Free at Last Goodbye to My Billionaire Ex

Julian Vance was forced to marry me when I was eighteen. He was miserable; I was thrilled. I knew that to Julian, it didn’t matter who he married.

I was just a pawn to satisfy his family's demands. I foolishly believed that over time, he would get used to me, and eventually, love me.

I never expected that both he and our son would view me as an embarrassment—someone who could never compare to his gorgeous childhood sweetheart, Scarlett Ross.

Heartbroken and exhausted, I finally handed him the divorce papers. Yet, he gripped my chin, his eyes wild with desperation. "Chloe, I’m begging you.

Give Leo and me one more chance, please?" After I slipped the divorce papers across the table, the study fell into a suffocating silence.

Julian frowned, staring at me as if trying to spot a lie. "All because I didn't let you pick up Leo from school?" "Chloe, there’s no need to play the victim over such trivial things.

We have nannies for that." He stood up, walking around the desk to hug me. "Work has been crazy lately.

Stop making a scene, okay?" I looked at his lazy, dismissive comfort and took a step back. "Once you sign those papers," I said, my voice deadpan, "you won’t have to worry about 'scenes' or an embarrassing wife anymore." "Julian, this is a winwin for both of us." Seven years of love, warmth, and desperate trying meant absolutely nothing to him.

Whether it was a carefully planned birthday gift or simply wanting to drive our son to school, it was all just a "scene" to him.

Even my son, Leo, kept his distance from me. “Mom, I’m five now. Stop trying to baby me with theme parks and cartoons.” “What brand is this bracelet you bought me?

Which designer made it? ...None? Then I don’t want it. It’s embarrassing to wear at school.” Children are brutally honest. Their words cut the deepest, effortless in their cruelty.

A few days ago, I walked past the study and overheard Julian talking to Leo.

Leo asked, “Dad, can Scarlett take me to Disneyland this weekend?” The reply wasn't Julian's voice, but a soft, sweet feminine one. “Aren’t you sweet?

But we have to see if your daddy says yes first.” “Dad loves you the most, Scarlett! If you ask, he’ll definitely let me go!” Standing in the hallway, my hands went icecold.

It wasn't that Leo hated theme parks or childish things. He just hated doing them with me. Just like his father.

At that moment, the massive mansion felt so cold and empty that I could barely breathe. I couldn’t force myself to do this anymore. I was done trying to make them love me.

Julian stared at me for a long time, finally realizing I wasn’t bluffing. "Chloe, think carefully. Once you sign this, there are plenty of women waiting to take your place.

You will walk away with nothing." I smiled. "Don’t test me, Julian. I’m not playing the martyr. I’m not leaving emptyhanded." "The asset division is clearly written.

Think of it as my compensation for the last seven years." Julian went quiet. He slowly nodded. "Fine. Don't regret this." He signed the papers with sharp, aggressive strokes.

The scratching sound of the pen ended abruptly. Julian tossed the pen onto the desk. "I’m not a monster. I’ll double whatever assets you asked for." I didn’t refuse.

Money is money, and I deserved every penny. I carefully folded the papers and walked out of the study. Behind me, Julian suddenly called out, "I want the truth.

Why now?" My hand rested on the doorknob. For a second, I couldn't find the words. "Because I'm tired." I shut the door, cutting off his heavy gaze. I went back to my room to pack.

Ever since Leo turned five, Julian and I had been sleeping in separate rooms. I didn't have much. Everything I owned fit into a single twentytwoinch suitcase.

Seven years in this house, and this was all I had to show for it. I looked around the room. In the cabinet sat Leo’s birthday present from this year—still in its box.

On the desk was a halfknitted scarf. Both Julian and Leo caught colds easily in the winter, yet they always forgot their scarves and gloves.

Whenever I tried to remind Julian, he would impatiently snap that the maids would handle it.

And Leo would just stand far away, giving me a look of pure annoyance before walking off. But I hadn't missed the sheer disappointment and shame in my son's eyes.

I shook my head, forcing myself to stop thinking about them. As I reached the stairs, a woman in a designer dress was walking up, holding Leo’s hand. Scarlett Ross.

The "Scarlett" Leo adored. And Julian's first love—the one that got away before I married him.

I paused, nodding politely at the surprised duo.

Leo glared at my suitcase. "Where are you going with that?" "Are you still throwing a tantrum because Scarlett is taking me to Disneyland? Mom, you are so petty.

How can you be Dad's wife when you act like this?" Scarlett gently tugged his hand, a smug, victorious smile playing on her lips. "Leo, sweetheart, don’t talk to your mother like that.

