After the Divorce, I Built My Own Empire

The night before the wedding, I received a pregnancy test and an ultrasound report. The report showed that the baby was already three months along, and the patient was my wife.

But Lily Hart and I had been together for three years, and I had never touched her. The moment I saw that report, I immediately asked for a divorce.

Lily’s childhood friend called me crying to apologize. “Noah, I’m sorry. I filled in the address wrong by mistake.

You can hit me or yell at me, just please don’t get mad and ignore Lily.” Lily said indifferently, “What’s there to be afraid of? He’s just a pretty boy I’m keeping around.

Does he really have the guts to leave me?” I handed over the divorce agreement and turned to leave. I wanted to see just how Lily was going to keep her pretty boy fed without me!

When Lily came back, I was sitting on the living room floor drinking. The room was pitchblack, and when she walked over, she almost tripped over a beer bottle.

The instant she switched on the light, her brows barely furrowed.

I didn’t even lift my eyes, just tipped my head back and took a sip of liquor, then pushed the divorce agreement toward her.

Lily reached out and took it, flipped through it casually, then threw it into my face and sneered. “Noah, I’ve fed you well and taken care of you all these years.

What exactly are you not satisfied with?” After saying that, she stepped over me in her high heels and went to open the window for some air.

When she walked in those heels, her hand was always resting on her lower abdomen.

If this had been before, I definitely would have gotten up first thing to help her, afraid she might feel unwell.

But now, I only thought the old me was ridiculous beyond belief. “Sign it.

Let’s part on good terms.” After finishing the last bottle of liquor, I swayed to my feet and went into the bedroom to pull out my suitcase.

All these years, I had to take care of both the house and Lily, while also handling her company. The overload of work had left me physically and mentally exhausted.

Now I just wanted to get away from Lily, get some real rest, and live for myself for once!

Lily stared at the suitcase in my hand, then stepped on the divorce agreement with her high heel and said with obvious displeasure, “Noah, have some shame!

Ethan hasn’t slept well for days because of you, and he even cried and said you could hit or scold him however you wanted.” “What more do you want?

Do you have to force him to his death before you’ll let this go?” Ethan Cole, Lily’s first love.

He was handsome, sweettongued, and good at coaxing girls, and his hobbies and interests were very similar to hers.

Aside from not having money, he almost met all of Lily’s requirements. Coincidentally, money was the one thing Lily never lacked, so they clicked perfectly.

Seeing that I stayed silent, Lily walked up to me and pointed at my chest. “Stop putting on this big tragic act.

Just the fact that you’re living in this 1,200squarefoot house is already better than most people.” “If you’re really that upset, I’ll have him come apologize to you, and we can let this go.” Apologize?

There was already a baby. What did I need his apology for?

Was I supposed to generously forgive him and then raise the child she had with her lover for free? “What’s going on between you two has nothing to do with me, and I don’t need his apology.” Maybe she was tired of standing, because Lily sat down on the sofa and said helplessly, “Noah, Ethan is different from you.

I’ll never let him threaten your position. What exactly are you upset about?” “I’m already exhausted from dealing with the company every day.

Can you stop making things harder for me?” She sighed, and even her tone was no longer as forceful as before.

If I hadn’t seen the photo tonight of her and Ethan having a candlelit dinner together, maybe I really would have sympathized with how hard her work was.

But at this point, all I felt was that her explanation was pale and tedious.

“You’ll never let him threaten my position? Does Ethan even deserve to compare himself to me?” “You already have a bastard child, and you’re saying this out loud, Lily.

Isn’t that ridiculous?” After those two questions in a row, Lily’s face immediately darkened. “What bastard child? That’s the fruit of our love.

Noah, listen to me, this child is mine and yours!” “You’d better keep what you just said buried in your stomach, or don’t blame me for not being nice!” Not being nice?

I actually wanted to see what Lily meant by not being nice. Was she going to fire me, divorce me, or have me blacklisted in the industry?

Where did she get the confidence to cheat, get pregnant, and then turn around to threaten me?

