From His Invisible Wife to the World's Icon novel Chapter 1

In the second year of their marriage, while Lydia Sterling was preparing an anniversary gift for her husband, she discovered a divorce certificate tucked away in his safe.

Whose was this?

She flipped it open, freezing when she saw her own name and photo right next to her husband's.

How did she not know she was divorced?

The date on the certificate was thirty days from now—on her husband, Frederick Foster's, birthday.

Filled with a suffocating sense of dread, she hurried to the city clerk's office to inquire.

After checking the system, the clerk looked up with a concerned expression. "Ma'am, our records only show your marriage license. There's no record of a divorce."

"This certificate is a forgery. The photos are photoshopped, though it's incredibly well made. Even the official seal is nearly identical to the real thing."

"Have you been scammed by someone?"

The clerk's words drained the color from Lydia's face.

Her worst fears had just been confirmed.

Frederick had forged a divorce certificate.

But why would he do such a thing?

She put the document away, thanked the clerk, and headed to The Foster Group in a daze, desperate for an explanation. Instead, she walked right into Frederick having an affair with her half-sister.

The tall, devastatingly handsome man was leaning down, accommodating the beautiful young woman as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

Shock wiped her mind completely blank. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Thank you, Frederick."

The woman's sickeningly sweet voice snapped Lydia back to reality.

She pushed the door open and demanded, "What the hell are you two doing?"

Sierra Sutton put on a panicked expression, rushing to explain. "Lydia, it's not what it looks like! I just won an award for my academic paper, and since mom and dad aren't around, Frederick bought me a set of jewelry to celebrate."

"If you don't like it, I won't accept it."

Despite her words, Sierra gripped the velvet jewelry box so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Frederick's gentle demeanor vanished. He placed a long, elegant hand on Sierra's shoulder in a soothing gesture. "Wait outside."

Sierra nodded obediently. As she brushed past Lydia, a flash of smug defiance danced in her eyes.

A heavy lump formed in Lydia's throat, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Far from looking guilty about being caught, Frederick walked over to his executive chair and sat down. He met her gaze with complete composure, his voice devoid of emotion. "What are you doing here?"

Over their two years of marriage, he had buried himself in his work, growing colder and more distant toward her with each passing day.

And now, the rare tenderness he possessed was being lavished on another woman.

"It'll be better for both of us."

Lydia frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Once your divorce goes through, Freddie is going to marry me. We'll still be family."

"We're going to be seeing a lot of each other, so there's no need to make things ugly."

Sierra's words suddenly made everything click into place.

Frederick had forged the divorce certificate just to placate Sierra.

She remembered when her mother was pregnant, her father had an affair, and Sierra's mother had forced her way into their lives.

When her parents separated, her father fought for custody just to get his hands on her mother's shares, leaving Lydia to suffer years of neglect living under someone else's roof.

Frederick knew all of this.

Yet he was sleeping with the very person who had made her life a living hell.

He had stopped loving her a long time ago.

Maybe he had never loved her at all.

He only married her for the sake of the business alliance.

And whatever gratitude she had harbored toward him for saving her life had been entirely eroded by his daily, suffocating indifference.