Wednesday morning brought the best news yet. Kristen called with an update that made me laugh out loud. «Gladys, you’re not going to believe this. We have six offers, all above asking. But the highest one… it’s from Sawyer Industries.»

«The same Sawyer that Hayes was trying to make a deal with?»

«The very same. Apparently, Mr. Sawyer was at your anniversary party. He saw the whole thing and decided he didn’t want to do business with Hayes anymore. But he’s very interested in your house.»

«How much?» When she told me the number, I had to sit down. It was nearly double what we had paid for the house, enough to set Danielle and me up for life.

«Accept it,» I said without hesitation.

«Don’t you want to think about it?»

«Kristen, I’ve never been more certain of anything.»

That afternoon, Mrs. Melinda called with news of her own. «We found Hayes’s hidden accounts,» she said, sounding like a cat who had caught a very fat mouse. «Offshore investments, cryptocurrency wallets, even a safety deposit box registered under his mother’s maiden name. He’s been planning his exit strategy for over a year.»

«How much?»

«Close to two million dollars, all hidden from you, all accumulated during your marriage using funds that were legally yours as well as his.» The betrayal cut deeper than I expected. It wasn’t just the affair anymore. It was the systematic, calculated destruction of our marriage. Hayes hadn’t just fallen into temptation; he had planned my abandonment with the precision of a military campaign.

«Can we get it back?»

«All of it, plus damages for fraud, plus my fees, which he’ll be paying. By the time I’m done with him, Hayes Kingston will be lucky to afford ramen noodles.»

That evening, Danielle and I celebrated with ice cream sundaes from room service. She was doing homework at the desk while I reviewed real estate listings on my laptop—not for us, but for investment properties. With the house sale money and the recovered funds, I was going to be wealthy enough to build a new life entirely on my terms.

«Mom,» Danielle said without looking up from her history textbook. «I’m proud of you.»

«For what?»

«For not staying. For showing me that women don’t have to accept being treated badly. For being strong even when it hurt.»

I closed my laptop and went to hug my daughter. She was taller now, almost as tall as me. When had that happened? When had my little girl become this fierce, insightful young woman?

«I’m proud of you too,» I whispered into her hair. «For standing up to Tiffany. For defending our family. For being braver than your old mother.»

«You’re not old. And you’re the bravest person I know.»

That night, I finally felt ready to listen to Hayes’s voicemails. There were twenty-three of them, spanning from pathetic pleading to angry demands to bargaining attempts. The last one, left just an hour ago, was different.

«Gladys.» His voice was hollow, defeated. «I know you’re not going to forgive me. I know I’ve lost you forever. But please, please don’t take Danielle away from me. She’s all I have left.»

For just a moment, I felt a twinge of the old sympathy. But then I remembered the way he had spun Tiffany around our dance floor. The way he had looked at her like she was everything he had ever wanted. The way he had planned to discard me like yesterday’s newspaper. Hayes Kingston had made his choices. Now he would live with them.

Thursday morning brought unexpected visitors. I was having breakfast with Danielle in the hotel restaurant when Hayes walked in. He looked like hell—unshaven, wearing the same clothes from two days ago, his eyes red-rimmed and desperate. Behind him, trying to look brave but failing miserably, was Tiffany Riker.

The restaurant fell silent. Other guests recognized us from the viral video, and smartphones appeared like magic. We were about to go viral again. Hayes approached our table with the careful steps of a man walking through a minefield.

«Gladys. Danielle.» He tried to smile at his daughter, but she looked right through him.

«You have five minutes,» I said without looking up from my eggs Benedict. «Then I’m calling security.»

He sat down uninvited. Tiffany hovered behind him, clearly uncomfortable with the public setting. «This has gone far enough,» Hayes said. «You’ve made your point. You’re angry, I understand that, but…»

«Do I look angry to you?» I finally met his eyes. «Because I’m not angry anymore, Hayes. I’m free.»

He laughed, but there was no humor in it. «You’re destroying our family out of spite.»

«I’m protecting our family from your lies.»

Danielle had been silent, but now she spoke up. «Dad, why did you bring her here?» All eyes turned to Tiffany, who was fidgeting with her purse strap and looking increasingly panicked.

«Tiffany and I… we’re together now,» Hayes said. «I wanted you both to understand that this isn’t just some fling. We love each other.»

«Love?» Danielle’s voice was ice. «Dad, she left you the moment she found out you were broke.»

Hayes’s face went white. «That’s not… She didn’t leave me.»

Danielle pulled out her phone and showed him a screenshot of Tiffany’s Instagram from last night. «Single and ready to mingle. #newchapter #byeboy.»

I watched the blood drain from Hayes’s face as he turned to look at Tiffany. She was backing away from our table, her eyes darting toward the exit.

«Tiff?» His voice cracked like a teenager’s. «What is this?»

