Chapter 3 — Grace Takes Back Her Life
The next day was the signing ceremony for the Harrington Group merger.
The hotel ballroom was packed with investors, reporters, and business partners. Daniel appeared in a black suit, his face tired but still trying to look composed. His mother sat in the front row, her eyes swollen from crying.
Maya was also there, wearing a white dress and red lipstick, sitting in a corner like someone who was sure she had already won.
Everyone was waiting for Daniel to step onto the stage and sign the contract that would return the Harrington family to the top.
But before the ceremony began, the ballroom doors opened.
Grace walked in.
She wore a cream-colored suit. Her hair was neatly tied up. Her face was not heavily made up, but she looked bright enough that every eye turned toward her.
Daniel froze on the stage.
“Grace…”
Grace did not look at him.
She walked straight to the legal team’s table and placed a file in front of them.
Her lawyer stood beside her and spoke clearly:
“Before this signing ceremony proceeds, my client needs to announce that Mr. Daniel Harrington is currently involved in a legal dispute regarding marital status, asset disclosure, and the original source of investment capital for the company.”
The ballroom immediately erupted in whispers.
Maya stood up.
“Grace, are you crazy?”
Grace finally looked at her.
“No. I just stopped being silent.”
Her lawyer continued presenting the documents: the unresolved marriage certificate between Daniel and Maya, the inheritance investment Maya had made into the Harrington company, emails Daniel had sent to his private lawyer but never followed through on, and the recording in which Maya admitted she intended to use the marriage to pressure Daniel for shares.
No one in the ballroom could remain calm.
Investors whispered among themselves.
Business partners demanded that the signing be postponed.
Reporters raised their cameras.
Daniel’s mother clutched her chest and sat down.
Maya turned pale, losing her arrogance for the first time.
Daniel stepped down from the stage and walked toward Grace.
“You didn’t have to go this far,” he said, his voice hoarse.
Grace looked at him.
“You’re right. I didn’t have to. But I wanted to.”
Daniel was speechless.
Grace continued, every word clear:
“I’m not doing this to get revenge because you didn’t love me enough. I’m doing this because you used your silence to make me a fool in front of everyone. You let me live inside a marriage without truth, all to protect your company, your reputation, and yourself. Today, I’m simply returning everything to its real name.”
Daniel lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.”
Grace smiled sadly.
“Your apology is five years later than the truth.”
Maya rushed forward.
“You think this means you won? Daniel will lose everything, and you won’t get anything either!”
Grace turned to her.
“I get my freedom.”
Maya fell silent.
Grace looked at both of them one last time.
“Maya, since you wanted so badly to be his legal wife, keep that title. Daniel, since you wanted to protect your company at any cost, now face the cost yourself.”
She took the wedding ring from her pocket and placed it in Daniel’s hand.
“This no longer belongs to me.”
Then Grace turned and walked out of the ballroom.
This time, no one called after her.
Three months later, Daniel and Maya’s scandal became the hottest topic in the business world.
The merger was canceled.
The board of directors asked Daniel to temporarily step down during an internal investigation.
The Harrington family had to return part of the investment that had been hidden under the name of “personal support.”
Maya did not get what she wanted either.
The recording destroyed her negotiating power in the divorce. Her admission that she had used the marriage to apply financial pressure ruined her image. The people who once surrounded her at parties now avoided her.
And Grace?
Grace filed a petition to have her marriage to Daniel declared invalid because his previous marital status had been deliberately hidden from her.
At the same time, she refused all personal compensation from Daniel except the legal property that rightfully belonged to her.
Her father once asked:
“Don’t you want to take more? He owes you more than that.”
Grace looked out at the garden, where the hydrangeas were blooming.
“I don’t want to carry anything of his into my new life.”
May you like
For the first time in five years, Grace did not feel like someone’s wife.
She felt like herself.
