Naomi’s name lit up his screen. Of course.
He answered the call, and his voice softened in a way it never did for me anymore. While he spoke, I slid the pen toward him. He scrawled his signature on every line without reading a word and left mid-conversation, still murmuring to her.
The moment the door shut behind him, I exhaled.
Divorce papers.
He’d just signed away our marriage and my freedom in one distracted moment.
For the first time in months, I almost laughed.
---
The next day was our wedding anniversary.
Isaac hadn’t wanted to acknowledge or celebrate it. “There’s no point pretending like we’re in love,” he’d said.
I’d agreed with him, and then planned a dinner anyway.
“It’s just a small gathering,” I told him. “For appearances.”
He didn’t notice the irony.
By evening the house was filled with guests. Each one of them were part of our social circle. They had been my friends once, but after I got sent to prison, they all abandoned me and took Naomi’s side. It was the perfect audience for my plan.
Naomi arrived with Isaac, draped in gold, glowing under the chandelier like a saint. She leaned close to him when he took the stage, resting her hand possessively on his arm. You would think it was their anniversary. In the past, I would have cried for days because of this, but now, revenge was the only thing on my mind.
Instead, I calmly took my glass and walked up to the stage too to give our speech.
Isaac spoke first. “You know, the past year has been extremely hard on me, losing my daughter and all that…”
I flinched at the mention of my daughter. I could see her beautiful face in my mind. I wondered what she would have looked like now.
Isaac cleared his throat and continued. “But through all those hardships, there has been one person who has been a constant source of strength and support for me… Naomi Thorne.” He kissed her cheek. “This woman has been there through the darkest days of my life, and even though it’s my anniversary today, I think the real person we should be celebrating is Naomi.”
The crowd cheered, and Naomi stepped into the spotlight, saying her ’thank yous’ like a celebrity. When she was done, she turned to me and smirked, like she had won.
I smiled and took the microphone from Isaac. “My husband is right. Naomi really is the star of the night, and as such, I would like to play you all a little something.”