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Chapter 6: The Divorce

The hospital corridor smelled of sterile bleach. I leaned against the wall, checking my emails.

The emergency room doors opened. The attending physician walked out, his expression grim. “Family members? The patient suffered a severe shock and trauma. Unfortunately, she miscarried. We couldn’t save the baby.”

Sterling blinked, his stoic facade cracking for the first time. “What baby?”

The doctor frowned, looking at him with deep reproach. “You are her husband, and you didn’t know she was two months pregnant?”

Sterling had been in Europe for three months.

I looked at Julian, who looked like he was about to vomit. The baby belonged to his brother’s wife. And it was his.

By the time I walked out of the hospital, it was dark. I heard soft, desperate footsteps behind me in the parking garage.

“Evelyn… wait,” Julian stammered.

I stopped, turning to look at him. His handsome face was hidden in the shadows, his eyes shining with pathetic pleading.

“I was wrong,” Julian begged, stepping closer. “It was truly just a moment of impulsiveness. We can get past this.”

I looked at him with morbid curiosity. “When did it start? How long have you been sleeping with her?”

He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just… just a few times. It really wasn’t serious.”

I scoffed. I didn’t care about the details, but being treated like an idiot was still insulting. “I’m filing for divorce, Julian.”

His expression instantly morphed from apologetic to defensive. He grabbed my wrist tightly. “Evelyn, you want a divorce over this? Men make mistakes! Other women forgive their husbands. We have a life together. You’re overreacting!”

The sheer, blinding audacity of his entitlement stunned me. In his mind, his betrayal was a minor inconvenience.

“I’m not other women,” I said, yanking my wrist free.

Julian sneered, his true, ugly colors finally showing. “You know, I didn’t want to say this to hurt your self-esteem, Evelyn. But you’re just an ordinary, boring woman. Marrying me was the best thing that ever happened to you. Your tiny tech firm would be bankrupt without my family’s backing.”

I stared at the man in front of me. I felt like I was truly seeing him for the first time.

I laughed. It was a cold, sharp sound. “Julian, you only pursued me because you needed my patents to secure your position in the hospitality division. You wanted a quiet, useful wife who wouldn’t ask questions.”

I stepped closer, looking him dead in the eye. “And since we are no longer holding back, let me clarify something for you. My company doesn’t need your family. Your father relies entirely on my proprietary software to run his hotels. I can terminate those licensing contracts tomorrow.”

Julian’s smug expression faltered.

“Do you really believe,” I whispered cruelly, “that if Sterling hadn’t already been married, your father would have wasted my corporate leverage by setting me up on a blind date with a useless playboy like you?”

Julian’s face turned completely, ashen white. I had hit his deepest, most agonizing insecurity.

“My lawyers will contact you tomorrow,” I said, turning on my heel and walking to my car.

Chapter 7: The Aftermath

Over the next month, I worked tirelessly with my legal team.

The fallout was catastrophic. Sterling used the scandal to execute a flawless corporate coup. He exposed Julian’s liability to the board of directors. Julian was unceremoniously stripped of all his executive titles, his shares were frozen, and he was effectively exiled from the family empire.

Sterling also finalized his divorce from Elise. She left the estate entirely empty-handed, thanks to a brutal prenuptial agreement.

Elise believed that once the dust settled, she and Julian could finally be together. She thought their love was genuine.

But a disgraced, broke Julian wanted nothing to do with the woman who had ruined his life. He refused to answer her calls. When Elise showed up at his new apartment, he called the police and had her removed for trespassing.

Perhaps what Elise never expected was that the man she was desperately trying to see was waiting outside my office building every single day.

Julian stood by my corporate entrance, holding bouquets of red roses, begging for a second chance. He looked pathetic.

After a week of enduring his presence, I sent a single text message to Sterling.

I don’t know what Sterling said to him, but the very next day, Julian vanished. I never saw him at my office again.

I finalized my divorce, walking away with my patents, a massive financial settlement, and absolute control of my company. I continued to secure major corporate contracts, and my firm eventually stood on equal footing with the empire Julian’s family controlled.

The last time I saw Julian was at a high-society charity gala a year later.

He was impeccably dressed, but his eyes were empty. His arrogant posture was entirely gone, replaced by a timid, defeated slouch. When he walked past me, he lowered his head and respectfully murmured, “Ms. Hayes.”

I nodded politely, offering him a distant, perfectly professional smile, and kept walking.

My friend, walking beside me, scoffed. “Look at him. It’s so unfair. Men like that ruin lives, and they still get to wear nice suits and attend galas.”

I sipped my champagne, looking out over the sparkling Manhattan skyline.

“He lost his power, his family, and his future,” I said softly. “He’s wearing a nice suit, but he’s a ghost.”

I turned my back on the ballroom, feeling the cool night air brush against my face. The road ahead was vast, filled with endless potential, brilliant opportunities, and absolute freedom.

I had built my empire. And I was going to enjoy every single second of it.

THE END