Back in the private room, I gathered my things, preparing to leave quietly.
Timon stood and stepped in my way.
“Don’t go yet,” he said, lowering his voice. “I’ll take you home later.”
Before I could respond, Charlotte burst in from the hallway, breathing heavily, eyes wide—just dramatic enough to steal the room’s attention.
Timon instantly turned away from me, hurrying toward her.
“What’s wrong?”
Charlotte checked her purse, then her coat pockets, her panic rising with every second.
“My bracelet! The custom-made one you gave me—it’s gone!”
The moment Charlotte gasped about her missing bracelet, the energy in the private room shifted.
People sprang from their chairs like they’d rehearsed it.
“It was a birthday gift from Timon!” Charlotte clutched her throat dramatically. “10 million dollars. Custom-made. It’s irreplaceable!”
She began circling the room, checking under napkins, beneath handbags, around the floor—her every movement theatrical.
I didn’t need a genius to see what this was.
Another setup. Another scene. Another chance to humiliate me.
I silently picked up my purse and headed for the door. All I wanted was to leave that room and the poison inside it.
But she got there first.
Charlotte stepped in front of me in her glittering heels and fake concern.
“Marian, do you mind if I check your bag? Just to clear things up. Otherwise, you know how people talk.”
I looked her dead in the eyes.
“I didn’t take your bracelet. I’m too tired to entertain your nonsense, Ms. Winsley.”
I took a step forward, but she reached out and grabbed my bag.
The strap snapped off in the scuffle and the contents spilled onto the floor—lip balm, loose change, tissues... and one glittering, unmistakable bracelet.
A hush fell over the room.
The air was thick. Silent. Accusing.
I stared at the bracelet like it was a ghost.
I hadn’t touched it. I hadn’t even gone near Charlotte’s belongings.
But when I looked up, she was already giving me that smug, calculated stare.
“What the hell are you doing?” I whispered. “Why are you doing this?”
She clutched her chest like I had betrayed her.
“Oh Marian, I trusted you. I really thought prison might have changed you. But it seems you're not!”
My breath caught in my throat as I turned and met the eyes of the room. All of them filled with suspicion, discomfort, and silent judgment.
But it was Timon’s face that truly gutted me.
He looked... disgusted. His brows furrowed, mouth twisted in disbelief.
“I didn’t take it,” I said hoarsely. “Timon, you know I didn’t take it.”
He didn’t blink.
Charlotte sniffled beside him, hugging the bracelet to her chest like a relic.
“This bracelet means a lot to me,” she said tearfully. “I can’t believe she’d stoop this low. I... I don’t think I can keep working in the same building as her.”
The senior partner didn’t wait.
“That’s it, Mr. Salvador. This collaboration is done. I won't associate with theft and scandal.”
He stormed out with his team.
Then Cedrik spoke. His voice was sharp. Loud. Designed to land where it hurt the most.
“Unbelievable. First you killed someone, now you’re stealing?” He scoffed and shook his head with a sneer. “This is why I never wanted you back. You’re a stain, Mom. I’m embarrassed to even share your last name.”
His words hit harder than the slap that came next.
Because the moment I turned to Timon...hoping for even a flicker of disbelief...he struck me.
Right across the face. The sting was sharp. The humiliation burned deeper. My ears rang as I turned to him in shock.
His voice was low, cold, and steady. “I brought you here, hoping you’d at least pretend to have some decency left.”
Cedrik didn’t stop. “Charlotte warned me you’d drag us down again,” he said with venom. “Elle doesn’t need a grandmother like you. I don’t need a mother like you.” His face twisted.“Honestly? I wish you’d stayed in prison.”
I stared at him. At the boy I raised. At the son I believed in.
And suddenly, I didn’t see my child. I saw a stranger.
“Have you really forgotten why I went to prison?” I asked quietly, looking back at Timon.
“Forgotten that I sat in that courtroom for you?”
He looked away like my voice was static.
“I should’ve known you’d embarrass me again,” he muttered.
My fingers trembled as I reached into my coat pocket, pulled out my phone, and held it toward him.
“Then call the police.”
Timon looked at the phone like it was poison. But he didn’t take it. We stared at each other for a long, heavy moment.
His silence told me everything.
Eventually, he scoffed under his breath and turned to Charlotte. He clipped the bracelet back onto her wrist with tender precision, murmuring something reassuring in her ear.
Then he placed a hand on her lower back and guided her toward the exit like I had never been there at all.
I stood in the private room alone.
Surrounded by silence, shame, and the last pieces of a life I had already let go of. I gathered my spilled items with shaky hands, threw everything into my coat, and walked out.
I didn’t go home.
I went straight to the airport.
---
It was nearing midnight at the terminal.
I sat by the gate with my coat wrapped around me, fingers hovering over my phone. I was halfway through drafting my resignation when the screen lit up.
Timon Salvador — Termination Notice
“Don’t come back to the company. Stay home and reflect on what you’ve done.”
I laughed.
A dry, bitter sound that startled the woman next to me.
I scrolled through my gallery, found the photo I took of his signature on the divorce agreement, and sent it to him.
Then I typed:
“Timon, I sincerely wish you and Charlotte a long and public marriage.”
“But let’s finalize our divorce certificate soon. Otherwise, I’ll be taking legal action for bigamy.”
Within seconds, my phone exploded with calls.
Ten. Fifteen. Twenty. All from Timon.
Too late.
I'm done.
