I stood in the elevator watching the floor numbers climb. Twenty-three. Twenty-four. Twenty-five. My hands gripped the handles of two shopping bags filled with ingredients for Christmas Eve dinner. Lamb chops. Fresh rosemary. The good wine Davis liked from that place in Tribeca.
The elevator doors opened onto our penthouse floor. I had decorated the hallway myself three years ago—soft gray walls, brass sconces, a console table I'd found at an estate sale in Connecticut. Back when Davis still called my design work 'adorable.'
I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The apartment was too quiet.
No music. No lights except the ones I'd left on this morning. The Christmas tree I'd decorated last week stood dark in the corner by the windows, unlit.
"Davis?"
My voice echoed.
I set the bags on the kitchen counter and walked toward the dining room. My heels clicked against the hardwood—a sound I'd learned to soften over the years because Davis said it gave him headaches.
Then I saw him.
Davis sat at the head of our dining table in his charcoal suit, the one he wore to important meetings. His cufflinks caught the light as he adjusted them with slow, deliberate movements. Papers were spread across the table in neat stacks.
A man I didn't recognize sat to his right. Mid-fifties, gray suit, leather briefcase open beside him. Attorney. I knew the type instantly.
And standing in the doorway to the hall, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed, was a woman I'd never seen before.
She was younger than me. Late twenties maybe. Dark hair, red dress, heels that probably cost more than my first car. She was smiling.
Not a friendly smile.
A winner's smile.
"Sloan." Davis didn't stand. "Good. You're here."
I stopped three feet from the table. My throat felt tight.
"What's going on?"
The attorney slid a document across the table toward the empty chair opposite Davis. "Mrs. Brooks, I'm Richard Crane. I represent your husband in these proceedings. Please, sit."
Proceedings.
I looked at Davis. He met my eyes with nothing in his. No anger. No guilt. Nothing.
"Sit down, Sloan," he said.
I didn't move.
The woman in the doorway shifted her weight, and her smile widened just slightly.
Davis sighed like I was being difficult. "We're filing for divorce. The papers are here. You need to sign."
The words arrived in my ears but took a long moment to connect to meaning.
"Divorce," I repeated.
"Correct." He adjusted his cufflinks again. "The terms are straightforward. You vacate the apartment immediately. You take nothing. You pay five hundred thousand dollars in damages for the reputational harm you've caused. And you issue a formal public apology."
I heard each word separately.
Vacate. Nothing. Five hundred thousand. Apology.
"Reputational harm," I said slowly.
Richard Crane cleared his throat. "Your behavior over the course of the marriage—the accusations, the instability, the public scenes—has significantly damaged Mr. Brooks's standing in his professional community. We have documentation."
Public scenes.
I thought about the night I'd asked Davis, in front of his colleagues at a charity gala, why there were charges on our joint account from a hotel I'd never been to. I'd kept my voice low. I'd smiled. But I'd asked.
He'd called that a scene.
"I don't have five hundred thousand dollars," I said.
Davis shrugged. "Then you'll need to figure it out. Sell something. Ask your father. I don't care."
The woman in the doorway laughed. Actually laughed. A soft, delighted sound.
I looked at her.
She didn't look away.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Anya," she said. Her voice was smooth. Confident. "Anya Meyer."
She said it like I should know the name.
Maybe I should have.
Davis stood. He buttoned his jacket with the same precise movements he used every morning. "You have seventy-two hours to vacate. Richard will handle the rest. Don't make this harder than it needs to be."
He walked past me toward the door.
Anya pushed off the doorframe and followed him. As she passed, she glanced at me one more time.
"Merry Christmas," she said softly.
Then they were gone.
Richard Crane gathered his papers and slid them into his briefcase. "Mrs. Brooks, I strongly advise you to retain counsel. This will proceed with or without your cooperation."
He left.
I stood alone in the dining room.
The apartment was silent again.
I walked to the table and picked up the documents. Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. Settlement Terms. Damages Claim.
My hands didn't shake.
I read every page.
Then I folded them carefully, slipped them into my coat pocket, and walked out of the apartment.
The elevator ride down felt longer than the ride up.
Outside, the December air hit my face like cold water. Snow was starting to fall. Tiny flakes that disappeared the moment they touched the pavement.
I stood on the sidewalk and watched people pass. Couples holding hands. Families with shopping bags. Everyone going somewhere warm.
I pulled out my phone.
No missed calls. No messages.
I opened the camera and started photographing every page of the legal documents under the nearest streetlamp.
My hands were perfectly still.
