Divorced the CEO After His Mistress Tried to Kill Me

Leo James crashed while picking up my car. Fractured tibia.

By the time I reached the hospital, a girl with swollen, tear-streaked eyes was shrieking at me:

Who do you think you are, making Mr. James fetch your car? If you hadn't been too lazy to go yourself, he never would've gotten hurt!

Do you have any idea that Mr. James fractured his leg? That he bruised his ribs?

Her tone dripped with self-righteousnesslike she was scolding a servant who'd stepped out of line.

It wasn't just me. Every friend and relative who'd come to visit Leo stood frozen, staring.

Leo shot her an indulgent glance, then turned to placate me:

"She's just protective of her clients. Speaks her mind a little too freely. Don't take it personally."

His heart hadn't been with me for a long time. Of course I wouldn't take it personally.

I studied the weeping girl with detached calm, waiting until she'd exhausted herself into silence.

"Finished? Good. My turn."

"This is the second time your dealership has made this kind of amateur mistake. Either you give me a satisfactory explanation, or you can deal with the police and Harding Group's legal team."

1.

The color drained from her face. She turned to the man in the hospital bed, eyes pleading.

Leo's expression flickered.

"Gladys Harding, it was my mistake. She had nothing to do with it. I've already handled the accident."

"Your mistake?" I arched an eyebrow and looked straight at him. "How bad is it?"

Leo cleared his throat. "I'm fine. Just the fracture and a mild concussion. You don't need to"

I cut him off.

"I was asking about the car."

The girl flinched at my coldness, her voice pitching higher:

"Mr. James is in the hospital and all you care about is the car? Do you even have a heart?"

"You must be Virginia Matthews."

I folded my arms, unhurried, my face blank.

"Firstthat car is worth eighteen million dollars. Limited edition. One of twelve in the world."

"SecondLeo James is my husband. Legally. Him picking up my car is hardly unusual."

"Third..."

I paused, letting my gaze drop to where her fingers were clenched around the fabric of Leo's hospital gown.

"You're just some college student Leo sponsored once. So what exactly gives you the right to stand here and interrogate me?"

Virginia's face flushed scarlet. She released his gown instinctively, but couldn't stop herself from protesting:

"II just feel bad for Mr. James!"

"You could've picked up the car yourself, but you made him go all that way. Now something's happened and you can't even pretend to care"

I glanced at the message from Evan on my phone. A cold smile curved my lips.

"Save some of that sympathy for yourself."

"The damage assessment just came in. Repair costs are estimated at over three million. Card or cash?"

Virginia's knees buckled. She swayed, then glared at me with stubborn, wounded fury:

"Th-three million? That's extortion!"

Her gaze slid toward Leo, helpless and imploring.

"Mr. James..."

Leo pushed himself upright, wincing as the movement pulled at his injuries. He pressed his fingers to his brow.

"Gladys, she's barely out of college. Still a kid. Where would she get three million? Don't scare her."

"I'm the one who made the mistake. I'll pay for it."

Virginia's eyes lit up. The corner of her mouth curled with barely concealed triumph.

I looked at him, my voice dripping with mockery:

"How chivalrous of you, Mr. James. Wasn't buying her an entire dealership generous enough?"

Leo clearly hadn't expected me to know about that. His expression froze.

Virginia lost every trace of her earlier bravado. She bit her lip.

"Gladys... if you're angry, take it out on me. Don't blame Mr. James. He only helped me because he felt sorry for me."

Leo sighed and waved her toward the door.

"This has nothing to do with you. Go home."

Virginia kept her head down as she shuffled toward the exit, glancing back every few steps. She'd just reached the doorway when she suddenly turned and hurried back.

Virginia pressed a prettily decorated glass bottle into Leo's palm.

She lifted her doe eyes, her gaze shimmering with unshed tears, soft enough to melt anyone watching.

No one who saw them together could possibly believe there was nothing going on between these two.

Virginia bit her lip, reluctance written all over her face as she turned to leave. Passing by me, she lowered her voice in explanation:

"Gladys, this was my mistake. I let Mr. James drive off before the car was properly inspected, and then the accident happened."

"Please don't misunderstandthat bottle contains origami wishing stars I folded myself, praying for Mr. James's leg to heal quickly."

The car wasn't properly inspected?

But the luxury auto dealership had specifically called me to pick it up.

And that last time my brakes failedwas that also because the car "wasn't properly inspected"?

"Gladys, I've been meaning to explain about the dealership."

Leo's voice pulled me back to the present.

We were alone in the hospital room now. A smile spread across his face as he carefully set the glass bottle on his nightstand, then reached out to pull me closer.

"She just graduated, and it happened to be her birthdayI only gave her a small gift. Don't tell me my CEO wife is jealous?"

