because we couldn’t afford her surgery, made my blood boil. I wanted nothing more than to take a knife and drive it through her heart right now. Seeing me stare at her in silence, Chloe waved her hand in front of my face. “Ashley? Are you okay? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Hearing Chloe’s voice, I instantly masked the murderous rage in my eyes. I forced a helpless, innocent smile. “Chloe, you’re so gorgeous, and now your family is getting this massive windfall. Can you blame me for being a little jealous?” “But borrowing my husband? Don’t you think that’s a bit too wild?” “You could literally find any guy on a dating app. Any of them would be a thousand times better than Logan.” Chloe shook her head quickly. “No way! I don’t know those guys. What if they’re just after my money?” “Ashley, you’re my bestie. Just let me borrow him for a few days!” “I swear, as soon as we register and get the check, I’ll transfer the money to you!” She grabbed my hand, shaking it playfully. After pretending to think it over, I said, “How about I ask Logan tonight and see what he thinks?” Chloe’s face lit up instantly. “You are literally the best!” In my past life, when the topic of a “fake divorce” was first brought up, Logan had put on a big show of rejecting it. But the moment he heard Chloe’s family was getting two prime properties and two million dollars in cash, his attitude changed instantly. He even turned it around on me, accusing me of being a bad friend. He said it was a huge opportunity for Chloe, and she was just asking us for a small favor. He had broken it down for me: “Each person added to the household gets an extra million. If I divorce you on paper and marry Chloe, she gets another million. Only an idiot would walk away from free money like that.” “Besides, she promised to give you five hundred thousand.” “Ashley, think about it. Five hundred thousand! It would take us ten years of starving ourselves to save that much.” I only agreed back then because Logan kept pushing me. I had been too naive to read between the lines. He had probably set his eyes on Chloe’s fortune from the very beginning. That was why he couldn’t wait to divorce me and marry her. After they registered their marriage, they claimed they had to “make it look real” so the developers wouldn’t investigate them for fraud. Because of that, Logan basically moved into Chloe’s apartment. At that time, I was constantly running back and forth to the hospital for my mother, so I had no time to worry about anything else. My distraction gave them the perfect opportunity to hook up. I was so incredibly stupid. Under their combined manipulation, I had signed a divorce agreement where I voluntarily waived all my rights to our marital assets. Because Chloe had promised me it would only be for a month. She said they would file for divorce the moment the funds cleared. I figured it was only thirty days, so I signed it, thinking it was just a formality. I never expected them to turn the fake divorce into a real marriage and throw me out on the street. My fists clenched tightly under the table. In this life, I was going to make Chloe and Logan pay in blood.
When Logan came home from work, I brought up the idea to him. Just like in my previous life, Logan’s first reaction was mock disbelief, acting as if the idea of “renting out a husband” was insane. But the moment he heard about the million-dollar bonus, his eyes practically turned into dollar signs. “Ashley, honestly, I think Chloe has a point. Why leave free money on the table? It’s just a fake divorce anyway. Once she gets the money, we can remarry immediately.” “And she’s giving us five hundred thousand!” He hugged me tight, whispering reassurances. “Don’t worry, babe. I have absolutely no interest in Chloe. You’re the only one I love!” In my past life, as soon as the payout hit Chloe’s account, she had transferred the five hundred thousand to Logan. She even sent me a screenshot: *Ashley, I’ve sent the money to Logan. You can just ask him for it.* But every time I asked Logan for the money, he made up excuses—either saying there was a daily bank transfer limit, or claiming he had put it in a high-yield savings account under his mother’s name. It took me too long to realize that since they were legally married, there was no difference whether the money was in Chloe’s account or Logan’s. They were just passing it back and forth between themselves. In this life, I would definitely divorce him. But as for the money and the house? I was taking all of it. I bit my lip, acting hesitant. “Logan, I’m still really worried.” “Chloe is prettier than me, and now she’s a wealthy heiress. What if you guys get married on paper and she refuses to divorce you?” “Of course not, babe! That’s impossible. Even if she’s rich, she’s not my type.” “I only want you.” Hearing his sweet, hollow lies made me want to throw up. In my past life, after they married, Logan claimed they had to act like a real couple to avoid getting caught by the authorities. He spent every single night at her place. I actually trusted him back then. Looking back, I was a complete idiot. An attractive man and a willing woman living under the same roof—even without feelings, things were bound to happen. Not to mention, they both had hidden motives. A few drinks, some late-night talks, and they were in bed in no time. She even got pregnant. Meanwhile, I was the only fool who thought it was all just an act. In the end, I was the only one left in the dark. I snuggled into his chest. “Okay. I’ll talk to Chloe tomorrow.” Logan nodded eagerly. “If we’re doing this, we need to hurry. The state has a mandatory waiting period for divorces, and that takes at least a month!” He really couldn’t wait, could he?
