Chapter 5 - Reclaiming the Crown
By noon, the lobby was completely empty again.
The Northline moving truck had vanished down the street, taking Lauren’s furniture, her bruised ego, and her delusions of domestic conquest right along with it. Lauren had fled in her silver sedan ten minutes after the movers left, screaming obscenities at Evan while he stood stranded on the concrete sidewalk with a single duffel bag containing the clothes I had hastily tossed out of the guest room window into a garbage bag.
I stood on the eighth-floor balcony of my condo, holding a fresh cup of coffee, looking down through the glass railing.
Evan was still down there, pacing back and forth in front of the building, his phone pressed desperately to his ear as he tried to call anyone who might listen to his sob story. But his corporate friends had already caught wind of the scandal—Nina had made sure of that by forwarding the legal dissolution documents to his senior partners with a simple note explaining his financial and ethical misconduct regarding corporate/wedding funds.
His career, his engagement, his housing, and his secret safety net had all evaporated in less than three hours.
The balcony door slid open softly, and Nina stepped out carrying two crystal champagne flutes and a bottle of chilled prosecco.
“To corporate restructuring,” Nina said with a grin, handing me a glass.
I clinked my glass against hers, feeling the crisp, bubbly liquid wash away the last lingering traces of the toxic chapter I had just closed. “To absolute ownership.”
“So,” Nina asked, leaning against the railing and looking out over the glittering Chicago skyline. “What are you going to do with that extra bedroom now that the office space is entirely yours again?”
I looked back through the floor-to-ceiling windows into my custom-designed home office. The blue painter’s tape had already been peeled off the floor, leaving the polished hardwood pristine and untouched. The treadmill was back in its rightful place. The material swatches of rich emerald, brushed brass, and midnight blue caught the midday sunlight streaming through the glass.
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It wasn't a spare bedroom. It was my studio. My command center. The foundation of a business I had built with my own two hands, entirely independent of any man, any engagement ring, or any deceptive key.
“I’m going to tear down the old design,” I said, a slow, radiant smile spreading across my face as I watched Evan finally give up, flag down a dismal yellow cab, and ride away from my life forever. “And build something entirely new.”
