I caught my husband che:ating… with my assistant on our five-year anniversary. He later made me sign over my company to him during our divorce, and I did it without bleching. He thought he had won. What he didn’t know? I prepared my reve:nge plan.
“Happy anniversary, babe!” I said.
“I can’t believe it’s been five years already.”
“Time flies when you’re building an empire.”
“I was thinking we could close the office early today. Celebrate properly in the evening, you know!”
“Can’t,” he said, checking his watch. “Big client coming in. Maybe this weekend?”
“Sure. This weekend.” I said. “I’ll head to the office a little later then. Want to get those cupcakes done.”
My phone bustled with a message from my assistant, Megan.
“Running late. Traffic. Sorry!”
I texted back: “No problem. Take your time.”
I decided to surprise Ethan with coffee anyway. Maybe I could steal five minutes of his time on our anniversary… in our office!
“Surprise him,” I muttered. “What a concept!”
Little did I know, I would be the one sh0cked.
When I arrived, the office was quiet. It was too early for most of the staff. I took two coffees and a bag of pastries as I made my way down the hallway toward Ethan’s corner office.
The sound made me sh0cked… a woman’s laugh, breathy.
A sound so… familiar.
My steps slowed as I approached the glass wall of his office. The blinds were moderately
open, just enough for me to see… everything.
They didn’t hear or see me.
How convenient. How tidy.
I wnt out the building, got into my car, and sat there for nearly an hour, crying at nothing. Then, I picked up my phone and called the first person on 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.”
“Game on,” I muttered.
***
“He wanted what?” Jack said.
“The whole company. He asked to be listed as co-owner back when I first published Wildflower.”
Jack shook his head. “But YOU began Wildflower. You built it from nothing.”
“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?” Jack asked.
“I want to give him exactly what he wants.” I pulled out a folder and slid it across the desk.
Jack opened the folder and scanned the incorporation papers for a new company I was set to secretly launch.
“You already..?”
“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 sh0cked after our five-year anniversary today. And now, it’s time to take my plan…”
“He really has no idea who he’s suffering from, does he?”
“No. But he’s about to find out.”
***
That evening, I put a manila envelope across our kitchen counter. “These are divorce papers. I’ve already signed my part. I know about you and Megan.”
“How long have you known?”
“Long enough. I saw you in your office… with her.”
“So you’re really doing this.”
“Yes.”
“Because of one mistake?”
“It wasn’t one mistake, Ethan. It was five years of mistakes.”
“You want Wildflower?”
“It’s as much mine as it is yours. More, considering I’ve been the face of it for years.”
“What’s this?”
“Transfer of ownership. Full rights to Wildflower Boutique.” I pushed the papers toward him. “Already drawn up. I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“I—” He said. “I expected a conflict”
“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 created and what you ruined.”
He cried at me, eyes narrowing with suspicion. “So you’re just… giving up? That doesn’t sound like you.”
“I’m not giving up. I’m moving on. There’s a difference.”
“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.”
***
The signing happened in Jack’s office one week later.
“This all seems in order,” she said after reviewing the documents. “Though I must say, this settlement greatly favors my client.”
“No hard feelings, Chloe. You built something special with Wildflower. I’ll control it.”
“I’m sure you will.”
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Just a parting gift,” I said. “For new beginnings.”
Later, he would open it to find an empty box with a note:”This is what you really earned from our marriage. Enjoy.”
“Goodbye, Ethan,” I said.
***
Three months passed, and I started a new chapter. My new office space, a converted warehouse with high ceilings and abundant natural light, was ready.
Lisa, our production manager who had quit Wildflower the day after I left, decided to work with me. “The Anderson order is ready for review.”
“Perfect timing,” I said. “Is Marcus here yet?”
“Conference room B with the whole team.”
Marcus, our biggest buyer, who had quietly shifted his entire business from Wildflower to my new company without missing a beat, stood as I entered.
“Chloe! These new designs are perfect. The quality is even better than before.”
I smiled, running my hand over the fabric samples. “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.”
As the meeting progressed, my phone bustled with a text from Jack: “It’s occuring. 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.”
“Where will they go?” I asked innocently.
Jack laughed. “As if you don’t know!”
I smiled. “I need to get back to my meeting.”
“Of course. Oh, and Chloe? Megan came looking for a job at my office today.”
“Oh! And?”
“Yes. Apparently, being a bankrupt boss’s girlfriend wasn’t as secure a position as she thought.”
“How tragic,” I said. “Thanks for the update, Jack.”
I got back to the meeting, sliding back into my chair with renewed focus. Around me, my team went on discussing fabrics and timelines and marketing strategies… all the elements that had made Wildflower successful, now building something new and better.
“Everything okay?” Lisa muttered.
I nodded. “Everything is exactly as it should be.”
Six months after the divorce, I ran into Ethan at a coffee shop downtown. The designer suits were gone, replaced by casual wear that had seen better days.
He approached me with a smile.
“Chloe.”
“How are you?”
“Been better,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “The business… it’s gone. Bankruptcy.”
“I heard.”
“I bet you did. Funny how everything fell apart right after you left.”
“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.”
“So this was reve:nge? For Megan?”
“No. This was a consequence… for taking credit for work you didn’t do.”
He cried at me, really seeing me perhaps for the first time in our relationship. “You’ve changed.”
“No,” I said to him. “I’ve always been this person. You just never take care of me”
I moved past him, then paused. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry it ended this way.”
As I moved this coffee, joining Lisa at the door, I felt lighter than I had in years. Not because of Ethan’s failure but because I had finally ended abating myself to make room for his ego.
“Was that him?” Lisa asked.
“Ancient history,” I replied. “Come on. We have a future to build.”
