The day before my fifth wedding anniversary to my husband, the jewelry store manager called me. He reported that the expensive jewelry I had commissioned for my husband had been accidentally damaged by the staff. However, the shop was willing to pay a penalty for breach of contract.

He hung up before I could lose my temper.

I immediately received a message from my husband and $6 million in compensation.

[So you're the shameless homewrecker. How dare you keep my husband's contact information! I'm warning you: I've given you the money, now get lost! Otherwise, I'll have to teach you a lesson!]

The woman smugly sent me an intimate photo to follow up on her threats.

Looking at the familiar side profile, I immediately called my biological parents, who were high-ranking businesspeople. "Dad, Mom, put the Shelby family's investment on hold for now. I'm getting a big gift ready for them!"

After hanging up the call, I called my assistant and asked him to immediately divide the properties under my name and my husband's, Cedric Shelby. I wanted to minimize the losses of this situation.

I immediately drove to the jewelry store. Just as I was about to get out of the car, I received a call from Cedric. "Honey, I just found out I have to go on a week-long business trip. It's so last minute that I can't spend our anniversary with you. There are also some problems with the company's cash flow, so could you transfer me $100 million?"

I sneered and looked at the familiar figure in the jewelry store, replying, "Sure, but there's a transfer document that needs your signature. I'll send you the soft copy!"

He immediately hung up the call.

Looking at the signed contract, I got out of the car and headed straight for the jewelry store. As soon as I entered, I saw Queenie Steward, the heiress of the Steward family, sitting in the VIP room. When she saw me come in, a trace of disgust flashed in her eyes, and her minions immediately surrounded me.

"Oh! Isn't this Nicole Steward, the adopted daughter of the Steward family? How dare she come to such a high-end jewelry store? Did she prostitute herself?"

"It's hard to say. After all, everyone knows Nicole is a homewrecking loser!"

Queenie had a smug expression. When her gaze fell on my wrist, a flash of anger crossed her eyes. She roared, "Nicole, how dare you steal my bracelet!"

As she spoke, she slapped my face hard, saying indignantly, "You wretch! Wasn't it enough to steal my life? How dare you steal the bracelet my hubby was going to give me! Why don't you just go to hell?"

Disdainful glances were immediately shot at me. Someone chimed in, "Queenie, calm down. Some people are just born bad, and you can't change that."

"Yeah! Instead of wasting our breath on her, we should just call the police and send her to jail for rehabilitation!"

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and said icily, "I'm not the one who should be in jail!"

Before they could react, I laid out my marriage certificate and Cedric's bank transfer records for Queenie in front of everyone. "All the gifts and money Cedric has given you over the years are our marital property. If I were to sue you and you couldn't repay me, how many years would you be sentenced to?"

Everyone was shocked upon seeing the marriage certificate. The onlookers hesitated slightly.

However, Queenie was fearless. She could still be sarcastic at a time like this. "So you're that woman! Cedric told me long ago that some wretch sends him private messages every day and claims she's a queen who's come to save him!"

"I thought about letting you off the hook for the sake of girl code, but I never expected you to come to me. How disgusting!"

I forced myself to stay calm and was just about to refute.

Queenie immediately took out her phone and dialed Cedric's number. As soon as she got through, she put him on speaker.

The next second, Cedric's voice came from the other end of the line. "Babe, aren't you browsing the jewelry right now? Why are you calling me?"

Queenie said smugly, "Cedric, someone's claiming to be your legal wife, and she's going to take me to court. I'm so scared!"

After the call was hung up, Queenie walked to my side and said with a 'kind' face, "Nicole, considering our past relationship, I'll generously let you off the hook as long as you kneel and beg me. Otherwise, I'll see how my hubby deals with you when he comes over!"

It was the most outrageous request I had ever heard. I burst into laughter and shook my head, asking, "Who do you think you are?"

A trace of hatred flashed in Queenie's eyes before she walked aggrievedly toward the door and grabbed Cedric's sleeve, saying, "Cedric, she would've bullied me to death if you had come any later!"

Upon hearing that Queenie had been bullied, Cedric immediately asked in a deep voice, "Who dares to bully you? Do they have a death wish?"

A hint of smugness glinted in Queenie's eyes as she dragged Cedric to my side. "It was her!"

