I looked up at him with eyes that had gone to ice. “Oh, but it is. It’s been over for five years. You just never got the memo.”
“I won’t give up on us.”
“There is no us. There never really was, was there? Just you, using me until something better came along.”
“I love you.”
The words hung in the air like a lie so obvious it was almost laughable.
“No,” I said quietly. “You love the idea of having me under your control again. You love the idea of my money solving your problems. But you don’t love me, Damon. You never did.”
As they left, Ava turned back to look at me once. In that glance, I saw something I hadn’t expected—curiosity. Maybe even the beginning of questions about the mother she’d been taught to forget.
After they were gone, I sat alone in my corner office, looking out at the city I’d conquered, and allowed myself one moment of grief for the woman I used to be.
Then I picked up my phone and called my lawyer.
It was time to end this marriage once and for all.
But first, I was going to make sure Damon Monroe learned exactly what it felt like to lose everything.
After all, I was no longer the desperate wife begging for scraps of affection.
I was Elise Monroe—billionaire, tech mogul, and the woman who was about to show her ex-husband what real power looked like.
Later that evening
I was reviewing acquisition reports when my security team called.
“Ms. Monroe, your ex-husband is in the lobby. He’s demanding to see you.”
I glanced at the clock—nearly midnight. “Send him up.”
“Ma’am, are you sure—”
“Send him up, James. But stay close.”
Five minutes later, Damon burst into my office like a man possessed. His perfect hair was disheveled, his tie loosened, and there was something wild in his eyes.
“You can’t do this,” he said without preamble.
“Do what, exactly?”
“You know what. The acquisition. You’re buying out my biggest client.”
I smiled, not bothering to hide my satisfaction. “Peterson Industries? Yes, I closed that deal this afternoon. Smart move on their part—my offer was very generous.”
“You’re trying to destroy me.”
“I’m conducting business. If that destroys you, well…” I shrugged. “Survival of the fittest.”
