After Pierce Emery and I got back together, I started "renting him out."

Every time his old flame, Daphne Roach, called him away, I stopped crying and causing scenes like before.

I charged by the hour instead.

Ten grand an hour during the day. Twenty at night. Triple on holidays.

Three months later, my account was up almost two million dollars.

Pierce had promised to help me pick a dress for a banquet, but Daphne called him crying, saying she'd sliced her hand while cooking.

I didn't even look up. I just held out my phone with the payment screen open.

One night, I came down with a brutal fever. While Pierce was driving me to the hospital, his phone rang again.

Daphne.

He stared at the screen for a long second before answering.

Her voice came through shaky and tearful. "Pierce, the thunder's so loud. I can't sleep. Can you come stay with me?"

I quietly pulled out an umbrella and told him to let me out at the next intersection.

He looked at me like he wanted to explain something, but I just smiled.

"Don't forget to transfer the money."

The same thing happened again on the day our daughter went in for her routine checkup.

Except this time, she was the one asking him for money.

The guilt on Pierce's face vanished instantly.

He shot to his feet and pointed at Ellie. "Lucia Leighton, is this what you teach our daughter?"

I calmly pulled Ellie behind me. "What's wrong with it? If she can't get love, she might as well get money. Better than ending up like me and learning that after a divorce."

Pierce went silent.

The tension hung in the air until his phone rang again.

Jared's voice blasted through the speaker. "Hurry up! You promised to ride the Decepticon coaster a hundred times with me!"

At that, Ellie's grip tightened on my clothes.

She'd begged Pierce over and over to take her to an amusement park. Every single time, he said he was too busy with work.

Noticing her reaction, Pierce didn't answer right away this time.

He reached over to pat her head. "Be good, Ellie. Go with Mommy to your checkup today. Once you're better, Daddy'll take you to the amusement park, okay?"

Ellie dodged his hand and blinked up at him. "It's okay. Just send me the money."

Like he hadn't expected that answer, Pierce's face went completely dark.

Before leaving, he snapped, "Lucia, you and your daughter can keep this up if you want. Unbelievable."

The front door slammed shut, making my heart jump with it.

Ellie tugged on my sleeve and stood on her tiptoes, holding up her smartwatch. "Mommy, look. Daddy added so many zeros. Is this enough for my surgery?"

I looked at her face, forcing down the lump in my throat. Then I crouched and pulled her tight against me.

"It's enough. After your surgery, we're leaving this place."

Once I pulled myself together, I took Ellie to the hospital.

While we waited for her exam, notifications started blowing up my phone.

Paparazzi shots of Pierce at an amusement park with Daphne and Jared.

Caption: [Pierce spotted with rumored new girlfriend at amusement park. Child already calling him Dad!]

I zoomed in on the photo, staring at the easy smile on Pierce's face.

I couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled like that around Ellie and me.

My hand shook as I backed out of the post. By the time I refreshed the page, it had already been deleted.

A second later, Pierce called.

"Lucia, don't be mad. Those garbage reporters made everything up. I already paid to get it taken down."

I froze for a second before realizing he meant Jared calling him Dad.

"I'm not mad. Kids don't mean anything by it. Since I rented you out to them, you should enjoy yourself."

I hung up before he could respond.

When Ellie's test results came back, the doctor said her condition was stable.

Her bypass surgery could be scheduled for next month.

The strength drained out of my body. I almost collapsed right there.

Before this, Pierce and I had divorced because Daphne and her son kept crossing lines in our lives.

To teach me a lesson, Pierce hired the best lawyer money could buy and made sure I walked away with nothing.

The day after the divorce, Ellie suddenly collapsed at school.

The doctor diagnosed her with myocardial ischemia. She could've died at any moment.

Staring at the massive medical bills, I didn't even have time to break down. I rushed out résumé after résumé instead.

But because of Pierce, nobody dared hire me.

Not one friend or relative would lend me money either.

As Ellie got worse day by day, I finally gave in and went back to Pierce.

