Her Betrayal, My Cold Resolve

It was a cold, clear rage. He was the reason. He was the prize for which my daughter' s life had been the price of admission.

. I just nodded once, my eyes locking with his. He had the grace to

oil. "Sarah' s told me so much about

s so thick I cou

be in the same room with them. I needed to escape before I did

ce was sharp, laced with irritation.

I said, not

plastered on her face. "I' m even making my special coq

ing. But now, for Mark, she was pulling out all the stops. The gesture, meant to impress him, was a slap in the

I said, and conti

tess mask crumbling into raw fury. The sudden shift was dizzying. "Wh

with anger. It was unbelievable. My daughter was dead, murdered by he

d, my voice low. "You th

s okay. The man is grieving. Let him have some space." He was playing t

' ve been through!" She turned her glare back to me, her voice dripping with contempt. "You think you' re the on

o deal with? He' s always been like this. So dramatic. You, Mark, you' re ambitious, you' re driven.

y pride, of letting her family take credit for my work, of pouring my soul into a company that treated

er one in the world! That core technology, the anti-aging formula that made you billions? That was me! I dev

e, a torrent of long-supp

arity balls! And every penny I earned, every bonus your father so 'generously' gave me, I poured into

at me, her face pale, completely stunned that I would da

The shock was replaced by an icy coldness I had never seen before. It

oice barely a whisper, but e

, almost laughing

ted, her voice gaining strength, her e

at person. There was only this cold, cruel stranger. And in that moment, something inside me cli

calm washing over me. The fight was o

I didn' t look at Mark. I went to the hall closet a

in her voice. "What are you doing? David, stop

ling drawers open, throwing clothes into the su

at was happening seemed to be sinking in. She had pushed

"Where are you going to go? Back to that pathetic little apartment? You have

nd stood up, facing her. I lo

a divorce

part of her plan. She wanted me gone, but on her terms, as the patheti

smile twisted her lips. "Fine. But you'

," I said calmly. "I jus

s the door. She

ywhere," she hissed.

not as my wife, but as an opponent. And I knew, with