The Day I Stopped Loving Him, I Became a Billionaire Heiress

The day after the car crash that made me lose my baby, my husband, Duncan Sanchez, lit up San Francisco Bay with a billion-dollar fireworks show to celebrate his mistress's birthday.

As the fireworks climbed, San Francisco's elite were placing million-dollar bets on which one I'd snap at.

Kay Henson came straight up to me, the corner of her mouth curling, her eyes full of mockery.

"Sister, have you heard the local legend? A billion in fireworks over San Francisco Bay means a match made in heaven, a love blessed by fate. But of course you wouldn't know that. Mr. Sanchez would never set them off for a barren old hen like you~"

The crowd burst out laughing, all of them waiting for me to lose it over my husband's affection, to beat her into a hospital bed the way I used to.

But I didn't. I just stood there, calm.

Duncan walked over and said, almost carelessly, "Annette Winfield, you've finally learned to behave instead of causing scenes. Soon you'll be a proper wife to me."

I tugged at the corner of my mouth at his condescension, and nothing stirred inside me.

From now on I'd never again have to school myself to endure his lack of love, or wear myself out trying to be a proper wife.

Because seven days ago, I'd found my birth parents. They were the richest family in New York, and soon I would be leaving Duncan. After that, we would never see each other again.

The fireworks cut off all at once, and Duncan and I stood face to face, none of the old tenderness left between us, only suspicion and probing.

I bit down on my lip, wanting to tell him our child was gone in that crash.

Then, from across the deck, Kay shrieked, beside herself with excitement, and every eye turned toward her. He let go of me without a thought.

"Duncan! I never imagined this would be my birthday gift. You're so good to me."

My gaze followed hers, and I recognized it at once. It was painted by Duncan's own hand, a girl in a sea of sunset flowers. Everyone knew he'd laid down his brush years ago, and now he had truly picked it up again, for her.

When she'd said it, she stepped to his side without the slightest hesitation, rose onto her toes, and kissed his lips. Amid the cheering and the catcalls, Duncan wrapped an arm around her waist and deepened the kiss.

The sight cut deep, and a bitterness welled up in my chest.

Three years ago, in a room full of guests, with everyone cheering, he'd swept me into his arms and kissed me hard, his voice shaking: "Thank you for agreeing to marry me. In this life I'll never love anyone but you."

When the long kiss ended, Kay had someone carry the painting over and set it before me, then leaned close to my ear and murmured.

"Annette, did he ever paint anything like this for you? No, he didn't, because you're not worth it."

My heart lurched, and I gave a bitter smile. Of course he had. The most reckless thing the eldest son of the Sanchez family had ever done in his life was learn to paint just to be with me, and hold an exhibition in my name.

When Duncan loved someone, he gave them the best of himself. It was only that none of that good was mine anymore.

"Yes. I wish you both well."

My voice was calm, none of my old sourness in it, no anger either.

She looked me up and down, her eyes settling on the jade bracelet at my wrist, and deliberately raised her voice. "Sister, this year what I want for my birthday is simple. Why don't you give me that jade bracelet on your wrist?"

At that, the whole crowd murmured about how far she was overreaching, and waited, smiling, to see what I'd do.

"Everyone says this bracelet, the one that marks the lady of the Sanchez house, carries a curse for any owner who can't win her beloved's love. Duncan doesn't love you anymore, so why not pass it to me and let me carry some of that for you?"

She watched me, taunting, like a gambler.

"A single firework is nothing. Kay Henson will never get that bracelet. Annette nearly died for it."

"Exactly. I don't believe she can really hold back this time. A million on it!"

In the middle of all that betting, I calmly slipped the bracelet off my wrist. Duncan stared at me and burst out, "Annette!"

I didn't look at him. I held the bracelet out to her, and the moment Kay's fingers closed on it, she let go on purpose. It dropped through the air and shattered with a crash, a hundred-year-old treasure broken to pieces.

