That evening, I made his favourite dinner. Steak with garlic and rosemary, mashed potatoes with butter, green beans sautéed in lemon and garlic. I set the table as if everything was fine. I lit a candle. I poured him a glass of whisky.
For more than two decades, I had been a good wife. I could play that role one last time.
Daniel came in and loosened his tie. ‘It smells amazing,’ he said, kissing me on the cheek.
I smiled. ‘You deserve it. All your hard work.’
He grinned and sat down, completely unaware.
Halfway through dinner, I casually reached down and pulled out a folder. I placed the document on the table.
He froze.
His face drained of colour.
‘Where did you get this?’ he whispered.
I leaned back in my chair, calming down. ‘Where you left it.’
‘It’s not what it looks like,’ he said quickly, his voice trembling.
I laughed. Coldly. ‘Really? Because it looks like you gave the house I designed to your mistress. Before we even moved in.’
He opened his mouth to speak — perhaps to lie, perhaps to beg. I cut him off.
‘You made one mistake, Daniel.’
He blinked. ‘What?’
I looked him straight in the eye.
‘You married a smarter woman than you thought.’
The next morning, while he was away at a fake meeting he had planned, I walked into the office of the best divorce lawyer in town.
The secretary looked up. ‘How can we help you?’
I placed the folder on the counter. ‘I need someone who knows how to expose a cheating husband.’
Less than fifteen minutes later, I was in Linda Harris’s office. Sharp eyes. Sharp mind.
She leafed through the documents. She nodded. ‘He transferred marital property without your consent. That’s fraud.’
A smile slowly spread across my face. ‘Good. Let’s take him for everything he’s got.’
And we did.
The judge ruled that the transfer of ownership was fraudulent and invalid. The house reverted to the spouses’ ownership. And that meant that, by law, I was entitled to half.
Alissa didn’t stick around after that. As soon as she realised that the free luxury home no longer belonged to her, she disappeared.
And Daniel? He had to sell his house to pay me the amount the court had awarded in the settlement agreement.
With my share, I bought myself a small, quiet house on the beach. Nothing fancy. Just peace and quiet. Just mine.
Now every evening I sit on the porch with a glass of wine in my hand and watch the waves roll in.
Daniel thought he could erase me.
But instead?
He erased himself.