The Billionaire’s Biggest Mistake: Losing Her Novel – The piercing sound of an ambulance siren cut through the bustling city streets. Anna Morgan lay inside the ambulance, her consciousness gradually fading. The muffled voices of doctors and nurses reached her ears. A nurse took her phone, and soon, Anna heard the nurse making a call— “Is this Mrs. Anna Morgan’s husband? Your wife has been in a car accident and is on her way to the hospital. Please…” “Is she dead?” The nurse’s voice was interrupted by the cold, emotionless tone of the man on the other end of the line. The nurse hesitated for a moment, instinctively replying, “Not yet.” “I’m busy. Let me know when she’s dead so I can arrange to collect the body.” “Hello…?” Beeeeep. Before the nurse could finish speaking, the line went dead. The harsh tone reverberated through the ambulance, mocking Anna Morgan’s misguided affection from every angle. Even though she felt her consciousness slipping away, she could still hear Charles Bennett’s words clearly, as if they were engraved in her mind.
She let out a bitter laugh and slowly closed her eyes. Enough. Some people’s hearts are cold from the start; how foolish was she to think she could ever warm his? Her hand finally fell limply to her side. “The patient’s heart has stopped beating…” Anna Morgan sat up in bed, staring blankly at her smooth, unscathed hands. Her fair skin showed no signs of injury. What’s going on? Hadn’t she been in a car accident and rushed to the hospital? Why, then, was she waking up in her own bedroom without a scratch on her? At that moment, an unbelievable thought struck her. She quickly looked up at the clock on the wall. The time displayed was— January 1, 2024. Had she… been reborn? Though it was the kind of scenario that only happened in novels, it was the only explanation for why she was perfectly fine in her bedroom, and why the clock showed a time from a year ago. Was this Heaven’s way of giving her a second chance, allowing her to make a different choice? She thought of the cold, heartless words Charles Bennett had said before her death and let out a self-mocking laugh.
Suddenly, something came to her mind. She turned and opened the bedside drawer. “As expected…” Anna Morgan sneered as her eyes fell on the bold words: “Divorce Agreement.” This was the document that Charles Bennett’s lawyer had sent over yesterday. Even when it came to discussing divorce, Charles couldn’t be bothered to talk to her in person. In her previous life, she had stubbornly refused to sign the divorce papers, leading to an increasingly strained relationship with Charles. For an entire year, Charles barely came home, and even when he did, he wouldn’t say a word to her. She never understood what she was holding onto, insisting on maintaining a marriage that was dead in all but name. She had clung to the hope that as long as she remained Charles Bennett’s wife, she would eventually win his heart. But in reality, even as she lay dying in a car accident, Charles couldn’t be bothered to ask after her, and even… wished for her death.
Thinking of this, Anna Morgan felt a familiar dull ache in her heart. Charles Bennett was like an executioner wielding a blade, expertly and ruthlessly cutting her heart to pieces over and over again. Even though the pain was unbearable, she had refused to let go. The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed. She reached into the drawer, pulled out the divorce agreement, and read it carefully. While Charles Bennett had no love for her, he was indeed generous. The divorce settlement alone was enough to ensure that she could live in luxury for several lifetimes. After reading through the divorce agreement, she went to the study. When she emerged from the study, she was holding a file folder. She then made a call to Charles Bennett’s lawyer. “Attorney Brian Peterson, I’ve signed the divorce agreement and made a few modifications.
Please have Charles Bennett review them. If there are no issues, have him sign it.” — Bennett Global Enterprises. The door to the CEO’s office was knocked upon. “Come in.” Bennett Global Enterprises’ chief legal counsel, Brian Peterson, pushed open the door, carrying a file folder as he walked toward Charles Bennett. His expression held a hint of complexity. Charles Bennett looked up from his paperwork and, seeing Brian Peterson, asked casually, “She still refuses to sign?” His voice seemed to carry an inherent chill, and even when discussing divorce, his face showed no trace of emotion. “No, Mrs. Morgan has already signed, but…” Brian Peterson paused. “But what?” “Mrs. Morgan made some modifications to the property division.”
Brian Peterson handed the file to Charles Bennett. “Hah! Does she think I haven’t given her enough?” Charles Bennett sneered. As expected, she was just another greedy woman. No matter how much she claimed to love him, that love couldn’t surpass the allure of money. Brian Peterson pressed his lips together, saying nothing. Charles Bennett didn’t wait for him to speak further. But when he opened the divorce agreement signed by Anna Morgan, he was momentarily stunned. This agreement, compared to the stack of papers detailing the assets he had divided for her before, consisted of only one page. It stated that Anna Morgan would leave with nothing—she was waiving all claims. Additionally, there was a “Stock Transfer Agreement,” which specified that the 5% stake in Bennett Global Enterprises that she held was to be transferred to Charles Bennett without compensation, along with a notarized document from the public office.
