Chapter 2: The Truth Vanessa Never Knew
Chapter 2: The Truth Vanessa Never Knew
Three weeks later, Vanessa arrived at Ethan's penthouse carrying a suitcase.
She wasn't smiling anymore.
The luxury gifts had stopped.
The expensive vacations had disappeared.
The future she imagined was evaporating.
Ethan opened the door.
Exhausted.
Unshaven.
Defeated.
Vanessa stepped inside.
"We need to talk."
He already knew what was coming.
She crossed her arms.
"When are things going back to normal?"
"They aren't."
"What does that mean?"
"It means everything depended on Olivia."
The words tasted bitter.
Vanessa laughed.
"You're joking."
"I'm not."
He handed her a financial statement.
She stared at the page.
Then another.
Then another.
The color drained from her face.
"You lost this much?"
Ethan didn't answer.
Because the real number was worse.
Much worse.
For years, Olivia had quietly protected the company from disaster.
She had secured investors.
Negotiated deals.
Prevented lawsuits.
Covered losses.
All while receiving nothing but disrespect in return.
Vanessa slowly sat down.
"What are we going to do?"
Ethan looked out the window.
Far below, the city lights stretched endlessly into the night.
For the first time, he understood what he had thrown away.
Not money.
Not status.
Not power.
A woman who had genuinely loved him.
And there was no balance sheet in the world that could recover that loss.
A month later, Vanessa left.
She took the apartment.
The jewelry.
The remaining cash.
And never looked back.
The moment the benefits disappeared, so did she.
Ethan wasn't surprised.
May you like
Because Olivia had never stayed for the money.
Vanessa always had.
