I got in, locked the doors, and started the engine. As I pulled out of the driveway, I saw Daniel running out the front door, his tie undone, looking frantic. He waved his arms, shouting something I couldn’t hear.
I didn’t look back. I merged onto the road, the darkness swallowing the Reynolds Estate behind me.
That was the moment—the peak of the storm. But as I drove into the night, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white, I realized something crucial.
This wasn’t the end.
It was only the beginning of the game.
Cliffhanger:
I arrived home to an empty house. I poured myself a glass of wine and sat in the dark living room, waiting. An hour later, I heard the aggressive fumble of keys in the lock. The door slammed open. Daniel was home, and the air crackled with a terrifying, volatile energy I had never felt from him before.
Chapter 5: The Collapse of the Kingdom
The days after the party were louder than the confrontation itself.
Daniel stormed into the living room that night, pale and furious. He didn’t look like the man who organized his socks; he looked like a cornered animal.
“You humiliated us!” he screamed, pacing the room, running his hands through his hair. “Do you have any idea who those people were? Do you know what you’ve done to my reputation?”
I sipped my wine, watching him over the rim of the glass.
“No, Daniel,” I replied, my voice dropping an octave, deadly calm. “You humiliated yourself. You broke your vows. You bought the lingerie. I simply returned it.”
For the first time in years, I saw genuine fear in his eyes. The control he thought he had—over me, over his image, over his dual life—was gone. He expected me to cry. He expected me to beg for an explanation. He expected the Emily who needed his approval.
She didn’t exist anymore.
“I can explain,” he stammered, his anger deflating into desperation. “It’s complicated. Sophia… she’s a client. It got out of hand.”
“I don’t care,” I said, standing up. “I’m sleeping in the guest room. You will be hearing from a lawyer on Monday.”
Silence became my strongest weapon. While he struggled to justify his actions, spinning wild tales and gaslighting attempts that bounced off me like pebbles against a tank, I quietly consulted a divorce attorney—Mr. Henderson, a man known for his shark-like efficiency.
