Ever since that run-in with Haven Peters at the downtown pub, Joshua West had holed up at his lakeside estate for a whole week, going through the motions of being the quiet, perfect trophy husband everyone expected. Between the occasional board meeting, he spent his nights drifting from club to club with his rowdy crew, drinking way too much until his stomach churned nonstop. So he told his assistant very clearly—order him something gentle to settle it, and under no circumstances was Haven to be the one to deliver it.

His assistant walked in carrying that dented old lunchbox Haven always used. Joshua leaned back in his leather armchair and unbuttoned his suit jacket, already craving something that would calm his roiling stomach. But when the lid came off, a thick, pungent wave of garlic hit him full force. His frown deepened. "Is this seriously today's order?"

"Yes, sir. Mrs. Chen from the estate just dropped it off. She left a minute ago," the assistant confirmed.

"Call her back," Joshua snapped, irritation sharp in his voice. The assistant, picking up on his bad mood, sprinted to call gate security to stop her before she pulled off the property. She was back in the room in under two minutes.

Joshua pushed the garlic-loaded bowl of oatmeal toward her, his eyes sharp with questions. "Did you make this?"

Mrs. Chen answered straight, "I did, sir."

"Who told you to change the recipe? What the hell is Haven even doing around here? She lives off my money, in the house I bought, and she can't even be bothered to get one meal right for me!"

Mrs. Chen held his gaze steady, no fear in her voice. "Mr. West, the allowance you give Mrs. Peters every month is only ten thousand dollars. That's not enough to cover the special meals you need for your bad stomach, not with how particular you are."

"You demand the freshest ingredients, imported seafood flown in from across the world, even the specialty spices for your oatmeal cost a small fortune," she kept going, unshaken by his icy glare. "Not to mention, Mrs. Peters does all your laundry, irons every one of your suits, and she even comes to pick you up and bring you home when you—"

Joshua's headache spiked, throbbing behind his eyes. "Enough. Just take it away and have Green Briar send over their oatmeal instead," he ordered.

The assistant nodded, and Mrs. Chen took her leave. But by the time the new order showed up, Joshua's stomach was cramping so bad it hurt to eat. He forced down two bites, but it didn't taste right, nothing like what Mrs. Chen had described of Haven's recipe. Frustrated, he tossed the whole thing in the trash.

The assistant, nervous about his black mood, inched back a step. "Mr. West, you really should eat something."

Tension coiled tight in his chest, Joshua dug through his desk drawer for his personal phone. Not a single missed call from Haven. That wasn't like her at all. Normally, if he vanished for more than a couple hours, she'd be blowing up his phone and searching every corner of the city for him. What the hell had she been up to this whole week?

What Joshua didn't know was that Haven had left town the day after that run-in at the pub. She grabbed her phone and her bag, boarded a plane straight to Hampshire, and made up her mind: she wouldn't speak to Joshua again, not until the divorce papers were signed and sealed.

"We're here, ma'am," the cab driver announced.

"Oh, just give me one second," Haven replied, pressing the doorbell of the detached townhouse in front of her.

The door swung open, and there stood Nelson Carlson in a crisp white suit. Haven would recognize that face anywhere from the pages of every finance magazine, but right now it was hard and shadowed with suspicion.

"What are you doing here?"

Haven dropped her gaze, nodding back at the idling cab behind her. "I ran out of cash. Can you cover my fare for now? I'll pay you back."

Nelson let out a cold, sharp laugh. The air between them turned frosty as he stepped out to pay the driver, and Haven slipped past him into the house.

Out of all her brothers, Nelson had always been the one who kept his distance… but he'd also always had her back, even when no one else did. When she cut off the whole family to marry Joshua against everyone's warnings, it split the family apart—and ostracized her from every social circle they'd ever known. Their father, Vicente Rivera, had been so furious he almost disowned her on the spot.

Now, standing in front of Nelson with that unreadable look on his face, she couldn't find the words to say. He turned his back on her as he walked further into the house. "I'm leaving a card on the entry table," he said. "Use it for a ride back to the city. Lock the door behind you when you go."

Haven's throat tightened, words sticking there. She'd cut off her whole family for Joshua, but she never expected that walking away from him would leave everyone here questioning if she was even sincere. After all, she'd spent years playing the devoted, loving wife.

She borrowed one of Nelson's spare cars and drove straight to the closest law firm downtown.

"You're absolutely sure you want to liquidate all your shares in West Enterprises?" Attorney Chan asked, his eyes wide at the number of shares, double-checking with her just to be sure.

"Any economic crisis this causes West Enterprises isn't my problem anymore," Haven replied, a soft, relieved smile tugging at her lips. "Yes. Liquidate every last one."