A shard flew up and cut a thin line of blood across my shin. Kay shrieked, "Sister! If you didn't want to give it to me, you didn't have to smash it. This is one of the Sanchez family heirlooms!"

Then she lowered her head, looked at her own fingertips, and held her hand out to Duncan with a wounded little air. Pain flickered in his eyes, and he turned on me, his voice hard. "Annette, I thought you'd really become bigger than this. I should have known you're as petty as ever. Grandma never should have given you that bracelet in the first place. You were never worthy of it."

My eyes dimmed. The pain in my leg kept me clear-headed, and the bitterness in me went past words.

What gave Duncan the right to call me unworthy? Had he forgotten who pulled him out of that bloodied wreck back then, forgotten everything I'd done for the Sanchez family? After everything, all that was left was that I wasn't worthy.

Never mind. I'd be gone soon. None of it mattered.

I bent down, picked up the broken bracelet, and straightened. "I'm sorry. I didn't hold it steady. I'll have someone repair it and bring it back to you."

Maybe it was how calm I was, but the people around me looked startled.

"Has Annette lost it? She can take even this?"

"Obviously playing hard to get again, hoping Mr. Sanchez will feel sorry for her. So boring."

"Maybe she really has wised up. Scared of losing Mr. Sanchez and ending up with no one."

I pushed the grief down behind my eyes, and inside me something let go. You're all wrong. I hadn't wised up, and I hadn't lost my mind. I just didn't want to go on loving him like a fool anymore.

Duncan looked at me, something complicated moving behind his eyes. He opened his mouth, then said nothing.

The woman at his side took his hand and quickly spoke. "Since Sister didn't mean it, I won't hold it against her. Let's go cut the cake!"

Kay tugged him toward the center of the deck. A server wheeled out a hideously ugly cake, two little figures kissing perched in the middle of it. It was almost painful to look at.

He closed his hand over hers and drew the knife down through it, and when their eyes met, neither of them could hide the love in them. I lowered my head and gave a cold laugh.

A scene like this really was romantic. It would have been better if the leading man weren't my husband.

A figure stopped in front of me. She held out a slice of cake, her eyes bright with smiling.

"Sister, this is the birthday cake Duncan made just for me. The first slice goes to you. Thank you both for loving me."

I stared at the mango filling, and a tight ache spread through my chest as my stomach turned over. I forced the nausea down.

Duncan stood off in the distance, holding a glass of red wine, idly touching glasses with the people beside him, his gaze drifting now and then, carelessly, to me.

"Sister, why aren't you eating? Do you really hate me that much"

I looked over at him again. He didn't stop her. He calmly tipped his head back and finished his wine.

Years ago, at a friend's birthday party, when the crowd egged me on to eat mango cake, he'd flipped the table on the spot and grabbed my hand. "I already said it. She's allergic. No one orders her to do anything."

After that, the whole city remembered I was allergic to mango. No one dared put it in front of me.

Under everyone's watching eyes, I scooped up a spoonful and pushed it down my throat. In an instant my whole body went numb, and a rash rose along my arms.

"No, you've misunderstood. I just drifted off." My breath jammed in my throat and I quickly set the cake down. I forced the words out. "I'm not feeling well. I'm going to head back."

A calculating gleam came into Kay's eyes, and she grabbed my wrist. "Sister, my party isn't over. Where are you going? Wait and let Duncan send you home."

I shoved her off hard, my mind going dim.

Kay fell backward with a scream, and at once he dropped his glass and rushed to her, catching her firmly in his arms. He roared at me, "Annette! It was bad enough you put her in the hospital before. Now you have to make trouble for her on her birthday too!"

I held onto the railing, fighting for air. "Help"

Duncan paused, caught off guard. "What's wrong with you?" The woman in his arms spoke up suddenly.

"Duncan, I twisted my ankle. It hurts so much."

He carried her off at once, and under the jeering eyes of the crowd, I held onto my last bit of consciousness and dialed for an ambulance.

The man who once carried me to the hospital in the middle of the night just because I had a fever had finally drifted further and further away. My love for him ended here, and that was enough.

