His Betrayal, Her Unyielding Revenge

ffair. But the real betrayal wasn't his cheating with

Bethany to

who destroyed our family. I was a ghost in my o

on who no longer wanted me. I built a new life, adopted a daug

er, he kidnapped my daughter. He thought he could control me. He was about to learn that the wo

pte

t was done. Just like that, a decade of my life, a lifetime of

ep, the name that felt like mine. A sense of a heavy, suffocating weight lifting off my chest mingled with a ra

of power, even here, in this sterile lawyer's office. His tailored suit, his expensive wat

t practiced. "My driver is waiting outside

, for the first time in years without the veil of hurt or hope. He see

ped from his phone. "Daddy, is she done yet?

or, though he didn't even know it. Beck stammered, pulling the phon

nto the phone, his tone clipped, a sharp contrast to the gentle way he usually sp

an anyone!" His voice was full of innocent excitement, a child's pure joy. It

phone into his pocket. His eyes darted to me, then away. He

iend. The woman who had systematically dismantled my life, piece by piece, right under my nose

t here. Not in front of him. Not ever again. I could feel his gaze

voice flat, devoid of emotio

laire, don't be difficult. It's pouring rain. The

words tasting like ash in my mouth. "T

facade cracked, just for a second. "Claire, come on. We don

o melt me, the kind that always promised redemption. No

"You call this civil? You want to go for coffee, rem

"Yes! Exactly. Remember our first date there? W

d shattered. He clearly didn't remember the last

the words cutting through the fr

losed down? Reall

ne or his meticulously crafted image. I remembered telling him, not once, but three times. Each time, he

fueled by cheap lattes and youthful optimism. The place where he'd proposed. He'd even planned to buy it with me, to help

The coffee shop's owner, an old woman named Mrs. Henderson, had finally decided to retire. She'd put the place up for sale. I had told Beck, hoping for a sp

od the same month I discovered his affa

my voice firm, final. I

and the divorce papers. My heart felt like shattered glass, but my resolve was as hard as stone. I was leaving the luxurious estate, the life I'd built, the man I once loved, and the child who now calle