You’ll hurt her feelings." Leo pouted. "Dad said Mom is only dramatic because she doesn't have your grace and class.

He said her anger is her own problem." This was the child I had carried for nine months. He spoke so casually, proving this wasn't the first time he had thought this.

A dull ache flared in my chest, but it quickly faded into numbness. The last shred of maternal longing for this child vanished completely.

I gave Leo a calm, polite smile. "Leo, don't worry. I'm not trying to get your father's attention." "I've divorced your dad.

I'm not your mother anymore." Stepping out of the Vance mansion, I took a deep breath of the cool evening air, savoring the sudden peace. I had already rented a small apartment.

Without even unpacking, I collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep. In my dreams, I replayed my failed sevenyear marriage.

Julian and I had been an arranged marriage, set up by our grandfathers. The moment I saw him at the altar, I knew he hated me.

Rumor had it that Julian had been beaten badly by his grandfather for refusing to marry me, but he had ultimately succumbed to family pressure.

On our wedding night, he didn't say a word. He just used my body to vent his rage.

Afterward, he pulled up his pants and left, leaving me bruised, staring blankly at the ceiling of our massive, empty bed. But I accepted it. I had to.

Thus began our cold, distant marriage. On the rare occasions we crossed paths, he would only give me a freezing look. Meanwhile, he kept Scarlett close.

They would whisper intimately right in front of my face. Scarlett would look at me with a mix of jealousy and the same contempt Julian had. I was completely isolated.

When I tried to tell my own family, they only warned me not to "make a big deal out of nothing." But life is unpredictable. Soon, I got pregnant.

Miraculously, our relationship seemed to soften because of the baby. One night, I woke up to see his tall silhouette sitting by my bed. He looked like he wanted to touch my belly.

I couldn't see his eyes, but his voice was low and unusually gentle. “Go back to sleep. I won't bother you.” It was the first time he had spoken to me without malice.

He looked exactly like the elegant, charming heir everyone else saw.

I couldn't help but reach out and grab his hand. “Julian, I didn't force them to make you marry me...” He was my husband.

I desperately wanted him to know I wasn't the villain. “Can you... please believe me?”

Julian didn't speak, but he didn't pull his hand away either. He lay down beside me, wrapping his arm loosely around my shoulders over the blanket.

Since my own grandfather passed away, that was the first time I felt something close to "love." Soon after, I gave birth to Leo.

When Leo was only seven months old, I excitedly told Julian that I hoped our son would grow up as free as the wind. He chuckled, calling me naive.

The very next day, his family took Leo away to be raised by elite nannies in the main estate. I nearly lost my mind. Dragging my weak, postpartum body, I begged to see my baby.

But Julian held me tightly in his arms, telling me that professionals would take better care of him. But what about me? I was his mother!

Did I not even deserve to hold my own child? The ugly truth, which I had desperately tried to ignore, finally shattered our fragile peace. I begged Julian to let me raise him.

He only lifted my chin coldly. “Chloe, you aren’t qualified to raise the Vance heir.” “Leo needs an elegant, sophisticated mother, not the daughter of a family who used a deathbed favor to force a marriage.” I stared at him, my hands slipping from his expensive suit jacket.

A deathbed favor? Didn't we marry because of our grandfathers' lifelong friendship?

Julian pinched my jaw, whispering viciously in my ear. “Only your family would be shameless enough to think my grandfather did this out of charity.” Julian told me that my grandfather had used a past lifesaving favor to blackmail his family into the marriage on his deathbed.

I wasn’t with my grandfather when he died, so I knew nothing about this. But I knew my grandfather was a man of integrity. He would never do such a thing! But Julian believed it.

The Vance family believed it. And that was enough to condemn me. “You know what, Chloe? Every time I touch you, I feel physically sick.

Watching you desperately believe that I could love you makes me want to destroy all your little delusions.” “But that’s too easy.

You ruined my life, and you haven't been punished enough.” He pressed his lips against my ear, looking like a loving husband to anyone watching.

But his words were pure poison. “You are going to sit right here as Mrs. Vance.

You are going to watch Scarlett and me love each other, and you are going to watch your son reject you.

That is your punishment!” He almost screamed the last part, his eyes bloodshot. I was frozen in horror. All those moments of warmth... the "love" I thought I felt...

It was all a lie. Julian had never changed. He loathed our marriage, and he loathed me. A loud ringtone snapped me out of the nightmare. I sat up abruptly. It was only 7:30 AM.

Wiping the cold sweat from my neck, I realized I had dreamed about the early days of our marriage. My phone was buzzing. The caller ID read: Julian.