“And look at the state of you,” Mark spat. He gestured at my body, at the IV lines, at the pale, swollen skin. “You are a mess, Anna. You’ve been a mess for months. You’re fat, you’re tired, and you’re boring. You are ruining my image.”

He reached out and pulled Chloe to his side. She giggled, a cruel, tinkling sound, and rested her head on his shoulder, looking at me with pitying eyes.

“I am the CEO of a billion-dollar tech conglomerate,” Mark declared, puffing out his chest. “I need a partner who reflects my status. Someone young, vibrant, and presentable. Chloe fits the brand. You… you are just a housewife who got lucky.”

I stared at him. The man I had loved. The man I had built. He was rewriting history in real-time. He truly believed that he was the sun around which the world revolved, and I was just a dying satellite.

“You’re leaving me… for her?” I asked, my voice gaining a sliver of steel. “Because I look like a woman who just had surgery?”

“I’m leaving you because I have outgrown you,” Mark corrected. “Now, sign the papers. The terms are simple. You get a small alimony for two years. I keep the company, the penthouse, and the assets. I keep full control. If you don’t sign, I will drag this out in court until you are destitute. I have the best lawyers in the city. You have nothing.”