Victoria stopped beside Ethan’s table and looked down at him with undisguised disgust.“And you have the nerve to accuse me of cheating?” she thundered. “When you have another woman sitting right in front of you?”The woman across from Ethan immediately straightened in her seat.Her expression hardened.“Ms. Bennett, correct?” she asked coldly.Victoria’s eyes narrowed.“That accusation alone could qualify as defamation,” the woman continued. “I’ll let it go this time. But if you make another claim like that without evidence, I won’t.”Victoria’s lips curled into a mocking smile.Before she could respond, Ethan calmly looked up at her.“This is Rose Jones,” he said. “She’s one of the attorneys representing me.”Victoria froze.Her smile disappeared.That wasn't right.Ethan’s lawyer was supposed to be Charles Winston, the famous divorce attorney from The Ex-Files.Not some glamorous woman who looked like she had walked straight out of a magazine.Victoria’s eyes involuntarily swept ov

She had spent days convincing herself that Ethan was hiding marital assets. She had imagined him secretly moving money around, trying to keep his fortune away from her. She had been so certain that she could drag him back to court and take her share.But now, Ethan hadn't stolen anything. He had simply gotten rich after she was no longer his wife.Victoria's hands began to tremble. “No…” Her voice was almost inaudible.If Ethan had bought the lottery tickets after the divorce, then the winnings obviously wouldn’t be considered marital property.Victoria had never studied law, but even she understood that much. Her fingers tightened around the phone as she waited for Michael’s response.“Based on the timeline, your ex-husband probably bought the tickets either on the day of your divorce or within the two days before it,” Michael analyzed carefully. “If he bought them during those two days, then the winnings would definitely count as marital property. But if he bought them on the day th

Maple Grove had been unusually lively over the past two days.Ever since news broke that Ethan had won the lottery, the neighborhood had been buzzing with gossip. But nothing had stirred things up quite like the Bennett family's recent embarrassment.At first, the Bennetts had gone around telling everyone that Victoria would receive two hundred million dollars from Ethan.They had been so confident that some neighbors had even started treating them differently.But then the story took an unexpected turn.Ethan had bought the winning tickets after the divorce was finalized. That meant the entire four hundred million dollars belonged to him, and Victoria wasn't entitled to a single cent.The news spread like wildfire.And judging by the Bennett family's reaction, it was clear which version was true.Just yesterday, they had been strutting around Maple Grove with their chins held high, acting as though they were already part of the city's richest families.Now?Not one of them dared show

Victoria returned home feeling completely drained.The hearing had gone worse than she had imagined. From the moment Charles Winston stepped into the courtroom, he had taken control of the proceedings, presenting one piece of evidence after another until her defense was left struggling to keep up.The DNA test proving Noah wasn't Ethan's biological son had been particularly damaging. Charles had also submitted Ethan's income records and detailed accounts of their household expenses over the past four years.Every document had pushed Victoria further into a corner By the time the hearing ended, even her own lawyer had advised her to settle.She had been told to pay Ethan $410,000.Victoria sank onto the sofa and pressed her fingers against her temples.Four hundred and ten thousand dollars!Where was she supposed to get that kind of money?The amount wasn't arbitrary, either. Charles had broken everything down so carefully that there was barely any room to argue.Ethan had earned appro

The following day, Ethan was at the gym, working through another training session.Nearly ten days had passed since he started exercising regularly, and the results were finally beginning to show. His body had grown noticeably firmer, and the excess fat around his waist was gradually disappearing. When he lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face, faint lines were already visible across his abdomen.Of course, he was still a long way from developing the sharply defined eight-pack he wanted, but Ethan wasn't in a hurry. He knew that building a strong body required consistency, and with the apocalypse approaching, physical fitness was something he couldn't afford to neglect.After finishing another set, he lowered the weights and reached for his water bottle.His personal trainer stood a short distance away, watching him with a complicated expression.For almost ten days, she had been working closely with Ethan. During that time, she had tried practically everything she could thi