Cedric looked up, and a flicker of panic crossed his eyes the moment he saw me. He quickly forced himself to regain his composure. Shielding Queenie behind him, he demanded bluntly, "Nicole, how could you be so shameless, daring to impersonate my legal wife in front of everyone? Don't you know I only love Queenie?"

A hint of mockery flashed in my eyes. "Sorry, this is the first time I'm hearing about this!"

Seeing this, the surrounding henchmen immediately rushed to Queenie's aid.

"Mr. Shelby, you're finally here! This wretch not only claims to be your legal wife, but she also said she'll take Queenie to court!"

"That's right! She not only insulted us, but she also tried to lay a hand on Queenie!"

They twisted the truth, portraying Queenie as a wronged and innocent lady.

Cedric walked right up to me and slapped me hard across the face. "Who do you think you are? How dare you lay a hand on Queenie!"

I covered my face, staring at him in disbelief.

Over the past few years, he was always the first to give in and feign gentleness and thoughtfulness even when we argued, which had made me overlook his flaws.

"Cedric, how dare you lay a hand on me!"

A flicker of guilt flashed in Cedric's eyes, but only for a moment. He solemnly swore to Queenie, "Babe, don't worry. How could I be with such a sl*t? You're my only wife."

Seeing Cedric groveling like a dog, when he used to act so gentlemanly to me, disgusted me.

He quickly walked over to me, grabbed my clothes, and forced me to the ground. "Didn't you hear what my wife said? She told you to kneel and beg, so hurry up and do it!"

I threw the marriage certificate at Cedric's face and roared, "Cedric, I'll ask you one last time. Who is your real wife?"

"Of course it's Queenie!" Cedric kicked my knee hard, pressing my head down and forcing me to apologize to Queenie.

With a thud, blood started to gush out from my forehead.

Cedric showed no restraint at all. Pulling my hair, he whispered in my ear, "Nicole, don't blame me. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being the adopted daughter of the Steward family!" He suddenly pressed my head hard against the ground.

Looking at him in this new light, I could not stand it anymore. I took out my phone, ready to call the police. "Cedric, I'll make sure you regret this!"

However, Queenie slapped my hand away before I could call the police. "Nicole, I knew you were shameless, but I never expected you to stoop so low. Being a mistress is one thing, but how dare you pretend to be someone else's legal wife! You're really shameless!"

Her sharp nails grabbed my cheek without mercy. "My parents treated you like their own daughter. How could you do this to them?"

They did treat me like their own daughter, but they kicked me out of the house and even accused me of taking their biological daughter's place after Queenie was found.

Our parents had arrived on the scene. I thought they would at least stop Queenie out of consideration for our past relationship, but I was destined to be disappointed.

Queenie's mother, Fiona Dundley, stood aside with disgust as if I were something filthy. "You wretch! We adopted you out of pity, yet you dare to bully our Queenie! How could you be so shameless?"

Queenie's father, Harold Steward, stepped forward, grabbed my hair, and slammed me hard to the ground. "Hurry and apologize to my precious daughter!"

My heart felt like a sharp blade had pierced it, and my blood instantly ran cold.

Queenie watched with satisfaction before saying to the staff beside her, "Didn't you hear? My husband said he doesn't know her. Get this liar out of here right now!"

The surrounding staff immediately swarmed forward, pinned me to the ground, and dragged me outside like a piece of trash.

Trying to curry favor with them, the manager threw trash at me and ordered the security guard at the door, "Remember her face! Don't let her or the dogs like her inside our store anymore!"`

He looked at Queenie with a fawning expression. "After all, only someone as beautiful, kind-hearted, and tasteful as Ms. Steward can appreciate the charm of our products. Cheapskates trying to pass themselves off as wealthy don't deserve to enter our store!"

Queenie nodded in satisfaction.

Cedric watched me get dragged away with a fleeting look of guilt in his eyes. He then walked over to Queenie and showered her with concern.

They threw me out at the jewelry store entrance.

The moment the door slammed shut, I closed the door on my relationship with Cedric, too.

I struggled to get up. My wrists were bruised, my body was covered in scrapes, and blood was seeping from my cheek.

Before I could even get up, a figure suddenly appeared. Queenie grabbed my hair, forcing me to look at her with eyes full of amusement. "Nicole, look at yourself now. Don't you look like an unwanted stray dog? You thought you had a home, but you ended up all alone!"