Chapter 1 : I don’t want your money

Serena Morales woke up, only to find the man beside her still asleep. Enduring the discomfort between her legs, she got out of bed. Just as she was about to pick up the clothes scattered on the floor, a cold voice came from behind her.

"How much do you want?" he remarked in an indifferent tone, sounding nothing like the guy who murmured dirty talk softly in her ear last night.

Serena paused, feeling absurd.

After three years of marriage, her husband didn't even know who she was. Three years ago, she accidentally saved Cornelius Vanderbilt, the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family, from death. At that time, her father's company encountered difficulties during its first round of financing. So Cornelius offered her a deal: if Serena married his grandson Alexander Vanderbilt, he would invest three billion dollars into her dad's business.

Alexander never appeared during their marriage ceremony, and it wasn't until she received her marriage certificate that Serena found out he had gone abroad.

Since then, she'd been dubbed as "Mrs. Vanderbilt Who Never Was."

She never expected their first encounter to take place in a bed, of all places.

That was right, her "one-night stand" was her husband, who hadn't even met her before.

Serena struggled to put on her clothes, her head spinning from the hangover.

"I don't want money," she managed to say, her voice wavering.

"You don't want money? So you want me instead?" Alexander's piercing gaze examined every inch of her body, his sneer betraying his skepticism. She was undeniably beautiful and alluring but that was all.

"I'll give you enough money, but don't expect we'll become a thing just because of what happened last night."

He thought to himself, 'I would never have lost control over a woman, even in my drunken state. So, it must be the drink. There must've been something wrong with the drink she handed me.'

Serena quickly dressed herself up, her mind filled with what had happened the previous night. The Vanderbilt family hosted a welcoming banquet for Alexander Vanderbilt, attracting all celebrities and affluent individuals. Since he was about to take over the family business, every guest was dying to befriend him. Cornelius had invited Serena. Initially, she planned to make a brief appearance and bail, but her father, Alfonso, stopped her and offered her two glasses of wine, telling her to talk to Alexander. The evening then had taken an unexpected turn, leading to their encounter. 

She was acutely aware of Alexander’s resistance to their arranged marriage. In this regard, she couldn't help but wonder, 'How am I gonna convince him that what happened last night was not part of my plan when he already hates our marriage so much?’ 

A tinge of self-deprecation flickered in her eyes, and she hesitated for a moment before speaking, “Actually, I…” 

Just then, the phone on the bedside table vibrated, interrupting Serena. 

Alexander glanced at it; it was his personal lawyer calling. He put the caller on the speaker and a respectful male voice then came from the other side, "Mr. Vanderbilt, we've arrived at Miss Morales's apartment. She's not home. Should we send the divorce agreement to the Morales's place?"

Alexander walked over to the window. His brows furrowed as he gazed at the distant view of the river. He had no recollections at all of his wife whom he had been married to for three years. 

'Grandpa says she's good-natured. According to him, she never engages in conflicts or covets others' possessions. And she's an exceptional Harvard graduate. But so what? The Morales family has already passed through its crisis long ago. It was enough to repay her kindness for saving Grandpa's life,' he complained to himself.

Then he responded with a ruthless and cold tone, "Keep contacting her and let her sign the divorce agreement. If she refuses, get the Morales family involved.” 

As Serena checked for any missed work messages on her phone, she overheard the mention of a "divorce agreement." She paused for a moment before reading Alfonso Morales's message on her phone screen.

Alfonso: Serena, did you leave early last night? Araminta asked me if Alexander drank that glass of wine.

Serena: Dad, wasn't it you who prepared it?

Alfonso: Nah, it was Araminta. If you have time today, please come and visit Valentina in the hospital. She said she missed you.

Anger surged in Serena as she learned Araminta was the one plotting against her.

Serena didn't reply for a long time, so Alfonso got worried. He thus called her and asked if she needed any hangover medicine, sounding full of concern. Serena was hot-tempered, yet she didn't wanna upset Alfonso. He had been having a hard time raising her since her mother died when she was little. Besides, he only remarried when she had already been in college.

So she fought back the urge to tell him about Araminta. Instead, she said, "You don’t have to, Dad. I’ll go see Valentina later. Tell her that I miss her, too."

Alexander was still on the phone when Serena was done, yet the topic had shifted to business matters.

Serena looked over and saw the light outside fall on Alexander's shoulders as he stood there in a white robe with a casual posture. He had his back to the light and his handsome face showed no expression, his profile seemed particularly cold and stern, making him even more aloof and unapproachable.

She decided to leave before he could notice. They were planning to divorce anyway. It would be awkward if he found out that he had slept with his so-called wife. She'd better just leave quietly.

When Alexander finally hung up the phone, it was already getting late. Turning around to look at the silent room in front of him, he couldn't help but frown. The messy sheets dragged to the floor while crumpled shirts lay at the foot of the bed. The smell of red wine mixed with that of sex filled the air.

Upon thinking about what happened last night again, he couldn’t help but rub his forehead. If it weren’t for the dark red stain on the sheet, he might have thought that waking up next to a woman earlier today was just a hallucination.

A knock sounded from outside followed by Jonathan Armstrong's voice, "Mr. Vanderbilt."

"Come on in," said Alexander.

Jonathan walked in holding a brand new suit set. Upon seeing what was inside Alexander’s room, he felt puzzled yet didn’t ask any questions about it. He respectfully placed down clothes before leaving for the living room immediately after.

Alexander took a shower and then got neatly dressed before heading out with Jonathan. Suddenly halting midway, Alexander asked, "Who is the woman leaving my room this morning?”

Jonathan immediately linked what Alexander asked to what he had seen earlier in the room. Shocked, he hurried to respond, "I'll go check right away.."

Alexander pursed his lips as his face darkened. 'Playing cat and mouse is so degrading. Maybe she wants me to look into her. I can't fall into her trap. Since she has tried so hard to put on such a scene, I'm sure she'll turn up again.

Thus, Alexander stopped Jonathan. "Don't. She'll come back."

Serena hurried back to her apartment and washed herself thoroughly several times before collapsing onto the bed.

Once she closed her eyes, all she could think about was Alexander's ferocity during sex. At first, she could hardly bear it, but later that extreme pleasure seemed to penetrate into her bones.

To be honest, Serena didn't find it intolerable to lose her virginity to Alexander was acceptable. What she couldn't accept was the fact that he was calling the name of another woman while having sex with Serena.

"Victoria..."

Victoria Laurent was the reason why he wanted a divorce from her.

Though exhausted, Serena stayed awake because of the great pain. She turned over but still felt uncomfortable. Thus, she gave up on sleeping and instead, got up and opened a drawer where there were two marriage certificates...