With Haven's clear, firm instructions, the attorney mobilized his network right away, arranging for the anonymous sale. In less than 24 hours, four hundred million dollars hit her personal bank account.

The rush of freedom hit her instantly. She transferred a million to a separate spending account and decided it was time to treat herself to the shopping spree she'd dreamed of for years.

She headed straight to the upscale downtown shopping district, took the private VIP elevator up to the top floor full of luxury designer brands, and started picking out everything she'd always wanted: stunning custom necklaces, perfectly tailored designer dresses.

As she stared at her reflection in the three-way mirror, her freshly blown-out curls cascading down her back, her skin glowing from that morning's spa day, she looked radiant. The dress she was trying on was a sleek spaghetti-strap number that showed off just enough of her soft, elegant shoulders.

"Wow, Mrs. Peters, you look even better than the runway model in this dress," the sales associate gushed.

"You really think so?" Haven asked, turning side to side to check the fit while the associate adjusted the hem for her.

"Absolutely! Your fair skin is made for this shade—it looks like it was sewn just for you," the associate added, grinning.

Months ago, she'd bought a similarly bold dress, hoping to surprise Joshua when he came home from a business trip. His first comment? A deep, disapproving frown. "We're married now. Why wear something this revealing? It's not practical for doing housework."

An unpaid maid. That's all she'd ever been to him, where practicality always came first, and elegance got thrown right out the window.

"Help me pick out five more just like this," Haven told the associate.

The associate's eyes lit up. "Of course! What price range were you thinking, ma'am?"

While Haven was treating herself to everything she'd missed out on, Joshua was getting crisis alerts nonstop in his downtown office. West Enterprises had been hit with a massive liquidity crisis, and he'd called an emergency board meeting right away. He'd been locked in his office for eight straight hours when the rumor hit him: Haven was the one behind it, the one who'd pulled the strings and convinced key investors to pull out. That was when he picked up his phone to call her for the first time all week… and all he got was that cold, robotic automated message: "We're sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable…"

Joshua West’s face was darker than a stormy midnight sky. Had Haven Peters really cut him off for good? "Any calls from her lately?" he pressed, urgency sharp in his voice.

"Yeah," his assistant answered, scrolling through the group chat. "Mrs. West tagged you in here."

Even the assistant could tell something was off about her behavior this time around. He hesitated before speaking up. "Joshua, aren't you gonna reply to Mrs. Peters?"

"Hell no!" Joshua snapped, flinging his phone aside in a fit of frustration. The company was tanking hard, and Haven’s silent, stubborn defiance was already wearing his last thread of patience thin.

Fine then, he thought darkly. Let's see who breaks first. Back home, Haven was just a housewife. What did she know how to do besides cook and clean? She couldn't survive a day without him. She’d be crawling back before long. Unlike her, he had other things to keep him occupied outside of work.

"Call Louisa Scott and the rest of the crew. Tell 'em we're going out for drinks," he ordered, already mapping out his night.

"They haven't come back from last time. They're still holed up at the hotel," the assistant mumbled, freezing under Joshua's piercing glare.

To Joshua, Haven would cave eventually. This was just a little phase. If he didn’t hold his ground now, she’d keep pushing the line further and further.

Meanwhile, after a long day out, Haven stepped through the front door, her brother Nelson Carlson right on her heels. Her hair was perfectly styled, her features so delicate she looked just like a porcelain doll.

Nelson’s jaw was set hard. "I gave you that money to leave town, not to primp up and go running back to Joshua West."

He already regretted handing her the travel cash.

"Who said I'm going to see him?" Haven dropped her purse on the sofa, kneading the knot out of her shoulders, and nodded at the credit card on the coffee table. "Here's your card back."

Nelson stared at the card—exactly where he’d left it last night. He picked it up, frowning. "You're not going back to him at all?"

She’d already seen the full extent of Joshua’s betrayal. She just shrugged, dodging any more questions, grabbed her necklace off the table, and headed for her room.

"I won't just sit around here doing nothing. I can handle chores and cook for us. What do you feel like eating for dinner tomorrow?" she offered.

"I’ll hire someone for that. You’re my sister, not a maid," Nelson said firmly, and caught the tiny flinch of her hand on the doorframe.

Had Joshua never hired help around the house? Had he never once stopped to realize none of that work was ever her responsibility?

"Get some rest," Nelson said softly, slipping the card back where he'd found it before heading to his own room.

That soft spring night, gentle rain tapped against the windows. Haven, exhausted from a full day of running errands, collapsed into bed and was out like a light. Across town, Joshua lay wide awake in his hotel room, his mind spinning even through the thick fog of alcohol. Earlier at the bar, he’d run into an old friend with connections to his investors, who’d dropped a bombshell about the company’s plummeting finances.

