After my best friend stole my husband, I immediately filed for divorce to clear the path for her.
The café fell silent except for the low hum of the espresso machine behind the counter.
Jason’s face had drained of color so quickly, it almost startled me.
Allison noticed it too.
Her smug smile twitched. “Jason… who is Daniel?”
He didn’t answer.
That was the first crack.
For three months, they had acted untouchable—two people intoxicated by secrecy and lust, convinced they were the smartest people in every room. They believed I was the pathetic wife too blind to notice the late-night “work meetings,” the hidden smiles over phones, the sudden gym memberships, the weekends Jason claimed he needed “space.”
But betrayal sharpens the senses.
And Jason had made one catastrophic mistake:
He underestimated me because I loved him.
I folded my hands calmly atop the divorce papers. “You seem nervous.”
Jason swallowed hard. “Why did you call Daniel Mercer?”
The fact that he used Daniel’s full name made Allison’s eyes widen.
Ah.
So she really didn’t know.
Interesting.
I leaned back in my chair. “You didn’t tell her?”
“Tell me what?” Allison demanded.
Jason ignored her, staring at me with growing panic. “This is between us. Don’t drag him into it.”
I almost laughed.
Three months ago, he had dragged my entire life into ruin without hesitation, and now suddenly there were rules.
“How considerate,” I said softly.
The waiter approached awkwardly with fresh coffee, sensed the hostility, and nearly fled.
Jason lowered his voice. “Cat… please.”
That word.
Please.
Not because he regretted betraying me.
Not because he destroyed our marriage.
No.
He was afraid.
And Jason Beaumont was not a man who feared easily.
Allison crossed her arms. “Somebody explain what’s happening.”
I turned toward her fully for the first time since sitting down.
“You remember the company merger Jason has been obsessing over for the past year?”
She nodded cautiously.
“The one worth eighty million dollars?”
Another nod.
“Well,” I said, “Daniel Mercer owns the firm funding it.”
Silence detonated across the table.
Allison blinked. “What?”
Jason shut his eyes briefly, like a condemned man awaiting impact.
I continued calmly. “More specifically, Daniel is the founder and majority shareholder of Mercer Capital. The same Mercer Capital currently deciding whether Beaumont Technologies survives the next fiscal year.”
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