Everything blurred. Right before I lost consciousness, a message lit up on my phone.

"Annie, your records have been transferred back to the Winfields. Once your divorce is final, we'll come bring you home ourselves."

When I woke in the hospital, I stared at the message with too many feelings tangled together to name.

A nurse knocked and came in, set the billing slip on my bedside table, and sighed at me, helpless. "Now that you're awake, go pay. And honestly, your husband couldn't care less. We called him thirty times to come, and he didn't pick up once!"

I gave a small laugh. He was busy with Kay , of course he wasn't answering.

I pushed the blanket aside, took the slip, and made my way weakly to the billing hall, only to come face to face with the two of them. Duncan stared at the slip in my hand, his eyes dark and unreadable.

Kay was clinging to his arm, her voice sharp and mocking. "Annette, you didn't follow us here, did you?"

Once, I really had done that foolish thing. Wherever he took her, I went too. I beat her bloody on the spot, jabbed a finger at her and screamed that she had no shame, stealing her own sister's husband. The whole city called me the lawful wife gone mad.

Not anymore.

"You're imagining things. I came to pay a bill."

"What's wrong with you?"

Duncan's question cut off the moment her words sliced in. "Oh please, what could ever be wrong with Annette? Some little ache or pain, and she has to make a show of it and see a doctor. Duncan, if you have time, maybe you should spend more of it on her."

He looked me up and down, then gave a soft laugh. "What could be wrong with her? She had the strength to shove you."

With that, he lightly tapped the tip of her nose and said, smiling, "I'd rather spend my time with you, my little troublemaker, so you don't act out and worry me."

Kay's face flushed pink and she ducked her head, all shy. The two of them looked like newlyweds who couldn't get enough of each other, and I, the real wife, had become the outsider, the joke.

Something in my chest went sour, a dull, tight ache, and I turned and walked away rather than watch any more.

Back in the ward I picked up my phone, found the lawyer's number, and dialed. "Attorney Walker, I want to divorce Duncan Sanchez. Sorry to trouble you, but please bring the divorce agreement we drew up before to the hospital."

There was surprise on the other end. "Mrs. Sanchez, you and Mr. Sanchez love each other so much. Don't divorce over some little quarrel. Marriage isn't a game, after all. Have you really thought this through?"

Back when we loved each other most, every fight had me threatening divorce. We drafted agreement after agreement, and no one believed I'd ever go through with it, certain that in the end he'd always smooth things over.

A few years ago, yes, we really did love each other. Loved each other enough that he spent millions planting a field of sunflowers for me, enough that he named a minor planet after me, enough that he designed our magnificent wedding by hand, enough that we each owed the other a life.

My voice stayed calm, a flicker of self-mockery in my eyes.

"We loved each other once. I don't love him now."

Duncan didn't love me anymore, so the divorce was a settled thing.

The call ended. Attorney Walker would arrive in fifteen minutes. Just then the door to my ward opened, and Duncan came close, watching me hang up. "Who were you on the phone with?"

I met his eyes, calm, and held the dark screen of my phone out to him. "A friend. Would Mr. Sanchez like to check for himself?"

He ignored it and stepped closer, narrowing the space between us.

"The doctor says Kay sprained her ankle, and an old injury's flared up on top of it. She'll move into Shallow Bay to recover for now. The scenery there is good for her. Don't make a fuss over it."

I looked up at him in disbelief, my heart twisting with pain.

Shallow Bay. That was our marital home, the only home we had. Back when he bought the villa, he wrapped his arms around me from behind, brimming with joy. "From now on this is our home. No one else can ever come here, just the two of us. I promise this place will always be your safe harbor."

Now one word about recovery was enough to move her in, and what he'd said wasn't a question. It was an order.

"It's your house, Mr. Sanchez. Of course I wouldn't dare make a fuss."

Duncan caught that calm in my eyes and his expression turned complicated. He leaned down close, his voice low. "Annette, are you still angry with me over the fireworks? If you like them, I'll set some off for you too. I only did it to make her happy. You're already my wife, plain and proper. Are you really going to keep score?"

