I laughed at myself, dry and quiet.
"That's because I was a fool. But never again."
I didn't wait for the roar on the other end. I hung up first.
"Drive to Goldenwood Villa."
The smile on Denys's face faded a notch.
"Hold on. Cora, you just signed the marriage certificate with me, and now you want to go back to the house you shared with Les? What does that make me?"
I shot him a puzzled look.
"I'm going to grab my things and move them out. Is that a problem?"
Denys instantly broke into a grin and swung the wheel around.
"Oh, that's more than fine. Babe, I'll help you pack."
Packing or not packing didn't matter to him.
There was plenty of money, Denys figured. Worst case, they'd just buy everything new.
But the chance to swagger onto Les's turf and rub it in his face? Just the thought of it felt deliciously good.
By the time everything was loaded, it was already nine at night.
Truck after truck rolled out, five full moving trucks in all.
When Les came home, he found an empty living room, and me, suitcase in hand, on my way out the door.
He grabbed my wrist, stunned. "Cora, what kind of game are you playing this time?"
"I told you. We're done. It's none of your business."
Les let go at once and sneered.
"So we're doing the runaway-from-home routine, are we?"
"Fine. I'll clear the path for you. Go ahead and leave. If you don't, I'll think less of you."
I didn't answer. I tightened my grip on the suitcase and walked faster.
Constance piped up beside him, all fake concern. "Les, aren't you going to stop her? What if Cora really leaves?"
Les sneered with absolute certainty.
"Ten years. Every time she got angry, she pulled this same act. I'm used to it."
"You want to bet? Three days, tops, and she'll come crawling back, begging me to let her save face."
Constance stepped into the villa, and the next second her eyes went wide with shock.
"This... why is the whole house cleaned out?"
"Les, are you sure Cora is coming back?"
Only then did Les lift his head from his phone. When he saw what was in front of him, he froze solid.
Even in our worst fights, I'd only ever walked out with a suitcase. I had never stripped away every single thing I'd bought.
Now the enormous villa had nothing left but the floor tiles. Every furnishing was gone.
Even the air conditioners and the chandelier overhead had been ripped out.
Les couldn't manage a smile anymore.
He immediately called to verify. "Go check for me. That blurred-out marriage certificate in Cora's social media feed, is it real or fake?"
Not long after, the other end sent over a crystal-clear photo of the certificate.
"Mr. Sanchez, it's real."
"Miss Henson registered the marriage at the courthouse with that man today. His information is right there on it."
Les looked down, enlarged the unblurred photo on the certificate, and got a clear look at Denys's face.
His expression went ghostly white in an instant.
"How... how could it be him?"
