Chapter 5 - The Consequences
The dining room went deathly silent.
Vanessa’s face turned the color of ash.
Daniel lunged for the TV, his face red with pure panic.
"Turn it off!" he screamed. "She's crazy! This is a misunderstanding!"
The lead investor slowly placed his wine glass on the table.
"Is this your idea of a family man, Daniel?" the investor asked coldly. "Sleeping with the PR consultant handling our merger?"
Vanessa stood up, trying to save her career. "I can explain—"
"You don't need to," the investor interrupted. "You're both fired."
Daniel looked at me, his eyes wide with absolute horror.
For the first time in his life, there was no one to smooth over his mistake.
No one to make the excuse.
No one to wait for him.
I walked over to the table and handed him a thick manila envelope.
"What is this?" he choked out.
"Divorce papers," I said. "And an eviction notice. My name is the only one on the deed to this house."
Daniel stared at me as if I were a stranger.
"You're destroying my life," he whispered.
"No, Daniel," I replied calmly. "You have to actually be in our lives to be destroyed by us leaving."
Three months later, Emma graduated.
Daniel wasn't there.
He was too busy dealing with the fallout of the canceled merger and a brutal divorce settlement.
After the ceremony, Caleb, Emma, and I stood on the sunny campus lawn.
A photographer told us to squeeze together.
May you like
We smiled for the camera.
And for the first time, nobody left an empty space.
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