Now, Ellie was finally out of danger.

After confirming the surgery date with the doctor, I went straight to an immigration agency and filed visa applications for both of us.

Right after I finished, a text from Pierce popped up.

[When are you coming home? I made your favorite food.]

I didn't reply.

An hour later, I pushed open the front door.

Pierce was in the middle of serving food to Daphne and Jared.

The warm, happy scene made it feel like Ellie and I had walked into the wrong apartment.

"Lucia—"

Pierce jumped up and hurried over to take my bag. "Daphne's landlord suddenly sold the place and kicked them out. They haven't found somewhere new yet, so I brought them here. Can they stay a while?"

I didn't answer. I just watched the housekeeper carry our stuff into the storage room piece by piece.

Daphne spoke softly, though the smug look on her face was impossible to miss. "Sorry, Lucia. My health's not great, so I need a room with good sunlight and airflow. Pierce gave me the master bedroom."

Jared had taken over Ellie's room.

Her favorite doll had been tossed aside by him, its arms and legs snapped off.

Pierce suddenly looked uneasy. "Lucia, if you're not okay with this, I can find them another—"

"I'm fine with it." I held my hand out calmly. "Same rates as before. But since they're staying in my apartment, there's a location fee. And your company gets billed separately."

A loud smack echoed through the room.

Pierce slammed my bag onto the floor, his face dark with anger. "Lucia Leighton, have you lost your mind? What kind of crap are you saying in front of the kids? Do you have any shame left?"

I almost laughed.

He was the one who brought another woman and her kid into our home, yet somehow I was the shameless one for saying it out loud.

Pierce grabbed Daphne and Jared and headed for the door.

As he passed me, he threw a bank card at my face. "Five hundred grand. Happy now? I tried being nice, and you kept pushing. Why don't you just marry your money already?"

When the apartment finally went quiet, Ellie sniffled and wiped my face with a tissue.

That was when I realized the edge of the card had sliced the corner of my eye.

"Mommy, it's my fault for being sick. You have to put up with Daddy because of me every day."

I forced back my tears and held Ellie tight. "I'm not mad. Once your surgery's over, you'll be okay. I'm happy..."

Ellie, who used to need Daddy to tell her bedtime stories every night, cried herself to sleep in my arms.

I stared at the tight crease between her brows, my chest aching like it was being crushed.

When did our happy little family turn into this?

Was it after Daphne's husband died, when Pierce got scared she'd do something reckless and started spending every night at her place to comfort her?

He went so often the paparazzi started calling him her boyfriend.

Or was it when he worried Jared would get bullied for not having a dad, so he never missed a parent-teacher conference?

Children's Day. Birthday parties. He showed up for all of it.

Meanwhile, my daughter got treated like some illegitimate kid at school and bullied nonstop.

Or maybe it was the first time Ellie collapsed from a heart attack.

I called Pierce over and over, but his line stayed busy.

By the time I got to the hospital, every doctor had been pulled away to treat Jared's tiny scrape.

Ellie's heart stopped three times.

I begged until my voice gave out and collapsed from exhaustion before I finally stopped a doctor and barely saved her.

I snapped out of it, took a deep breath, and headed for the storage room to pack.

Other than clothes and daily essentials, I left everything behind.

Then I saw the ceramic mugs the three of us had painted together at a craft shop back when Pierce used to take Ellie and me out.

A sharp pain twisted through my chest.

The Pierce who once gave Ellie and me all his love, patience, and time was gone.

After making sure I hadn't forgotten anything important, I carried the sleeping Ellie out of that unfamiliar apartment without looking back.

A week passed in our new place. Pierce never sent a single message.

Daphne, though, kept blowing up my phone.

Every message was another tabloid article about their trips together, like she was scared I might miss one.

I opened them without expression.

They'd gone everywhere Ellie and I used to dream about visiting.

Watching the Northern Lights in Iceland. Skiing in Switzerland. Seeing cherry blossoms in Japan.

Even the media company covering them was the same one that had once reported on my fairytale wedding with Pierce.

