Chapter 1: The Mall Awakening

My six-year-old daughter Emily blurted, "I'm getting a new mommy!" while my son Jacob smirked.

"Oh my God, Nate—your sister? Pregnant with your kid? You sick bastard!" I screamed across the restaurant, my voice cracking like thunder as heads snapped around.

For eight years, I'd slaved like a nanny in our home—cooking, cleaning, raising Jacob and Emily—while he dismissed me as worthless. My own kids sneered, calling me lazy and saying I'd never measure up to their Aunt Chloe. Even his venomous mother Barbara spat insults, grinding me under her heel like dirt. Betrayed by them all, I finally snapped.

Little did they know, my mom's $100 million inheritance unlocked the second I divorced that cheat. From doormat wife to billionaire, I rose—exposing their lies, reclaiming my life.

Game over, asshole. Time to watch you beg.

Vivian's POV

"A thousand bucks? Are you kidding me, Mom?"

Jacob's voice cut through the luxury department store like a whip, his eight-year-old outrage echoing off the marble floors in the women's section. Heads turned from every well-dressed shopper, and I felt my face flush with embarrassment.

"Jacob, watch your language—" I started, but he barreled right over me.

"You just dropped two grand on gaming setup and twelve hundred on Emily's designer sneakers without blinking, and now you're freaking out over Mom getting something nice for herself?" Rachel's tone was sharp as she stepped between us, arms crossed.

The cashmere coat draped over my arm felt like a lead weight now. The sales associate, a polite woman in her fifties, had been all smiles. "It's gorgeous on you, Mrs. Pryor. Really highlights your natural elegance."

Natural elegance. When was the last time anyone called me that?

"That's different," Emily chimed in from the three-way mirror, twisting her feet to admire her new kicks. At six, she already had Nathaniel's knack for making me feel small. "We're kids. We need stuff for school and activities."

"And I'm an adult who might need things too," I murmured, but my words lacked punch. Years of Nathaniel dismissing my art as "expensive doodles" and reminding me I didn't "pull my weight financially" had worn me down.

Jacob glanced up from his brand-new gaming console—the top-of-the-line model with all the bells and whistles—and rolled his eyes. "But you don't even work, Mom. Dad's the one earning the money we spend."

'All the money.' As if the inheritance funding this trip didn't count. As if my occasional book illustrations—bringing in a few hundred bucks here and there—weren't "real work" in Nathaniel's eyes.

"Actually, Jacob," Rachel said with mock sweetness, "Mom just got paid for her latest commission. That's her money."

Emily wrinkled her nose. "What commission? You mean those drawings she does in the basement?"

"They're paintings," I corrected softly, feeling foolish for even saying it.

"Whatever." Jacob stood, suddenly looking taller than his eight years. "The point is, you don't have a real job. Dad works hard at the agency while you stay home messing with paints. You shouldn't waste money on fancy clothes when you don't even go anywhere."

The sales associate's smile tightened. Other customers were openly eavesdropping now, pretending to browse while soaking in our family meltdown.

"My sneakers cost more than your coat," Emily bragged, as if that sealed it. "But I'll wear them to school and dance class and everywhere. When would you even wear that?"

'When would you wear that?' The question stung. To the grocery store? To parent-teacher meetings where I'd sit mute while Nathaniel boasted about Jacob's "huge potential" or Emily's "artistic flair"?

"You know what's funny?" I said, my voice gaining strength. "Your dad spent fifteen minutes yesterday bragging to his coworkers about his sophisticated taste—how he can spot real talent from a mile away."

"Dad does have good taste," Emily defended. "He says Aunt Chloe is the next big thing."

Of course. Chloe, his precious sister, who couldn't draw a stick figure but had him convinced she was a genius. I'd seen her latest "masterpiece"—a canvas that looked like a paint explosion, titled something pretentious like "Emotional Chaos in Blue."

"Your father," I said evenly, "once told me Van Gogh was 'too obvious' and Jackson Pollock was 'just a mess.'"

Jacob snorted. "So?"

"So his taste isn't as refined as he thinks."

"At least he has a career," Emily fired back. "At least people respect what he does."

That hit hard. I stared at my daughter—the little girl I'd rocked to sleep, taught to mix colors at three—and saw a stranger. A pint-sized bully who'd mastered the art of cutting deep.

"You're right," I said at last. "I should be more careful with money."

Rachel grabbed my arm. "Vivian, don't—"

But I was already heading to the registers, brushing past the stunned sales associate and the gawking shoppers. Jacob and Emily scrambled after me, panic setting in.

"Wait, where are you going?" Emily's voice pitched high.

"To return your things," I said calmly. "Since my money's apparently worthless, I shouldn't waste it on people who think so little of how I earn it."

The video game store was three doors down. The bored teen behind the counter perked up as I marched in with Jacob's gaming haul.

"I need to return this," I declared.

"Mom, no!" Jacob lunged for the bag, but I yanked it away.

"You said it yourself—I don't work, so I shouldn't spend. Congrats, you've opened my eyes."

Emily burst into tears, real sobs that drew stares. "This isn't fair! You're being mean!"

"Am I?" I turned to them. "Five minutes ago, you were telling me I don't deserve nice things without a 'real job.' Funny how that logic flips when it's your stuff on the line."

The employee eyed us warily. "Ma'am, got the receipt?"

I handed it over. Two thousand and change—nearly what I'd earned from my last three illustrations combined. The ones Nathaniel called "cute scribbles" when he noticed them at all.

"Please process it," I said.

Jacob gripped my wrist—hard. "Mom, stop. You're embarrassing us."

I looked at his hand, then his face. There was Nathaniel: the same entitled glare, the same assumption that his needs trumped my dignity.

"Let go," I said quietly.

He didn't.

"Let go," I repeated, louder. "Or Emily's sneakers go back too."

He released me like I'd shocked him.

The return dragged on for fifteen agonizing minutes—Emily wailing, Jacob begging then sulking, me standing stone-still. When the employee handed back my card, a long-forgotten rush hit me.

We trudged to the car in silence. Rachel had snagged her dress—a stunning burgundy number that made her look red-carpet ready—and clutched it like armor while the kids trailed like defeated soldiers.

"You know," Rachel said as we loaded the SUV, "your mom would be proud."

I glanced at her. "My mom wore gowns worth a fortune to gallery openings. I just returned some gadgets."

"Your mom," Rachel insisted, "never let anyone diminish her. And she damn sure never let anyone say her work didn't count."

I pictured the canvases piled in my basement studio—the ones Nathaniel deemed "clutter," the kids called "Mom's junk." The ones I painted at 2 a.m., free from judgment.

"I want a divorce," I blurted.