“Happy anniversary, babe!” I murmured, slipping my arms around his waist from behind. “I can’t believe it’s been five years already.”
He gave my hand a quick pat, barely turning his head. “Time flies when you’re building an empire.”
I rested my cheek against his back for a moment. “I was thinking we could close the office early today. Celebrate properly in the evening, you know!”
“Can’t,” he replied without looking at me, glancing at his watch. “Big client coming in. Maybe this weekend?”
That finally got his attention. He turned and gave me a look, one that almost seemed fond. “That’s my girl. Always thinking ahead.” He kissed my forehead like everything was normal, then grabbed his briefcase. “Don’t wait up tonight. Client dinner.”
Another client dinner? That made it the fourth one just this week alone.
“Right,” I responded, my voice flat but steady. “Good luck.”
My phone buzzed, pulling me from my thoughts. It was a message from Megan, my assistant.
“Running late. Traffic. Sorry!”
I typed back quickly: “No problem. Take your time.”
“Surprise him,” I whispered with a hopeful little smirk. “What a concept!”
But as it turns out, I wasn’t going to be the one doing the surprising that day.
The office was still mostly empty when I arrived. It was early, and most of the staff hadn’t shown up yet. I carefully balanced two cups of coffee and a bag of fresh pastries as I made my way down the familiar hallway that led to Ethan’s corner office.
My pace slowed as I got closer to Ethan’s office. The blinds on the glass wall weren’t fully shut, and through the small gaps, I could see just enough.
Megan hadn’t been stuck in traffic at all. She was sitting on Ethan’s desk, skirt hitched up, his hands wrapped around her waist, and her fingers tangled in his hair as he leaned in, kissing her neck like no one else existed.
Neither of them noticed me. I took a slow step back, then another. My mind felt strangely calm, even as I started mentally recording every little detail—her lipstick smeared on his collar, the wedding ring still on his hand, and the family photo turned face-down on his desk.
Everything had been arranged just so. As if this wasn’t the first time.
Then, with one deep breath, I picked up my phone and called the first name in my contacts list.
“Jack? It’s Chloe. Are you still practicing family law?”
“Chloe? Yeah, I am. Everything okay?”
“No. But it will be. I need a divorce lawyer, and I need a business strategy. Can you meet today?”
“I’ll clear my schedule. My office in an hour?”
“Perfect. And Jack? Thank you.”
If Ethan wanted a battle, then so be it. He was about to find out just how skilled I could be.
“Game on,” I whispered, my grip tightening on the steering wheel.
*
“He wanted what?” Jack leaned back in his chair, blinking as I laid everything out for him in detail.
I took a slow sip of water. The ice clinked in my glass as I watched him take it all in. “The whole company. He asked to be listed as co-owner back when I first launched Wildflower.”
“Yes. But two years ago, I let him talk me into changing the paperwork and making him the co-owner for ‘investor relations.’ His name is on everything now.”
“So what do you want to do?” he asked, ready to write down my answer.
“I want to give him exactly what he wants.” I said, sliding a folder across the desk.
“Three months ago, before I even suspected he was cheating, I noticed some… discrepancies in how he was handling things. So I started preparing a contingency.”
He opened the folder and quickly looked over the incorporation documents. Inside were details of a new company I had secretly prepared over the past few months, just in case.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just… ready. For months, I had that gut feeling… late nights at ‘client dinners’ and texts he’d hide the second I walked in. But the truth slapped me after our five-year anniversary today. And now, it’s time to execute my plan…”
Jack paused for a moment, watching me closely. “He really has no idea who he’s dealing with, does he?”
“No. But he’s about to find out.”
*
That night, I placed a large envelope on our kitchen counter. “These are divorce papers. I’ve already signed my part. I know about you and Megan.”
Ethan just stared at it for a moment, then picked it up. I turned back to the cutting board and went back to chopping vegetables for dinner like nothing had happened.
“Long enough. I saw you in your office… with her.”
He pulled out the divorce papers, skimming the first few lines, confusion slowly creeping across his face. “So you’re really doing this.”
“Yes.”
“Because of one mistake?”
“It wasn’t one mistake, Ethan. It was five years of mistakes.”
He looked up at me with a sharp glint in his eyes. “I want the business. All of it.”
“You want Wildflower?”
“It’s as much mine as it is yours. More, considering I’ve been the face of it for years.”
I calmly set the knife down, wiped my hands on a towel, and pulled a second folder from my bag. I placed it gently on the kitchen counter between us.
“Transfer of ownership. Full rights to Wildflower Boutique.” I said evenly, nudging the papers toward him. “Already drawn up. I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“I—” He blinked, caught off guard by how calm I was. “I expected a fight.”
I gave a soft shrug, scooping the peppers I’d chopped into a bowl. “Why fight? You’ve made it clear where your priorities lie.”
“Is this about Megan?”
“This isn’t about Megan. This is about you and me. About what we built and what you destroyed.”
“I’m not giving up. I’m moving on. There’s a difference.”
“To what? You think you can start over at fifty?”
“I guess we’ll see,” I said, turning my attention back to dinner. “The papers are all in order. You get the company. I get the house. Clean break.”