My heart turned cold, and I completely gave up on her. “I’ll still send you the divorce agreement.” After saying that, I turned and left.

When Lily saw that neither hard nor soft tactics worked on me, she shouted, “Noah, think carefully.

The moment you walk out that door, I’ll freeze every card you have.” My hand on the suitcase handle froze. So, in her heart, I had only ever been with her for the money.

After three years of living together day and night, I had thought Lily could see my sincerity. So it had all been just a yellow dream, so unbearable in the end.

I didn’t stop walking and headed outside. “Noah, you’re nothing but a leech feeding off Lily Hart.

Without me, you’re just a useless coward.” Even though I had heard harsher words than this before and had already decided to let go, my heart still hurt badly when faced with her roar.

Actually, the reason Lily thought this way was because I was an orphan.

In order to gain a charitable reputation and boost their public image, the Hart family had sponsored the education of many children from orphanages. I was one of them.

After graduation, I entered Hart Group with excellent grades, and with the life I have now, I truly should have thanked her. The first time Lily and I met was in the hospital.

She had been sent there for treatment because of depression. Coincidentally, I had broken my leg and stayed in the hospital for two months back then.

After we met, I thought of every possible way to cheer her up every day, and little by little we became familiar with each other.

With my company and the help of medication, Lily’s condition gradually improved.

Later, after she graduated from college and began to take over the family business, we saw each other less and less, and our relationship slowly drifted apart.

After that, I also wanted to go out and build something of my own. The day I was about to leave, I told Lily, and she hugged me at the airport and confessed her feelings.

She cried terribly. She said she didn’t want me to go and wanted me to stay and help her, because the pressure on her was just too much. I couldn’t bear to refuse her, so I agreed.

But the older generation of the Hart family thought I was after their fortune, and they treated me more and more coldly.

At first, they refused no matter what, and it was only after Lily had a depression relapse and was sent to the hospital after trying to kill herself that they finally relented.

But before the wedding, they made me sign a prenuptial agreement and have it notarized. If one day Lily and I separated, I could not take anything from the Hart family.

Back then, I signed without even thinking. From start to finish, all I had ever wanted was Lily herself.

Lily and I were legally married, but the public did not recognize it because the Hart family thought my background was not good enough to be seen in public, so the wedding was delayed again and again.

Back then, Lily kept comforting me and saying that she didn’t yet have real power, so I should just endure it for now.

Once she fully took control of Hart Group, she would definitely give me a grand wedding to make up for it.

For me at the time, that wedding felt far away, but I was still very happy, because what Lily promised was not just a wedding, but our future.

So back then, I worked myself to the bone, helping her land one project after another at the negotiation table.

I helped Lily steadily secure her position in Hart Group step by step. I became the sharpest blade in her hands in the business world.

The Hart elders finally agreed to let us hold the wedding again, and everything was moving in a better direction. I thought we could finally end up together.

I never expected Ethan to come back from overseas.

