The ink on the divorce papers hadn’t even dried when Ethan Carter let out a sharp laugh and tossed a black Amex card onto the polished mahogany table.
“Take it, Emily. That’s enough to rent a tiny place somewhere cheap for a month. Think of it as payment for two wasted years.”
From the corner, his girlfriend Vanessa giggled under her breath, already picturing how she’d redecorate Ethan’s penthouse.
They thought Emily was just a nobody with nowhere to go.
They thought she was scared.
They didn’t notice the man in the charcoal suit sitting quietly at the back of the room.
They had no idea he was Alexander Reed—the owner of the building… and Emily’s father.
And they definitely didn’t realize that signing those papers had just cost Ethan everything.
The conference room at Harrison & Cole smelled of leather, stale coffee, and the quiet tension of something ending. It sat high above the city, rain streaking the windows.
Emily sat calmly on one side of the long table, hands folded in her lap. She wore a simple cream sweater, no jewelry—her wedding ring gone days ago.
Across from her sat Ethan.
Perfect suit. Expensive watch. A confident smile sharp enough to cut.
“Let’s not drag this out,” Ethan said, sliding the papers toward her. “We’re both tired. This marriage didn’t work.”
“Didn’t work…” Emily repeated softly, eyes resting on the bold title: Dissolution of Marriage.
“Don’t act like the victim,” he sighed. “You were a waitress when I met you. I thought I was helping you. Giving you a better life.”
He leaned back, smirking.
“But you never belonged in this world. You don’t know how to dress, how to talk to investors… you’re just…”
He paused, then shrugged.
“Forgettable.”
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