I stepped back without a flicker of feeling, my tone light. "Then I'll give that place up to her. From now on you won't have to mind me, and I won't care anymore either."

Shock filled his eyes. He grabbed my wrist and pressed a light kiss to the back of my hand, laughing softly.

"Annette, there you go acting up again. There isn't a man in our circle who keeps only to one. I just split my love into two shares. It's not as if I stopped loving you."

Duncan said it so righteously, the same way he'd told me, careless, the first time he cheated. "She and I are just having fun. All you have to do is be Mrs. Sanchez, that's enough. Money, power, status, name one thing I haven't given you. And you still want to keep score?"

Back then I was stubborn. I screamed and cried and called him a faithless man. Now I said nothing at all.

He looked at me, brushed a few loose strands of hair from my face, the smile faint.

"Annette, you're so much more sensible than before. It's good, not making a scene like a little girl anymore."

With that, he set a black card on the bedside table, as compensation.

There was a knock at the door. Attorney Walker came in and placed the divorce agreement in my hands. "Mrs. Sanchez, here's the agreement you asked for."

Duncan went stiff. Before he could process it, a nurse suddenly rushed in and called to him.

"Mr. Sanchez, Miss Henson is in a state, won't eat or drink, demanding to see you. Come with me, quickly."

The moment he heard it he was frantic to leave. I jerked upright and grabbed him. "Sign this agreement for me before you go."

Duncan took the pen, impatience all over his face, scrawled his name without a second look, and snapped, "I've told you, from now on whatever you want to buy, just buy it. Don't come finding me to sign things, it's a nuisance."

Looking at the name he'd signed, I let out a small, eased smile. No. There would be no "from now on" ever again.

He and I grew up together, childhood sweethearts, lucky enough to truly love each other young. At twenty I fought my way out of a den of men turning on each other and cut a path to save him. At twenty-one he took a robber's bullet beside my heart for me. We each promised the other we'd spend the rest of our lives repaying the debt of that life.

But now, what you owe me, I don't want it. And you, I don't want you either.

Attorney Walker looked at me with a face full of sympathy and gave my shoulder a light pat. Miss Henson, I hope you leave the pain and grief behind soon. As for the division of assets after the divorce, I'll draw everything up exactly as the agreement states. You won't lose a single cent.

The terms on that divorce agreement were the ones he'd written himself, back when he loved me most: thirty percent of Sanchez Group's shares, and every piece of property in his name worth over ten million, all to me.

Duncan Sanchez, half of everything you have, I helped you win. It was mine to begin with.

The next morning I left the hospital and returned to Shallow Bay. The moment I stepped through the gate, I saw the servants tearing out the sunflowers that had lined both sides of the path, ripping them up in messy clumps, and bending their heads to plant red roses in their place.

No one dared look up at me. Hearing I was back, Kay Henson came out in sky-high heels, smiling. Sister, you're home. Duncan had the sunflowers pulled out. He said sunflowers are tacky, that only red roses suit me, that they're a joy to look at. You don't mind, do you?

I clenched my fist, nails biting hard into my palm. That sting was nothing next to even the smallest ache in my chest.

Duncan had planted those sunflowers with his own hands. Back then he'd watered them every single morning, doing it himself. I always felt for him. Sunflowers aren't that delicate. Just leave it to the servants.

And he'd always kiss me softly, his eyes bright with a smile. It's different. These are your favorite sunflowers. I have to look after them myself.

He used to say he was the sunflower and I was the sun, that he'd grow toward the light and stay by my side forever. And now he didn't even want the symbol of our love anymore.

I forced down the bitterness rising in me and said calmly, They're pretty. I don't mind.

I stepped around her and went inside the villa, only to see that our wedding photos, which had hung on the wall, had vanished, replaced by her clumsy paintings. The sight stuck in my throat like a thorn.

