“You can’t freeze anything,” Ethan snapped. “It’s my company.”
“Not anymore,” Harlan said simply.
That was when it truly hit him.
The stage was no longer his.
He turned to me, desperation curdling into threat. “If you do this, I’ll fight you. I’ll drag it out. I’ll make your life miserable.”
My heart thudded once.
The old version of me would have folded—worried about appearances, about whispers, about keeping peace.
But Margaret’s voice echoed: Stop believing you’re powerless.
“I’m already miserable,” I said quietly. “You’re just the cause.”
I stood, removed my wedding ring, and placed it on the table. Under the fluorescent lights, it looked small. Insignificant.
Ethan stared at it as if the air had left his lungs.
Lauren stared too—at the ring, at him, at the illusion unraveling.
“I’ll call Ms. Griggs today,” I told Harlan.
He nodded. “I’ll escort you out.”
As I walked toward the door, Ethan’s voice cracked behind me.
“Claire. Please.”
I didn’t look back.
For the first time in years, my future wasn’t tied to Ethan’s lies.
It belonged to me.