The next morning, I went back to my parents’ house and took my mom to the clinic for a full checkup. When the results came back, the doctor’s face grew serious. “Your mother’s heart is severely damaged. She needs an urgent valve replacement. You need to prepare at least two hundred thousand dollars.” “And honestly, I highly recommend going to a top specialist clinic in New York. The success rate is much higher there.” My fingers dug into my palms, and I bit my lip to keep from crying. In my past life, I didn’t find out about my mother’s worsening heart condition until she collapsed. Older people always think they can just endure the pain. But her endurance ended up costing her her life. After settling my mom back at home, I went straight to a divorce attorney and had him draft a paper. Of course, it was an agreement where Logan would leave with absolutely nothing. When Logan came home that night and saw the paper, he froze. “I get nothing? I walk away empty-handed?” I nodded naturally. “Yeah. Logan, it’s just a fake divorce. Once you get the buyout money, we’re getting remarried anyway. What are you worried about?” “And didn’t you say the legal waiting period takes a month?” “Filing it this way will make the process go much faster!” I added casually, “Oh, by the way, to transfer the deed of our house completely to my name, we need to clear the remaining mortgage. There’s still a hundred thousand left. You should figure out a way to pay that off first.” “We have to transfer the deed too?” Logan’s voice cracked. “Of course,” I said, putting on a pout. “Otherwise, if the house stays in your name and we’re legally divorced, where am I supposed to live? What if you kick me out?” Logan replied without thinking, “You can just keep living here! I would never kick you out. Like we said, it’s just a temporary thing.” I looked at him with teary eyes. “But I feel so insecure. We’re putting real signatures on a real divorce certificate, Logan.” Logan’s brows furrowed deeply. He didn’t want to sign this agreement, and he definitely didn’t want to transfer the house to me. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too—he wanted me to leave with nothing while he chased after Chloe’s millions. But in this life, he wasn’t getting away with it. At bedtime, Logan made up an excuse about having to finish some work and went to sleep in the guest room. Which was exactly what I wanted. I stayed awake, waiting for the noises from the next room. I knew Logan would immediately call for backup. Sure enough, around 1:00 AM, I heard his muffled voice through the wall. Our apartment’s soundproofing was terrible, especially in the dead of night when everything else was silent. I pressed my ear against the wall and listened to Logan calling his mother, Helen.
“Mom, Ashley wants me to sign a clean-break agreement. She even wants me to transfer the house entirely to her name. Do you think she suspects something?” “You idiot!” Helen’s sharp voice leaked through the receiver. “So what if you sign it? Do you actually think there’s any real money left in your joint account?” When Logan and I got married, his family pretended to give us a ten-thousand-dollar wedding gift, while my family gave us twenty thousand. But six months into the marriage, Helen came over for dinner and started crying at the table, complaining about how Logan’s uncles were hounding her for debts. Only then did I find out that the ten-thousand-dollar wedding gift—and even the down payment for our apartment—had been borrowed from relatives. I had a soft heart back then. Seeing my mother-in-law shed tears, I immediately handed over my twenty thousand to help them pay off the debt. Logan and I made about the same salary, but every month he sent half of his paycheck back to his family—some to support his parents, and the rest to fund his younger brother, Leo’s, private school tuition. Yes, his mother had given birth to a second son when Logan was eighteen. I wasn’t even told about this until right before our wedding. Meanwhile, my salary was used to pay the mortgage and cover all of our household expenses. So, even after two years of marriage, we had virtually zero savings. Helen continued on the phone, “So what if you give her that cheap apartment? Think about Chloe! Two million dollars in cash and two luxury properties!” “Just one of those apartments is worth at least half a million! And she has two!” “When the time comes, you guys can live in one, and we can sell the other to buy Leo a house!” “And that cash payout can fund Leo’s college and wedding! It’s perfect!” “Hurry up and divorce Ashley. She’s just a low-level corporate employee. Aside from being obedient, what does she bring to the table?” “You’ve been married for two years and she hasn’t even popped out a baby. Who knows if she’s defective!” It turned out Helen had despised me all along. No wonder in my past life, when Logan refused to divorce Chloe and I went to Helen for help, she had only mocked me. She told me she thought Chloe was great—beautiful, capable, and rich. Since Logan was already married to Chloe, they might as well stay together. Logan hesitated over the phone. “But to transfer the deed to her name, I have to clear the remaining mortgage! That’s a hundred thousand dollars!” His mother snapped at him again. “Then just drag your feet and don’t sign it! Watch Chloe marry some other guy instead, and watch another man enjoy her millions and her apartments! Meanwhile, you can stay stuck with your useless wife, working yourself to the bone just to pay off a mortgage and counting pennies at the grocery store for the rest of your life!” Logan fell silent. I smirked in the dark. I knew I had won.
The next morning, Logan was already up when I walked into the kitchen. There was breakfast on the table, alongside the signed divorce papers. Seeing me walk in, Logan smiled warmly. “Babe, I thought about it, and you’re right. Since we’re legally divorcing, it’s natural for you to feel insecure. I want to make sure you feel safe, so I signed it. I’ll leave with nothing.” “As for the mortgage, I’ll find a way to pay it off. Just give me two days.” After breakfast, I grabbed the signed papers and rushed over to Chloe’s place. When she saw the papers, Chloe gasped in excitement. “Logan actually signed it?” I nodded and handed them over. “We’re filing tomorrow. But…” Seeing me hesitate, Chloe asked quickly, “But what?” I reached into my bag and pulled out my mother’s medical diagnosis report, handing it to her with a look of despair. “My mom is really sick. She needs an urgent heart surgery that costs two hundred thousand dollars. Chloe… can you please transfer the five hundred thousand dollars to me first? [Paywall Node]”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “462028”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster
Leave a Reply