So, the Anna Morgan who had vehemently refused to divorce him yesterday, today had not only signed the papers but was also willing to walk away with nothing? And on top of that, she was giving him back what should have been hers. For a moment, Charles Bennett’s expression froze, unable to place what he was feeling. What game is Anna Morgan playing now? “What else did she say?” Charles Bennett found it hard to believe that Anna Morgan would agree to the divorce so easily. A woman who had gone through so much to become Mrs. Bennett, the wife of Bennett Global Enterprises’ CEO, wouldn’t just give up her position without a fight. His frown deepened as he tightly gripped the divorce agreement, the paper crumpling slightly under the pressure of his hand. Michael Collins, his assistant, noticed the tension in Charles’s face and assumed that Anna Morgan had made unreasonable demands in her modifications, pushing the limits. Internally, Michael began to harbor a quiet disdain for Anna. He had been present when the CEO had instructed Brian Peterson to draft the original divorce agreement and knew that Anna had been more than fairly compensated.
If she still wasn’t satisfied, Michael began to wonder if Anna’s love for Charles was ever genuine or if it was always about the wealth and status he represented. Curious, Michael sneaked a glance at the revised divorce agreement, expecting to find a list of demands. Instead, like Charles, he was stunned. Anna wanted nothing—not even the shares that the old man had gifted her, which she was now returning to the CEO. Michael was baffled. How could Anna Morgan, who once seemed so attached to her status and lifestyle, now be walking away with nothing, even giving the CEO a parting gift of sorts? The 5% shares of BGE might not seem like much on paper, but the annual dividends alone would have allowed her to live in luxury for the rest of her life. “Nothing else, sir. Mrs. Morgan only asked that you arrange a time to finalize the divorce at the courthouse,” Brian Peterson said. Rather than bringing Charles Bennett any sense of satisfaction or relief, Brian’s words only deepened the unsettling feeling gnawing at him. “Leave me,” Charles Bennett ordered, his tone brooking no argument.
Brian Peterson and Michael Collins quickly exited the office, leaving Charles alone with his thoughts. Once alone, his expression darkened further. Leaning back in his leather chair, the coldness in his eyes deepened as he processed what had just transpired. He refused to believe that Anna Morgan had genuinely agreed to the divorce. The same woman who was adamant about keeping the marriage intact just yesterday had suddenly changed her mind overnight? Charles let out a bitter, cynical laugh, setting aside the divorce agreement that Brian Peterson had brought him. An unexplainable anxiety churned in his chest, a sensation so foreign to him that he didn’t know how to handle it. He reached for the work on his desk, hoping to distract himself, but for the first time in his life, he found himself unable to concentrate.
The words on the page blurred together, meaningless. “Madam, are you going somewhere?” A servant asked when she noticed Anna Morgan descending the stairs with a suitcase in hand. Everyone in the Bennett household was aware that Anna and Charles Bennett’s relationship was strained. Even the ladies at the Bennett family’s ancestral home knew that the eldest son had been coerced into the marriage by the old patriarch. Now that the old man had passed, Mr. Bennett had filed for divorce. It was no surprise that the mood in the house was somber, especially for a woman who had loved her husband so deeply that she would have given her life for him. Recalling the lawyer’s visit yesterday, who had bluntly discussed the divorce in front of the servants, Juan Rodriguez couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for Anna Morgan. There were rumors that Mrs. Bennett was nothing more than a stand-in for the man’s true love, a mere substitute.
And now, it seemed those rumors were true. “No, I’m moving out,” Anna Morgan replied with a soft smile. “Thank you for taking care of me this past year, Juan Rodriguez.” Anna had never been a difficult mistress to serve. The only thing that ever truly bothered her was anything related to Charles Bennett. “Are you really leaving, madam?” Anna nodded, the smile never leaving her face, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She suppressed the brief stab of pain in her chest and continued walking toward the door. After taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped, as if remembering something, and turned back to Juan Rodriguez. “Oh, and could you arrange for the crabapple trees in the garden to be removed?” “What? But madam, you planted those yourself…” Juan Rodriguez frowned in confusion. “Cut them down. Charles Bennett doesn’t like them,” she replied simply.
Since the divorce was final, it was better to leave cleanly without leaving anything behind that might irritate Charles. With those words, Anna Morgan walked away without a backward glance, leaving behind a house that had never truly been a home. When Charles Bennett returned home later that day, the first thing he noticed was a digger in the yard, uprooting the crabapple trees that had been a fixture in the garden. His face instantly darkened, an icy fury settling in his chest. “What’s going on here?!” he demanded, his voice sharp. “Sir, you’re back,” Juan Rodriguez hurried over, sensing the tension radiating from Charles. “It was the madam’s order. She said…” “What did she say?” Charles interrupted, his tone dangerously calm. “She said you didn’t like them,” Juan Rodriguez replied cautiously, watching as Charles’s expression softened slightly.
Gathering his courage, he added, “The madam… she has already left.” Left? The word echoed in Charles’s mind, and with it came the same unsettling anxiety that had plagued him at the office earlier. It twisted in his chest, making it hard to breathe. But he kept his face impassive, merely responding with a heavy “Hmm” before heading inside. Just before stepping through the door, he paused and added, “Stop the work and restore everything to how it was.” “Yes, sir,” Juan Rodriguez replied, though he was thoroughly confused. Everyone knew that Charles Bennett had never liked the madam, so why was he suddenly so concerned about the garden she had nurtured?