Once Downtrodden; Now Divine

Chapter 1

"Why won't you sign the divorce papers? Are you really that desperate for my money?"

"Desperate for your money? Jane, two years ago you promised me—you swore—that the day I got out, we'd finally have our unfinished wedding. And now... what is this?"

In the dingy visitation room of Boston State Penitentiary, Donald's fists clenched tight as he stared across the table at his wife, Jane, and the divorce agreement lying between them like a death sentence.

The woman who once said she'd love him forever now leaned back in her chair with casual contempt, savoring his pain.

Jane let out a short, cold laugh. "Wedding? Don't make me laugh. I thought you were smart enough to realize I was just stringing you along."

She raised her hand, flashing the diamond on her finger, her eyes mocking.

"Wilson Enterprises is worth hundreds of millions now, and I'm the rising star CEO of Boston's business world." Her gaze deliberately lingered on his filthy prison uniform. "You really think someone like you—a burden—deserves to see me in a wedding dress?"

Donald's shock faded into a deep frown. "A burden? You actually see me as a burden?" His jaw tightened. "I was the one who pulled you out of debt."

Three years ago, when her family's company was drowning in debt, when bankers circled like vultures, when no one believed they could rise again.

He was the one who had lifted the Wilsons from ruin, who had worked himself to the bone and sacrificed everything to keep them standing.

He had believed love mattered. He had believed she mattered. Even up until this very moment, he'd been hiding incredible news—he'd earned the favor of someone powerful inside these walls—all so he could surprise her today.

And this was how she repaid him.

Jane looked amused, as if he'd told the world's funniest joke. "You thought I cared? Maybe I did for a while—after all, you were useful. You were Wilson Enterprises' loyal dog."

Her lips twisted into a cruel smirk. "But after I met Jaxon, you became nothing."

Through the thick glass partition, Jane leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction.

“You know, Donald,” she said coldly, “I should’ve told you this sooner. I left you for Jaxon.”

The words hit like a slap.

“Jaxon?” Donald repeated quietly.

A smirk curled her lips. “Yes. Jaxon Brown."

Everyone knew Jaxon Brown. He was heir to one of Boston’s old-money dynasties.

“He has everything I want—wealth, power, influence. He is the kind of man who doesn't just attend galas—he owns them. The kind of man whose last name alone opens doors you couldn’t even dream of knocking on,” she said, her tone dripping with disdain.

“Things you could never give me in a hundred lifetimes. Why the hell would I not choose him over you?”

Donald froze. For a moment, suffocating silence hung between them.

He never imagined Jane would throw him away just because she'd latched onto some Boston's notorious playboy.

He had thought she was hardworking, honest, the kind of woman you could build a quiet life with. Now he knew—he'd been dead wrong.

After a crushing wave of sorrow, he shook his head with a bitter laugh.

"If this is what you want, fine. I'll give you what you want. I hope your money-based marriage lasts forever."

He picked up the pen, ready to sign.

But then Jane's mockery cut through him like a blade. "Give me what I want? You're a ‘rapist’, and you're lecturing ‘me’?"

Donald's hand froze mid-air. He snapped his head up, fury blazing in his eyes.

"Rapist? How dare you call me that? It was your brother John who did it—you begged me to take the fall for him to protect the Wilson family's reputation!"

His eyes burned red as he stared at her down. "I gave up everything for you, and now you throw that word at me?!"

Jane's laughter was cruel and hollow.

"You idiot. You actually thought I needed you to take the fall? You think I couldn't handle a rape charge?"

"The truth is, I already knew Jaxon two years ago. Getting you to go to prison in my brother's place—that was the plan all along.

Wilson Enterprises didn't need you as a consultant anymore, and I didn't need you as a useless husband. But you did help the Wilsons when we were desperate."

Jane laughed freely now. "So for the sake of the Wilson family's honor, we had to make you the rapist. That way I could 'reluctantly' divorce you."

In the next instant, her smile vanished completely. Her beautiful face turned cold and arrogant.

"Just sign the damn papers. If you don't cooperate, I'll ask the warden—who has quite the reputation in this hellhole—to make your last days here very miserable!"

Her words shattered him completely. Something inside him died at that moment.

Donald's eyes burned with unshed tears as he stared at her for a long time. At last, with a bitter laugh, he picked up the pen and signed.

His signature cut across the page like a fresh wound.

"You're going to regret this. You have no idea what you're giving up." He gave her a cruel smile and pushed the agreement back across the table.

His mind went back to the prison—the damp, suffocating walls and the mysterious old man he'd met there.

That man was no ordinary inmate. No one, including the warden, knew his true identity, but they all feared him and respectfully called him the Chairman. Rumor had it he was a legend who'd chosen to stay in prison to atone for his past sins.

The old man had seen potential in Donald.

Over time, he trained him, shaping him into something stronger, sharper—like steel forged in fire.

In those two years, Donald learned martial arts, medical skills, and mysticism.

The old man had even offered him the Phoenix Ring—the symbol of his power, a prize so valuable that even the vice president would kill to possess it. With it, Donald could bend the world to his will.

But he had refused. Every single time. Because all he wanted was a peaceful, happy life with Jane. He didn't want to be dragged back into that world.

That was also the reason he'd left Washington for Boston in the first place.

But Jane didn't know any of this. She just breathed a sigh of relief, snatched up the divorce papers, shoved them into her bag, and shot Donald one last contemptuous glance before standing and turning to leave. She didn't even acknowledge his words.

She walked away without looking back, completely oblivious to the warden watching her with pity from the prison corridor, and the even darker shadow standing beside him.

The shadow stirred and in a flash materialized inside the visitation room. The Chairman passed through the partition effortlessly, as naturally as water flowing through a forest.

He reached out and placed his hand firmly on Donald's shoulder.

"Master, did you foresee all of this?" Donald looked up at the Chairman in surprise.

The Chairman nodded. "I've told you time and again—avoiding conflict gets you nowhere. It only makes you weak, and the weak suffer crueler fates. If you truly want to achieve what you desire, if you want to make those who hurt you pay—"

The Chairman produced a black card etched with golden patterns, along with that antique-looking red ring Donald had seen countless times before. "Then stop refusing. Take them."

For two years, Donald's answer had been no.

But not today.

His eyes darkened as he closed his hand around the card and the ring.

"As your will, master." he said.