Evil Ex–Wife
A car crash landed me smack–dab in the middle
of a cheesy romance novel, as the villainous
ex–wife of the rich and powerful CEO.
Remembering the original character’s tragic
ending, I signed the divorce papers faster than
you can say “alimony.” My ex–husband, Jason,
his face went dark. “Ashley,” he said, his voice.
like ice, “are you absolutely sure about this?”
My heart skipped a beat, and I clutched my
purse tighter. Hell yeah, I was sure. That sweet,
sweet settlement money? I wasn’t giving a cent
back.
It took three days in the hospital bed to accept
the reality of my situation. Me, Ashley, a regular
college student, was now living the life of a
walking cliché in some ridiculous romance
novel. I was the ex–wife, spoiled rotten and
used to getting my way thanks to my family’s
fortune. I’d fallen head–over–heels for Jason,
the classic handsome, talented, but poor–as-
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dirt hero, at freshman orientation. I’d chased.
him relentlessly, manipulating him into marrying me. Jason’s dad was deaf, his mom was on dialysis, and he’d only married me because he
was desperate for the money to pay her
medical bills.
Five years of marriage saw Jason rise from a
nobody to a business tycoon. Our relationship. however, tanked. He was slipping out of my
control, but I was too clueless to notice, still
acting like a spoiled brat. Until I pushed his true.
love, Melissa, down the stairs, breaking her leg.
That’s when Jason finally snapped and filed for
divorce. And that’s when I got hit by a car.
Jason showed up on the third day, tossing the
divorce papers at me. “Ashley,” he’d said, his
voice dripping with disdain, “haven’t you caused
enough trouble?” Despite his coldness, my
heart did a little flutter when I saw his face. I
had to give the original Ashley credit
was seriously hot. Then I glanced at the
the guy
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settlement amount and nearly had a heart
attack. Holy crap. I was rich!
My family had money, sure, but I had a younger brother, so inheriting the family business was out of the question. Jason, on the other hand, had built a serious fortune in just a few years. The divorce settlement was insane. Karma,
apparently, was a bitch, and I was reaping the rewards. After calculating my newfound riches, I fought back a grin, pretending to be
heartbroken. “Okay,” I whispered, “I’ll agree to the divorce.” Jason was taken aback. He clearly
hadn’t expected me to cave so easily. But I
wasn’t going to miss this opportunity! Before
he could change his mind, I scribbled my
signature on the dotted line. He frowned.
suspiciously. “You…”
I turned away, dabbing at nonexistent tears.
“I’ve thought it over, Jason. Let’s just… let each.
other go.” He stood there silently for a long
moment. I was about to crawl back under the
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covers and count my money again when I
realized he was still staring at the signed.
papers. “Aren’t you leaving?” I asked. He looked
- up. “Shouldn’t you, uh, go see Melissa? Her leg.
is still healing, right?” His face darkened.
I got a little nervous. Was he having second
thoughts about giving me so much money? Tool
late, buddy, I’d already signed! Besides, with
me being so understanding and all, he
practically owed it to me. Back in college,
Jason had a “the one that got away”
Melissa.
The polar opposite of the spoiled rich girl, she
was sweet, gentle, and understanding. She
came from a single–parent family and struggled
financially, but she was smart and driven. She
and Jason were cut from the same cloth,
kindred spirits. If it hadn’t been for me, they would’ve been together, building their happily- ever–after. I’d ruined that. The original Ashley was insanely jealous of Melissa, constantly harassing her, culminating in the infamous.
stair–pushing incident. That’s when Jason
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finally dumped her for good. It didn’t take a
genius to figure out that, having pissed off both the hero and the heroine, my future as the villainous ex–wife was bleak. So, yeah, I was taking the money and running.
Jason finally stormed out. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “Someone’s got a temper…” But the thought of all that money quickly cheered me up. I grabbed my phone and started browsing online, planning my post- hospital shopping spree. Then, a text from
Chad popped up. “Heard Jason finally dragged himself to see you?” Classic Chad, my
childhood friend and resident party animal. He
never liked Jason, and the feeling was mutual.
Especially after Jason and I got married, their
families were forced to interact more, and
Chad’s grandpa never missed an opportunity to
compare Jason unfavorably to Chad. Chad
thought I was crazy for marrying Jason and
kept telling me to dump him. He was obviously
texting to gloat. Did I care? Hell no. I was too
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“Yeah,” I typed back, attaching a picture of the
signed divorce papers. “Single and ready to
mingle. Dinner’s on you.” Chad: ??? He called
me immediately. “Are you insane?!” Geez, talk
nice. “Heading to the courthouse as soon as I’m discharged,” I said. Thankfully, the car crash wasn’t too serious, just a mild
concussion. “Don’t you have a little something to celebrate with?” Chad paused, then
chuckled. “Alright, alright. What does the newly
single Ms. Moneybags have in mind?” “Heard
you opened a new bar?”