He said it so casually, as if he'd given away nothing more than some forgettable stuffed animal.

I stepped aside, avoiding his touch.

"So this is your type?"

The air went still.

Leo's expression flickered. He rubbed his brow. "I didn't tell you because I was worried you'd overthink things."

"Virginia and I are completely innocent. We"

"I don't care."

I cut him off, my tone bored.

"I haven't caught you in bed with heryet. But I don't tolerate even a grain of sand in my eye, Leo. You'd better bury whatever inappropriate thoughts you're entertaining. Don't force me to tear this whole thing wide open."

Leo looked up at me, disbelief written across his face.

"You don't trust me?"

I gazed down at him, my eyes flat and unreadable. My silence was answer enough.

He opened his mouth to say something more, but the phone on his nightstand chose that moment to ring.

The name "Virginia" glowed on the screen, impossibly bright.

Leo hesitated, then answered. Virginia's soft, fragile voice immediately floated through:

"Mr. James, is Gladys giving you a hard time? Even if she's angry, please don't fight with her, okay?"

"I ordered bone broth from Fuji Kitchen for you. I was afraid Gladys might misunderstand, so I won't deliver it myself."

Two sentences. She'd managed to play the sweet, considerate angel while subtly reminding everyone just how close she and Leo really were.

I didn't move.

Leo glanced at my expression and hung up.

I laughed coldly to myself. I had no interest in playing these games with him any longer. I turned and walked toward the door.

"Gladys!"

Leo called out urgently.

"You're really angry?"

"I promise I'll stay far away from her. I won't contact her ever again. Please don't be so cold to me?"

"My leg hurts..."

I paused, turning my head just slightly. My voice could have frozen steel.

"If your leg hurts, call the doctor. I have work at the company. Rest well."

Outside the hospital, the cold wind hit my face, finally tamping down some of the fury coiled in my chest.

I pulled out my phone and called my assistant, Evan Brooks.

"Dig into Virginia Matthews. I suspect she had something to do with my brake failure last time."

After that last maintenance appointment, my brakes had given out on the highway. I'd swerved into a median stripthe only thing that saved me from a catastrophic accident.

That evening, the regional manager of a high-end jewelry boutique arrived at my door on Leo's orders, presenting dozens of exquisite pieces for me to choose from.

"Mr. James is so good to you! To be cherished like thisit's truly enviable."

I swept my gaze over the glittering display, feeling nothing but bitter irony.

"Don't you know? The night a man cheats, he always comes home telling his wife 'I love you'over and overjust to ease his own guilt."

Leo thought I was throwing a tantrumlike those socialite wives who discover their husband's affair and spiral into tears, threats, and dramatics before eventually being pacified with jewelry and designer bags.

But he forgot who he was dealing with.

I'm Gladys Harding.

The sole heir of the Harding family. I took over the family business at eighteen. By twenty-two, I'd carved my way through the cutthroat world of Wall Street, leaving a trail of blood behind me.

At twenty-five, I returned home and entered this marriage of convenience with himnot because I couldn't live without him, but because of the bond between our fathers.

Because he promised me forever. One life, one love, just the two of us.

The joke was on me.

In just five short years, he'd tossed those vows aside like yesterday's garbage.

The next day, I received a WhatsApp friend request from Virginia. Her message read:

"Gladys, I'd like to explain about your car's maintenance issue."

The day was impossibly hecticback-to-back meetings from morning till dusk, then a rushed flight to Capitol City for my uncle's birthday banquet.

I didn't have a moment to accept her request until I landed.

Virginia immediately sent a voice message. The gist: the mechanic who serviced my car was a temp worker who'd since gone AWOL. Unreachable. Convenient.

I didn't respond. But as I swiped back, my finger slipped, landing me on her Moments feed.

The latest post was from thirty minutes ago.

Leo sat on the sofa in our villa, drinking soup. Behind him, I could see the oil painting I'd paid a fortune for at auction, and the handcrafted Italian rug I'd had custom-made.

But what made my vision blur with rage was Virginia.

She was wearing my favorite sleepwear. My slippers.

Beaming, she leaned against him, one hand holding up her phone, the other flashing a peace sign.

The caption read:

"Finally able to take care of you while you're sick. Even though I've been misunderstood, the truth speaks for itself. Homemade bone broth, made with loveget well soon. "

I screenshot it and sent it to Leo:

"Living in MY house. Wearing MY clothes. Getting cozy with MY husband. And you call this 'innocent'?!"

His reply came instantly:

"Gladys, she got her clothes dirty making me soup. She's just borrowing something temporarily. She meant well. Don't overthink it."

I laugheda cold, hollow sound.

"Meant well?"

"More like the soup was an excuse to worm her way into our home and into your bed. Wearing my clothes, playing housewhat, does she think if she plays the cuckoo long enough, she'll graduate from mistress to wife?"