By the time I realized their relationship was unusual, it was already too late.We had been under pressure and constantly on edge all these years, and Ethan could bring Lily a different world.He could help her relax.As for me, three years of experience had made me more mature, and I spent every day running from dawn to dusk trying to secure deals, so there was no way I could be as reckless as Ethan and not care about anything.We talked less and less, and every conversation was about work.The look in her eyes when she looked at me also changed from the heat it once had to coldness. I tried many ways to fix our relationship, but each time she rejected me by saying she didn’t have time.Just when I thought our threeyear marriage was coming to an end, Lily suddenly proposed that we hold the wedding again.She said no one could control her decisions now, and she wanted to fulfill the promise she had made back then.At the time, I was so moved I was almost in tears, and I also believed what she said, that she and Ethan were just friends.After all, we had grown up together, and after three years of marriage, a relationship was not something that could be severed so easily.That was until Ethan showed me their chat history:— Everything Noah has now was given to him by me. What right does he have to interfere in my business?— Of course I love you the most. It’s just that there are still a few projects in the company that are in his hands, so giving him the right amount of comfort is also important. After all, we still need him to make money to support you.— I already have your baby in my belly, so we need to make plans for the baby too.Along with those messages was an ultrasound report.We had been married for three years, but because I had to take care of her illness and the company, I had never touched Lily.She also promised me that on the day of the wedding, she would give herself to me completely.I believed her.But after seeing the messages Ethan sent me, I gave up too.Lily’s depression started the year Ethan went abroad.And from beginning to end, I had only ever been Ethan’s replacement.Now that I thought about it, our marriage might have been wrong from the very beginning.I found a hotel to stay in for the time being, planning to rest well before going to talk to Lily about the divorce.Who would have thought I’d be woken up the next day by a call from Lily?The moment I answered, a barrage of insults came through the phone.“Noah, today is our wedding. What do you mean by disappearing? Do you want the entire Hart family to become a laughingstock to the whole world?”“I’m warning you, the wedding is about to start. If I don’t see you within ten minutes, don’t blame me for being rude!”I pulled the phone away from my ear and listened calmly to her shouting. After she stopped, I asked, “What part of this wedding has anything to do with me?”The venue and decorations were all planned by her and Ethan, and the whole point of holding it was to attract sponsorship.Not a single part of it was for me.“Lily, I already made myself very clear yesterday. I want a divorce. Even if the Hart family loses face now, that’s your own doing. Don’t blame anyone else!”That one sentence completely enraged Lily. “Noah, if you don’t come over, I’ll have no choice but to use force!”Force? I let out a cold laugh and said disdainfully, “You, Lily Hart, think you have the ability to drag me away by force while going around the law?”“Noah! Don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink—”Before Lily could finish, I hung up.I couldn’t sleep tossing and turning in bed, so I decided to go downstairs for a walk.I had only gone a few yards when Lily’s bodyguards surrounded me.In broad daylight, they didn’t dare act recklessly, so they could only stay locked in a standoff with me.Lily had a high status, and this wedding was being livestreamed for the entire city to witness her happiness.I looked up at the giant screen in the mall. The wedding had already started, but I was still standing where I was.A man wearing a mask appeared on the screen.Lily even joked very casually that the theme of their wedding was a masquerade.I looked at the man standing beside Lily, and with just one glance I recognized Ethan.Just like that, I watched from outside as they exchanged rings, embraced, and finally kissed.Their kiss was both passionate and sincere.They were almost lost in it, as if they wanted to melt into each other’s blood and bones.After the wedding, Lily took Ethan around to toast the guests.A few of the business partners I knew well noticed something was off and tested the waters. “We’re all old friends. Why is he still wearing a mask?”Lily stood to the side, trying to smooth things over, but before she could speak, Ethan’s mask had already been taken off.After seeing his face, everyone froze. “What’s going on?”“We all came today because of Noah. And now you’ve pulled this kind of magic trick on us?”As soon as those words came out, the livestream comments also exploded.— Who is this guy? He doesn’t look anything like the man in the wedding photos!— I think the groom didn’t want to show up, so the bride just found someone else to stand in and finish the wedding.— You can just replace the groom at a wedding? Did the two of them team up to kick the groom out on purpose? That’s way too embarrassing. The man just now was the head of a real estate company, and he said he came for Noah. Could it be that the original groom didn’t want to come, and the bride didn’t want to waste the venue, so she just went with it?— No one can really say for sure. When rich families get messy, how many of them are actually clean?Seeing that things were going bad, Lily quickly explained, “I’m sorry, everyone. I’m really sorry, but my husband had a sudden accident and couldn’t make it to the scene, so we had no choice but to take this approach.”“Two days ago, that young Noah was still talking business with me.”“Mr. Brooks doesn’t know, but it was just last night that he came back and accidentally collided with a big truck. He’s still lying in a hospital bed right now.”I lowered my head and looked at myself, perfectly fine.Then I looked at the bodyguards surrounding me and smiled. “Did your小姐 tell you to bring me to the wedding venue no matter what it took?”The bodyguards nodded. “Yes, Mr. Grant. Long time no see.”“Let’s go.”Right now, I was really looking forward to what Lily’s reaction would be when she saw me unconscious at the wedding.