Kay hurried in after me and threw out another taunt. Oh, right, Sister, I had your wedding photos moved to the storage room. Duncan said this painting of mine was good, so I just hung it here.

I lifted my eyes and met Duncan's. His face was calm, untroubled.

Look, this will be our home from now on. We'll hang the wedding photos right here, and when our child is born, they can see how much Mom and Dad love each other.

All right, then you're never allowed to take them down, not for the rest of your life!

I wondered which of us had actually believed those young vows.

It's fine. If Mr. Sanchez agreed to it, then change it.

With that I started for the stairs, ready to escape the scene, when Duncan suddenly stopped me.

The doctor said the master bedroom gets good sunlight, better for someone recovering. You take the guest room for now.

I didn't hesitate, and I didn't get angry. Fine. I'll go pack my things.

Kay grabbed my arm, smiling as she answered. Sister, you don't need to. I already had someone pull all your things out. They're right there!

I followed her gaze. Expensive gowns, everyday belongings, all of it heaped in the corner by the stairs like a pile of trash. Numbly I walked over and started picking it up, but the housekeeper, Loretta Lambert, saw and rushed forward to stop me.

Madam, you lost the baby not long ago. Let me.

Duncan froze and turned to look at me.

Duncan, I painted a new one. Come see whether it's any good.

Before he could ask, she was tugging him away. Kay glanced back at me, her face full of triumph.

Loretta looked at me and sighed softly. Madam, does the master not know you lost the baby?

I gave a small smile of release.

No. And he never will.

The car crash, the miscarriage, all of it. After so long, I came so close to saying it every time. How badly I'd once wanted to tell him we finally had the child we'd been hoping for. But right up until the crash came, I never said it. I'd wanted to tell him too, how much it hurt that the baby was gone. I never managed that either.

He'd handed his whole heart to her, with no thought for me at all. So I no longer wanted to wait for this pity I didn't need.

Late that night, I sat by the window, and Duncan came up behind me.

Annie, you've changed. You've finally learned to be sensible. But don't worry, once she's recovered she'll move out, and this will still be your home.

I didn't turn around. My voice was very low. She doesn't need to leave. I'm the one leaving.

At that he came around to my side. You're being difficult again. Where would you even go? Alone, with no one and not a cent to your name. Annie, I told you, as long as you behave yourself, you'll always be my wife, never wanting for anything. Besides, you love me so much, how could you leave me? There's no need to talk like this anymore.

I stood up so we were eye to eye, and as if something moved through me, I went on. Duncan Sanchez, I really am leaving.

He seized my hand. Before he could speak, a servant's voice cut in. Sir, Miss Henson says the thunder is scaring her and she can't sleep. Please go check on her.

Duncan let go of my hand without a moment's hesitation. The door slammed shut behind him. He didn't look back.

Lightning and thunder split the sky outside, yet my heart was strangely calm.

Duncan, this thunder is so frightening. I'm scared.

Don't be afraid. I'll always be right beside you, rain or shine.

Once, a single small roll of thunder was enough to make him drop his work and come home from the office to hold me and soothe me to sleep. But now he didn't remember that either. The line between loving someone and not loving them couldn't have been clearer.

My phone screen lit up with a message.

Miss Henson, at your father's request, the divorce decree has been finalized ahead of schedule. I'll bring it to you tomorrow.

A weight lifted in my chest, like a boulder finally rolling off it.

Then my father's text came through: "Annie, everything's ready. We'll come for you tomorrow and bring you home ourselves. I've arranged a banquet in New York to announce your returnto tell all of New York that my daughter is home!"

I turned off the phone. One day left. One day, and then he and I would have nothing more to do with each other.

At dawn, before anyone in the house had stirred, I went to the study and emptied the locked cabinet into a cardboard box.

The 999 love letters he'd written by hand. The six-million-dollar diamond necklace he'd given me on my eighteenth birthday. The cheap matching couple's cups we'd bought together. All of it, into the box.

I didn't know when Kay had drifted to the study door, but she stood there throwing barbs at me.

