No Longer Yours: The Ex-Wife's Sweet Revenge

"Let's get a divorce."

This was the second sentence Adler Rivera had spoken to her in the entire three years of their marriage.

The first sentence had been delivered on their wedding night.

She remembered that night vividly, the memory etched into her mind like a cold, sharp scar. She had been wearing a pristine, custom-made white wedding gown, holding up the voluminous, trailing skirt as she twirled excitedly in front of him. Her face had been illuminated with a bright, hopeful smile as she looked up at the man she had loved for years and asked him, "Do I look pretty?"

The answer she received had been a bucket of ice water poured over her fragile hopes.

"The wedding is over," he had said, his voice devoid of any warmth, his eyes looking at her as if she were a stranger. "I will have someone arrange for you to be sent abroad immediately."

And just like that, without any room for negotiation, she was shipped off to Europe for three years. She was left entirely to her own devices, utterly alone in a foreign land, while her husband remained in the city with another woman.

She had only just returned to the country, stepping foot into the cold, expansive villa they supposedly shared, only to be greeted with this sentence.

Divorce.

On their third wedding anniversary, no less.

"Do we have to get a divorce?"

Alivia Avery didn't look up. Her long, unkempt dark hair fell forward, completely obscuring her face and hiding all the complex emotions and the sudden, sharp glint in her eyes.

All Adler could hear was the slight, trembling quiver in her voice, laced with what sounded like the verge of tears. "Is there really no room for discussion?"

Adler's dark, fathomless eyes stared down at her for a long time. When he finally spoke, his thin, cool voice carried no extraneous emotion. "You know very well that if my grandfather hadn't been gravely ill at the time, I never would have married you."

Three years ago, Old Mr. Rivera had fallen severely ill. His dying wish was to see his grandson, Adler, married and settled down.

This marriage was never supposed to be hers. Alivia was the girl the Houston family had mistakenly brought home from the hospital due to a nurse's error. When she turned eighteen, she was abruptly informed that the Houstons' biological daughter, Kendal Houston, had been found and was returning. Alivia, in an instant, became the imposter, the cuckoo in the nest who had stolen another girl's life.

Everything she had enjoyed was supposed to belong to Kendal: the doting love of her parents, the affection of her brothers, and even this arranged marriage with Adler Rivera, which had been set since birth.

However, Grandpa Rivera had insisted that the foundation of marriage was emotion. Alivia and Adler had grown up together as childhood sweethearts. Even if her identity as a Houston was fake, they had still shared those formative years. He stubbornly demanded that Adler marry Alivia. Since the Houston family still publicly acknowledged Alivia as their adopted daughter, the two families could still be in-laws.

Thus, she and Adler got married and obtained their certificate, cementing the fact.

But Kendal was diagnosed with severe bipolar disorder and extreme emotional instability. She couldn't stand hearing the name Alivia, let alone seeing her. Upon learning of the marriage, Kendal went into a hysterical frenzy, attempting suicide and demanding that Adler stay by her side until she calmed down.

To prevent Kendal's condition from worsening, on the very second day of their marriage, Alivia was sent abroad by Adler, entirely ignored and forgotten until her return today.

Adler pushed a thick document toward her across the coffee table. "I've already had the lawyers draft the divorce agreement. Take a look at it. If you have no objections, just sign your name."

Alivia kept her head bowed as she reached out to take the file. "Can you give me some time to process this? Just a moment to breathe?"

Adler looked at her. The heavy bangs hid her eyes completely. Living alone in a foreign country seemed to have made her even more withdrawn and eccentric.

"If you have any dissatisfaction regarding the division of assets, feel free to bring it up," he offered coldly, his tone entirely businesslike. "This villa will also be transferred to your name. I'll give you one week to think it over."

After saying that, he turned and walked toward the door of the master bedroom.

As his hand rested on the doorknob, he glanced back into the room. The woman's thin shoulders were trembling slightly, her posture frozen as she held the contract.

Adler's expression darkened with an unreadable emotion, and he closed the door firmly behind him.

The room fell into a dead silence.

A moment later, a wild, unrestrained cheer erupted within the four walls.

"That bastard! Finally, we're getting a divorce!"

Alivia looked at the divorce agreement in her hands and finally couldn't hold back her laughter. The trembling of her shoulders became even more pronounced, but it was from sheer, unadulterated joy.

During her three years of exile abroad, she hadn't received a single message of concern from the Houston family, nor a single word of comfort from her nominal husband.

Even when she was stalked in a foreign alleyway and nearly killed, she hadn't been able to get through to Adler's phone.

Her love for him? That had been buried and frozen solid in that bitter winter three years ago.

With a swift, decisive motion, she signed her name on the dotted line. Then, feeling immensely satisfied, she rolled around on the plush bed. Her bangs fell away, revealing a stunningly beautiful face that showed absolutely no trace of grievance or sorrow.

Just as she was about to get up and finish unpacking her luggage, her phone rang.

Alivia answered the encrypted call, her voice sweet and obedient. "Hello, Isaias."

The voice on the other end cut straight to the chase. "Little sister, the group of people who tried to kidnap you at the airport when you landed have all been caught. It also brought up new leads regarding that stalking incident from three years ago. Unfortunately, I have to tell you... the clues point directly to your adoptive parents, the Houstons, and... your nominal husband, Adler Rivera."