«I can’t do this anymore, Hayes,» she was almost whispering now, aware that every word was being recorded by a dozen phones. «I’m sorry.» And then she ran. Literally ran out of the restaurant, leaving Hayes sitting at our table like a man who had just watched his world explode.

The silence stretched for a full thirty seconds as Hayes stared at the door Tiffany had fled through, while his wife and daughter watched his final humiliation. «She’s gone,» he whispered.

«Yes,» I said gently. «She is.»

«But she said she loved me.»

«She loved what you could give her. Now that you can’t give her anything…» I shrugged. «People like Tiffany don’t love people, Hayes. They love opportunities.»

Danielle leaned forward, her voice cutting but not cruel. «She was using you. Everyone could see it except you.»

Hayes buried his face in his hands. For a moment, he looked like the young man I had fallen in love with all those years ago: vulnerable, lost, human. But then I remembered the past eight months of lies, and my heart hardened again.

«Your five minutes are up,» I said, signaling for the waiter.

«Gladys, wait.» Hayes grabbed my wrist as I started to stand. «Please. I know I screwed up. I know I hurt you. But we can fix this. We can go to counseling, start over.»

«Let go of my arm, Hayes.»

«I’ve always loved you.»

«You must be joking right now.» I pulled my arm free and stood up. Danielle was already on her feet beside me, her young face set with determination.

«Goodbye, Hayes,» I said. «My lawyer will be in touch.»

As we walked away, I heard him call out one last time. «What am I supposed to tell people? How do I explain this?»

I stopped and turned back to him. Every eye in the restaurant was on us. Every phone was recording, and I wanted to make sure my words were crystal clear. «Tell them the truth, Hayes. Tell them that you traded a woman who loved you for seventeen years for someone who couldn’t love you for seventeen days.»

The restaurant erupted in whispers and scattered applause. Someone shouted, «You go, girl!» from across the room. Hayes sat alone at our table, surrounded by the ruins of his dignity, as Danielle and I walked out into the morning sun.

Friday brought the phone call I had been dreading. «Mrs. Kingston?» The voice was young, unfamiliar. «This is Dani Jonah from Channel 7 News. We’d like to interview you about the viral video from your anniversary party.»

«Not interested.»

«We’re prepared to offer compensation.»

«Not interested.»

I hung up, but the calls kept coming. Local news, national news, social media influencers, even a documentary filmmaker who wanted to tell my story of empowerment. The anniversary party video had exploded beyond anything I could have imagined, spawning memes, think pieces, and heated debates about marriage, infidelity, and public humiliation. I ignored them all. This wasn’t about fame or attention. It was about justice.

But Hayes apparently had different ideas. That evening, as Danielle and I were packing the last of our belongings from the hotel—we were moving into our new apartment on Saturday—the news came on. Channel 7’s evening broadcast led with a story that made my blood freeze. «Tonight, an exclusive interview with Hayes Kingston, the husband at the center of a viral video that sparked a national conversation about marriage and forgiveness.»

There he was, sitting across from an overly sympathetic anchor, looking like a man who had lost everything—which, to be fair, he had. «Hayes,» the anchor said in her most compassionate voice, «tell us what happened that night.»

«Well, Rebecca, it’s been a very difficult time for my family.» Hayes looked directly into the camera. «I made a mistake, a terrible mistake, and my wife is understandably hurt. But I never expected her to react so extremely.»

I felt Danielle stiffen beside me on the hotel bed. «When you say ‘extremely’…»

«She’s taken our daughter away from me, frozen our bank accounts, and put our family home up for sale. All over one dance with a colleague.» One dance.

The anchor leaned forward. «But reports suggest there was an ongoing affair.»

«That’s simply not true, Rebecca. Tiffany was a friend, nothing more. My wife misinterpreted the situation and reacted with violence and vindictiveness that’s completely destroyed our family.» I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was rewriting history on live television, painting himself as the victim and me as an unstable, vengeful wife.

«What would you say to Gladys if she’s watching tonight?»

Hayes looked directly into the camera, his eyes brimming with crocodile tears. «Gladys, if you’re watching this, I love you. I’ve always loved you. Come back. Bring Danielle home. Let’s work this out. Let’s heal our family together.»

The interview continued for another ten minutes. Hayes painted a picture of a devoted husband blindsided by his wife’s jealous rage. He mentioned my inheritance and implied that I was using money as a weapon. He talked about Danielle being manipulated and turned against her father. When it was over, I sat in stunned silence.

«Mom,» Danielle said quietly, «people aren’t going to believe that, are they?»

Before I could answer, my phone exploded with text messages, calls, and notifications. The internet had responded to Hayes’s interview with swift and merciless judgment. The comments on the news station’s Facebook page were brutal. «This man really thought he could gaslight the entire internet.» «Sir, we have video evidence. We saw you grinding on that woman at your anniversary party.» «One dance? That dance looked like foreplay with an audience.» «The audacity of this man to play victim after humiliating his wife publicly.» «His daughter defended her mom and he thinks the wife is manipulating the kid?»