[Sorry, Lucia. I tried convincing Pierce to pay the paparazzi to delete the articles, but he said you have plenty of money. This all started because of me. Maybe I should sell the jewelry and bags Pierce bought me and use that money to remove the news?]

Daphne deliberately photographed every gift Pierce gave her, obviously trying to get a reaction out of me.

Before, I would've stormed over and smashed everything in sight.

Now, I simply replied:

[Then I'll leave it to you.]

The typing indicator hovered on the screen for what felt like an eternity, but no new message ever came.

Just when I thought things were finally calming down, a million dollars suddenly hit my account.

The second I saw the note attached to the transfer, my blood went ice-cold.

I stumbled toward my mother's grave. Pierce stood there directing workers to dig it up.

"Stop!"

I rushed forward, shoved both workers down, and grabbed a hoe, blocking the grave.

Pierce pulled Daphne and Jared behind him and scoffed. "Lucia, didn't you say anything can be rented if the price is high enough? I already transferred the money for your mother's grave. So why are you freaking out now?"

I shook so hard my teeth chattered. Barely able to stand, I glared at him. "Are you even human?"

Pierce shrugged. "I'm playing by your rules. How does that make me the bad guy? Or is every kind of love sacred to you except our marriage? That one's cheap enough to put a price tag on?"

My nails dug into my palms, but I was too furious to feel it.

I couldn't understand it.

The man who once stood beside my mother's hospital bed and swore he'd protect me forever—how had he turned into this?

Daphne clutched a framed photo of Goldie, her eyes glossy with tears. "Forget it, Pierce. Goldie was family to Jared and me, but an animal is still an animal. Taking Lucia's mother's grave... it's wrong."

The second he saw her cry, Pierce's expression went cold.

"Lucia. Move."

I clenched my jaw. "Not happening."

He stepped beside me and leaned close. "Ellie's surgery is next month. You should really behave until then."

My whole body went numb. I stared at him in disbelief. "Ellie's your daughter. You're seriously using your own kid's life to threaten me?"

Pierce reached up and brushed my hair behind my ear.

His voice was gentle. His words weren't.

"She is. But Jared's my son too. The night before our wedding, Daphne came to see me. We drank too much and screwed up. You and Ellie already have money and status. You should be more understanding."

Cold sweat drenched my back. A sharp ringing filled my ears.

Ellie collapsing from a heart attack kept flashing through my head. Over and over.

Slowly, I lowered the hoe.

My legs felt like concrete as I stepped aside.

Jared instantly lit up. "Yay! That old lady finally moved out so Goldie can have the spot!"

He ripped my mother's photo off the headstone and grabbed the urn like he was about to smash it.

"Don't!"

My mind went blank as I threw myself at him.

I shielded the urn, but my head slammed hard against the stone.

The world spun. Blood blurred my vision red.

And still, the urn shattered in my arms. Ash scattered everywhere.

Jared got even more excited. He stomped all over the ashes again and again.

Daphne pretended to stop him. "Jared, stop being naughty. What if that dirty stuff stains your clothes and shoes? Then Pierce will have to wash them for you."

As she dragged Jared back, she "accidentally" dumped her entire boba tea onto my mother's ashes.

"Ah!"

Daphne stared at the mess with fake panic. "Lucia, I didn't mean to ruin your mom's ashes. What are we supposed to do now?"

She hid behind Pierce, barely holding back her smug smile.

"Lucia!" Pierce rushed over to help me up, his hands shaking as he wiped the blood from my forehead. "Does it hurt? Are you dizzy?"

I looked at the ashes scattered across the ground and completely snapped.

I shoved him away and swung my bag at that disgusting mother and son.

"I'll kill you!"

Before I could reach them, Pierce slammed a kick into me.

I crashed to the ground so hard it felt like my whole body shattered.

Pierce stood in front of Daphne, his face dark with rage.

"Lucia, you've seriously lost your mind. Attacking women and kids in public? Maybe a few days at the police station will calm you down."