“Fine! I’ll have my lawyer review these.”
“Of course.”
I didn’t even glance up. My knife kept a steady rhythm against the cutting board. “Goodbye, Ethan.”
*
We signed the papers a week later in Jack’s office. Ethan brought along a high-powered attorney—a woman in a sleek navy suit who glanced at me with a mix of confusion and sympathy. She had no idea what was really going on.
“This all seems in order,” she said as she flipped through the documents. “Though I must say, this settlement greatly favors my client.”
“I’m aware,” I said, taking the pen Jack handed me. “I just want this over with.”
“No hard feelings, Chloe. You built something special with Wildflower. I’ll take good care of it.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Just before he walked out of the conference room, Jack’s assistant handed him a small gift-wrapped box.
“What’s this?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Just a parting gift,” I replied, smiling. “For new beginnings.”
Was it a little petty? Sure. But after five long years of being constantly dismissed, overlooked, and underestimated, I figured I had earned one small jab.
“Goodbye, Ethan,” I said as I walked out of that building without once looking back.
*
Three months later, my new chapter had fully begun. I had a fresh office space—a beautiful, sunlit loft with exposed beams and large windows. It was buzzing with energy and creativity.
“Perfect timing,” I replied, standing up. “Is Marcus here yet?”
“Conference room B with the whole team.”
I followed her down the hallway, my heels tapping lightly on the polished concrete floors. Through the glass conference room wall, I saw the team deep in discussion over our upcoming line.
“Chloe! These new designs are incredible. The quality is even better than before.”
I ran my hand across one of the fabric samples laid out before us. “We’ve gone back to our original suppliers. The ones who believe in craftsmanship over cutting corners.”
“Smart move. By the way, have you heard?”
“Heard what?”
“Wildflower missed their delivery deadline last week. Rumor has it they’re having supplier issues.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, and that’s not all. Word on the street is the IRS is taking a very close look at their books.”
What Ethan hadn’t realized was that she left behind a treasure trove—meticulous notes on every corner he cut, every deadline he missed, and every legal warning he ignored while trying to make the brand flashier.
“How unfortunate! Now, shall we review the Anderson collection?”
As the meeting went on, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Jack: “It’s happening. IRS agents at Wildflower this morning.”
“How bad?”
“Three years of questionable filings. Plus unpaid payroll taxes for the last six months. They’ve frozen the business accounts.”
“And Ethan?”
“In full panic mode.”
“Well, looks like his messes are catching up with him fast.”
“Yeah, heard most of the staff quit this morning!” Jack added with a dry chuckle.
“Where will they go?” I asked, keeping my tone light.
“As if you don’t know!”
I grinned. “I need to get back to my meeting.”
“Of course. Oh, and Chloe? Megan came looking for a job at my office today.”
“Yes. Apparently, being a bankrupt boss’s girlfriend wasn’t as secure a position as she thought.”
“How tragic,” I replied with a hint of sarcasm. “Thanks for the update, Jack.”
When I returned to the room, the team hadn’t missed a beat. They were still tossing around fabric suggestions, adjusting timelines, and tweaking rollout plans. It felt like the start of something solid and new.
I nodded, heart full. “Everything is exactly as it should be.”
He noticed me while I was waiting for my drink. After hesitating for a second, he walked over with a small, uncertain smile.
“Chloe.”
We stood there for a moment, neither of us quite knowing what to say. The barista finally called out my name. I stepped up to grab my coffee and turned to face him again.
“Been better,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “The business… it’s gone. Bankruptcy.”
“I heard.”
He narrowed his eyes at me slightly, like he was trying to read my expression. “I bet you did. Funny how everything fell apart right after you left.”
“Is it?” I replied, taking a calm sip of my drink and meeting his gaze without flinching.
“You knew, didn’t you? About the tax issues. The supplier contracts coming due.”
“I tried to tell you for years that you were cutting corners, Ethan. You never listened.”
“No. This was a consequence… for taking credit for work you didn’t do. For believing you were entitled to success you didn’t earn.”
He just stared at me, and for the first time, I think he finally saw me clearly. Not the version of me that had quietly stood behind him, but the woman I had become without him.
“You’ve changed.”
“No,” I corrected softly. “I’ve always been this person. You just never bothered to notice.”
“I should go,” I said with a quick glance back at Ethan. “My team is waiting.”
“Your team?”
“Yes, my new company. We’re doing quite well. Turns out I’m not ‘too emotional’ for business after all.”
I walked past him without another word. Then I paused and looked over my shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry it ended this way.”
As I stepped out into the sunlight with Lisa beside me, I felt weightless. It wasn’t just about Ethan’s fall—it was about me finally standing tall and whole on my own.
“Ancient history,” I answered with a quiet laugh, looping my arm through hers. “Come on. We have a future to build.”
It was about me. And that? That was something he could never steal, no matter how hard he tried.
This story is based on real-life inspiration, though names and some details have been changed for privacy and storytelling purposes. The events described have been fictionalized to create a compelling narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.
The views expressed belong solely to the characters in the story and not to the author or publisher. This story is shared “as is,” and is meant for entertainment purposes only.