"Look, I promised Mrs. Porter I wouldn't say anything," the friend had slurred. "But I already pulled my investment, so I don't owe her no silence."

Joshua sobered up instantly. "Pulled your investment?"

Wait a minute—could the mysterious investor that bought up all those company shares not be some contact Haven introduced… but Haven herself?

The friend, drunk and rambling, kept going. "You’re such an idiot, man. Haven’s the most sought-after woman in this whole city. She’s got the looks, she’s got the family name—how the hell did you let her slip?"

"Living with her was just like living with my nagging mom," Joshua scoffed. "No spark after the first month."

But even with all that tough talk, the old memory of how Haven used to look at him, all soft and adoring, twisted something in his chest. Especially now that they were apart. He still didn’t believe she’d leave him for good.

What was really keeping him up, though, was the part the friend said about Haven pulling her own investment out… and there still being a mystery backer keeping the company afloat. Who the hell was that?

Joshua shot straight up out of bed, threw on his coat, and tore out of the hotel for the lakeside villa, desperate for answers about what Haven was really up to.

By the time he pulled up, it was dead late. The villa was dark, only a handful of soft lights glowing from inside. No matter how late Joshua came home, he’d always find Haven curled up on the sofa, wrapped in her favorite blanket, waiting for him.

"I’m home," he called out as he slipped off his shoes, his voice bouncing off the quiet, empty walls.

No answer. He loosened his tie and walked toward the sofa, fully expecting to find her napping there, like she always did.

Instead, all he found on the coffee table was a folded document, and her elegant black pen resting on top. The words *Divorce Agreement* blared up at him, sending a cold shock straight through his entire body. It hit him like a punch to the gut.

He remembered what the housekeeper had said, about Haven moving out. He sprinted down the hall to the bedroom and ripped the closet door open.

Inside hung all his neatly pressed suits and dress shirts… not a single piece of Haven’s clothes was left.

She was really gone.

A wild, unnameable rage surged up in his chest. He hurled the divorce papers aside and slammed the closet door so hard the walls shook.

"So you wanna play hardball, Haven? What the hell kind of game are you playing with me?" he growled to himself, jaw clenched. He refused to bend, refused to play her stupid little games. If she wanted a fight, he’d give her one, right to the end. "I don’t buy that you cut all the ties. You’ll be back here begging me to take you."

Even though Nelson kept insisting Haven shouldn’t lift a finger around the house, she was up before dawn the next morning simmering a pot of soup on the stove. Nelson woke up to the rich, warm scent drifting all through the house.

Haven was dressed in a brand-new designer outfit, her hair pinned up in an elegant twist, sitting at the kitchen table looking as calm and put-together as ever.

"Perfect timing, brother. Come get breakfast," she smiled, pouring him a steaming bowl of the fragrant broth.

Nelson sat down, sipping his soup, and eyed her with faint curiosity. "Are you ever planning to go back to the West family?"

He didn’t mean the West family that had raised Joshua—he meant the West family that had taken Haven in, her birth family. After being thrown aside for so long, she was finally home again, their cherished daughter, loved and protected for good.

Nelson Carlson froze mid-step, lifting his sharp, perceptive gaze. "You’re not getting back in the family unless you’re officially divorced from Joshua West."

Haven Peters dropped her chin, taking a slow sip of her coffee. "I already left the divorce papers with Joshua. He’ll sign and send them back soon. Besides, when we first got married, we never filed the paperwork. It’s not like we’re legally married in the first place, so it’s more of a clean separation than an official divorce."

Their relationship had been over for years, and the unfiled paperwork had always sat with her. They’d had the big wedding, but they never completed the legal registration. Leaving those divorce papers was just her way of making sure there were no loose ends left between them.

She knew her whole family was aware of that fact. None of them ever wanted to dig up that messy, uncomfortable detail.

Skeptical, Nelson sat down across from her and took a sip of his own coffee. Even Aunt Jane’s famous brew couldn’t top this one.

He still couldn’t wrap his head around it: his sister, who’d grown up spoiled rotten, never lifted a finger her whole life, had turned into a total domestic goddess after moving in with Joshua. They’d both been raised with people waiting on them hand and foot, after all.

"What’s up, bro?" Haven caught the look on his face and waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Coffee not good?"

Nelson caught her hand mid-wave, his thumb brushing the faint roughness on her palm. That texture was completely foreign to him, and his worry grew deeper. "You’re really sure you want to come back?"

Haven saw the worry swimming in his eyes and pulled her hand back, turning all her old bitterness into a soft, steady smile. "I was naive back then. I hurt Mom and Dad. Even if I still feel like an outsider now, I owe them a proper apology."

