Chapter 4 - The Truth Unveiled
Before I could even process the absolute poetic justice of the moment, my phone began ringing loudly in my hand. Caller ID: Ethan.
I stared at his flashing name for a long, quiet moment, letting the ringtone echo against the ambient noise of the city.
And this time, for the first time in my life, I had absolutely no idea what he could possibly say to defend himself. I swiped the screen to answer, pressing the phone slowly to my ear.
“Claire?” Ethan’s voice didn't sound arrogant anymore. It sounded hollow, cracked, and vibrating with a terrifying mix of shock and humiliation. “Is it true?”
“Is what true, Ethan?” I asked calmly, stepping into the quiet lobby of a nearby hotel to escape the street noise.
“That... that executive from Vanguard Energy was just talking to me,” he stammered, stumbling over his own words. “He said you spent years doing high-level international contract translations behind the scenes. He said you turned down major corporate offers to stay married to me. Did... did you actually save a corporation a million dollars?”
“I did,” I replied evenly. “Among other things.”
There was a suffocating, dead silence on the other end of the line. I could hear the distant, muffled sound of wedding music and polite chatter playing in the background at his reception—a reception where his new bride was currently standing oblivious to the fact that her husband had just been publicly outclassed by the woman he discarded.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Ethan whispered, his voice cracking with a pathetic vulnerability. “Why did you let me treat you like... like you weren't doing anything with your life?”
A cold, bittersweet smile touched my lips. “Because whenever I tried to talk about my work or my ambitions, Ethan, you told me I was boring. You never asked what was on my laptop screen late at night. You never bothered to look past the apron.”
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“Claire, please,” he pleaded, his panic escalating. “We can talk about this. Come back home, let's just—we can fix this—matrix—”
“Enjoy your wedding reception, Ethan,” I interrupted softly, my voice firm and final. “I have a very important corporate dinner to prepare for tonight.”