"Do you have to be so harsh?"

Leo's tone shifted, an edge creeping in:

"You're never around. She came specifically to take care of me. Would it kill you to show a little grace?"

"Gladys, you weren't like this before. When did you become so aggressive? So cold?"

I stared at the screen, so furious I almost laughed.

Aggressive? Cold?

When James Group's cash flow collapsed, it was my aggression that drove my team through a month of sleepless nights to secure the investment that saved his company.

When his father was critically ill, it was this cold woman who shelved a multi-billion-dollar acquisition to spend two weeks sleeping in a hospital chair by his bedside.

He used to say he admired my boldness in business. My decisiveness. My killer instinct.

Now that he had a sweet, gentle little angel by his side, suddenly I was too harsh? Too cold?

Aunt Diane Harding insisted I stay to keep her company, so it wasn't until the third day that I caught the earliest flight home.

The fingerprint lock hadn't been changed.

But my fingerprint had been deleted.

I stood at my own front door and rang the bell.

Virginia answered.

This time, she wore Leo's dress shirt. The hem barely grazed her thighs. Her hair hung wet and tousled, like she'd just stepped out of the shower.

"Gladys?" She widened her eyes in practiced surprise. "You're back? Leo's still sleeping..."

I cut her off.

"Last I checked, I don't need permission to enter my own home."

"Move."

"That's not what I meant." She planted herself in the doorway, chin lifted in defiance.

"But Mr. James is still resting, and you seem upset, Gladys. I was worried you might disturb him..."

I didn't waste my breath on her. I shoved her aside.

"Move."

Leo woke from the commotion and emerged from the bedroom on his crutches.

Seeing the tension crackling between us, he frowned.

"What's going on?"

Virginia's tears spilled before she could even speak.

"Mr. James, I'm so sorry. You were exhausted last night, and I just wanted to let you sleep longer. I didn't mean to offend Gladys."

She sobbed in little hiccups, the picture of a bullied bunny.

But her ears were flushed a telling crimson.

Leo turned his head to cough twice before speaking.

"Gladys, you've really misunderstood Virginia. Apologize to her."

I ignored him and sat down on the sofa.

My gaze drifted to the display shelf. The framed photo of Leo and me was gone.

In its place sat a glass jar filled with paper wishing starsfolded by Virginia's own hands.

Scattered across the coffee table were undergarments that didn't belong to me.

"No wonder you blocked me at the door. You two have been busy, haven't you?"

Virginia rushed over, crying as she gathered the lingerie.

"These are mineI washed them, I was just drying them here..."

"In the living room?"

I let out a cold laugh.

"With a broken leg, Leo, can you still keep her satisfied?"

Virginia's face flooded scarlet. She stammered, "Gladys, youyou really have the wrong idea. Mr. James and I... we haven't done anything."

"Enough!"

Leo glared at me, irritation sharpening his voice.

"Gladys, do you have to humiliate her with such vulgar remarks?"

"She's just an innocent young woman. Unlike youyour head is full of nothing but schemes!"

I looked up at him.

"What exactly am I scheming?"

"You're scheming how to humiliate her, how to destroy her reputation, how to make me bend to your every whim, orbiting around you and you alone!"

Leo's voice rose with each word.

"Yes, I let her staybut nothing happened between us!"

"She took care of me. I'm grateful to her. It's that simple! Why do you insist on assuming the worst about everyone?"

"I couldn't care less whether people's hearts are pure or rotten."

I pulled out a folder.

"What I do care about is this: six months ago, you used James Group funds and resources to open a luxury auto dealership for her. Twenty million dollarsmarked as 'charitable investment.'"

"Tell me, Leodid you get board approval? Embezzling company funds to keep your mistress. How does that charge sound?"

Leo's face turned ashen.

"You investigated me? She's not my mistress!"

"Then what is she?"

I stood and walked toward Virginia.

"Ms. Matthews, why don't you tell mewhat exactly are you?"

Virginia bit her lip.

"I... I just admire Mr. James. I'm grateful for his help. That's why I came to take care of him for a couple of days..."

"Admire him enough to wear my clothes and sleep in my bed?"

I gestured toward the master bedroom, its door left ajar.

"Leo, I saw both of you come out of that room with my own eyes. Explain that."

Leo's jaw tightened.

"Believe what you want. Virginia slept on the floor to take care of me. Nothing happened!"

"I don't care whether you slept together or not."

I tucked the folder away and placed a divorce agreement on the coffee table. My tone left no room for negotiation.

"Leo, return full ownership of the dealership. Sign these papers like a good boy. Assets will be divided per our prenup. We end this with dignity."

"Refuse, and I'll sue you for embezzlement and adultery. I'll report everything to the board. Care to guess whether those old foxes will seize the chance to throw you out?"