"Oh? What act is Annette Henson putting on now? After everything you've done, has he ever once looked your way? He stopped loving you a long time ago. Haven't you seen the truth yet?"

I didn't stop what I was doing, and I didn't answer her.

She was standing right in front of me, perfectly fine, not a trace of the sprained ankle that supposedly needed bed rest. All of it was nothing more than an excuse for the two of them to stay glued together, inseparable.

She saw how unbothered I looked, and it irritated her. She yanked me up. "What's with the calm act? Annette Henson, I don't care what you're scheming. He's mine. Everything in the Sanchez family is mine too. You were the one who stole it all from me in the first place!"

I looked at her, unruffled. "Miss Henson, I gave all of that up a long time ago. It's yours. I won't fight you for any of it."

I was six when the Hensons took me in. Camille and her husband doted on me as if I were their own, until I was ten and they found Kay. They told everyone we were twins who'd been separated, but some things can't be faked.

She slandered me, she threw tantrums, and the whole household simply assumed it was my doing. They made me kneel in the family chapel, disciplined me under the family rules. For a long time I didn't understand why she did it, when I'd never fought her for anything. Later I understood that her dislike, her hatred, didn't need a reason.

When Duncan cheated on me with her, of course I screamed at him, asking why. He knew everything I'd swallowed over the years, he was the one who'd ached for me most, and yet to every demand of mine he gave the same offhand answer: "I just suddenly felt she was a lot more interesting than you."

Seeing me lost in thought, Kay shoved me hard. "Heh. Annette Henson, if you didn't exist, I'd be his wife. And now I'm pregnant. He'll divorce you soon enough."

"I wish you well."

The moment I said it, she broke into a violent cough, and Duncan burst in as if he'd been waiting for the cue, brows drawn in concern for her, accusation aimed at me. "Annette Henson! What's gotten into you? You know Kay has asthma, and you deliberately come here to clear out your things."

I clenched my skirt, the words caught in my throat. How fitting.

He didn't ask why I was packing. He blamed me for hurting her on purpose. That was how low I stood in his heart.

I picked up the box and said quietly, "I'm sorry. I'll go throw it out right now. It won't be any danger to Miss Henson."

Duncan grabbed me hard, anger settling into his brow.

"Annette Henson, are you trying to defy me?"

I looked at him, weary. "You've misunderstood. It's true I didn't think it through. I'll go throw out this trash right now."

His eyes went to the corner of something poking out of the box, and he sneered.

"And you still claim it wasn't on purpose? Aren't these your most treasured things? There's no way you'd throw them out. Putting on a show for me?"

"They were treasured once. They don't matter now. They just take up space, so I might as well toss them. Nothing more to it."

Stunned, he let go. I didn't turn back, just kept walking toward the door, when Kay suddenly grabbed my arm and cried out, "Sister, are you angry? It's my fault, I'm too weak, getting Duncan to blame you. I'm sorry."

Then, all at once, she shoved hard against my back, her voice at my ear: "Go die!"

I tumbled down the stairs, the box slamming hard against me, and try as I might, I couldn't get up.

Duncan heard the noise and rushed out of the room. The instant he started toward me, the woman's sobs stopped him in his tracks.

She crouched on the floor, voice trembling with fear. "It wasn't me I didn't push Sister. She fell on her own. Don't blame me, don't blame me!"

He swept her up at once and soothed her softly. "I'm here. No one's going to bully you."

The pain spread through my whole body. It was as if a hand had closed around my throat, and I couldn't cry out for help no matter how I tried. I watched him carry the woman frantically toward the master bedroom, and a tear slid from the corner of my eye. It hurt so much.

In that moment I thought, is this where I'm going to die

Then, outside the villa, came the roar of a helicopter touching down, and a figure rushed to me and lifted me up. "Annie, don't sleep. Daddy's here. We've come to take you home."

I smiled, finally at peace, and my consciousness gave way at last.

From this day on, worlds apart, never to meet again. Duncan, we're finally over.