Nelson knew she was just trying to put him at ease. She’d never been this thoughtful before, and that left him with a weird, tight feeling in his chest. "It wasn’t all your fault. We never stopped to ask how you felt, we just pressured you to marry someone you didn’t love. Of course you fought back."

His support wrapped around her, warm and unexpected. "Brother…"

Nelson chose not to pick at old scabs. He switched gears to lighten the mood. "If you’re really set on cutting ties with Joshua West for good, maybe you can come home to see Mom and Dad. I can set it up, and you won’t have to leave again after."

He pulled an invitation out of his suit pocket as he spoke. "Mom’s fiftieth birthday party is tomorrow. This is the perfect opening."

"Mom’s turning fifty?" Haven froze, completely blindsided.

In her head, her mom had always been eternally young and beautiful—more graceful than any other mom she’d ever known. It was impossible to picture her hitting fifty.

Nelson sighed. "It’s been five years since you left."

Haven slipped into a sleek, vintage Victorian-style dress and rode with Nelson to the venue.

"I’m not going in with you," Nelson said as he held the car door open for her. "Mom and Dad don’t know I’ve been talking to you. You’ll have to work things out with them on your own."

"Okay," Haven nodded.

Truth be told, she felt she didn’t even deserve to come back. This apology was long overdue. Now she finally understood how much her parents loved her, and she cherished that more than anything.

As Haven walked toward the private entrance for personally invited, high-profile guests, she spotted Joshua and his mother.

What were they doing here?

"Out of the way!" A sharp voice snapped from behind her, followed by a hard shove that sent her stumbling. When she caught her balance, Joshua and his mother were close enough that she could hear every word.

"Why do you look so pale?" Joshua’s mother griped. "You laze around the house doing nothing all day, and you can’t even take care of yourself. You’re completely useless."

Haven knew that tone better than anyone.

When Joshua first brought her into the West house, his mother never even bothered to give her the time of day. An orphan with no real family connections? She wasn’t worth wasting breath on.

The Wests were old money, and Haven knew they needed a powerful ally to pull them through their current business crisis. Joshua’s mom had been pushing an arranged marriage for him this whole time—looking for someone rich and well-connected to prop up their failing company.

But Joshua had refused to budge. He insisted on marrying her.

Haven remembered how he’d stood by her back then. That’s why she’d secretly poured all her hard-earned savings and the revenue from her overseas business into the West company anonymously. She never told him—she was scared it would bruise his pride.

"Mom, this is Mrs. Rivera’s party. Let’s not talk business here," Joshua said, clearly trying to steer the conversation away from anything that would remind him of Haven.

"Hmph." His mother shoved a business card into his hand, still lecturing. "I told you to marry into a wealthy family and you said no. Look where that stubbornness got us. Now that the company’s on the brink, you need to go talk to the Riveras, see if they’ll bail us out. Otherwise, we’re finished."

A lightbulb went off for her. "I heard the Riveras have a daughter your age. If you marry her, you’ll be part of the family, and we’ll never have to worry about money again."

Hiding in the shadow off to the side, Haven fixed her eyes on Joshua, waiting.

Joshua was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded, agreeing to the plan. "If that’s what it takes, I’ll marry the Rivera daughter."

Hidden away, Haven tore her gaze away, a bitter, mocking smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

For half a second, she’d actually expected Joshua to tell his mother no. Firmly.

Shaking off the stupid ache in her chest, Haven checked in through the side entrance Nelson had arranged for her, then slipped down a quiet back corridor that led to the main lounge.

"Congratulations on your big milestone, Mrs. Rivera," the woman purred.

That was Cheyenne Larson, her mother’s sister-in-law—who’d had it out for her mother for as long as anyone could remember. "What an extravagant party, almost like a royal gala. You’ve invited every big name in business, haven’t you?"

Her mother, poised and elegant even under all her event makeup, answered coolly, "What do you want, Cheyenne?"

"Why the long face? You can’t still be upset that your daughter—the one you raised for decades—isn’t here for your fiftieth?"

At the mention of Haven’s name, her mother’s eyes flushed red. She blinked hard, fighting back the tears that pricked her lids. "She’s no daughter of mine. Just an ungrateful stray. Even if she showed up today, I wouldn’t see her!"

"That’s fair," Cheyenne shrugged. "Grandpa went through all that trouble to set her up with a good marriage, and she threw it back in his face. No wonder you’re furious."

Her mother’s deep red painted lips tightened into a hard line. "Let’s hope your own golden girl doesn’t end up disappointing you!"

Haven’s breath caught in her throat. She didn’t even realize her grip had tightened on the silk handkerchief box she was holding until the edge dug into her palm.