He Celebrated His Divorce With the Woman He Chose Until 43 Messages Hit His Phone at Once

Daniel walked out of the West Loop studio into the pouring rain, holding the shredded remnants of the fifteen-million-dollar offer. The cold water soaked through his shirt, but he barely felt it. For twelve years, he had believed he was the master architect of his own destiny. In less than twelve hours, Claire had revealed that he was merely a man living in a house she had designed, holding keys she had allowed him to keep.

His phone rang incessantly in his pocket. He pulled it out to see Tessa’s name flashing on the screen.

He swiped to answer. "Tessa."

"Daniel! Where are you?!" Tessa’s voice was high-pitched, laced with escalating panic. "I’ve been calling you for two hours! My agency just received an email from Mercer’s legal team! They're suspending our marketing contract indefinitely!"

Daniel leaned against the brick wall of the alleyway, running a wet hand through his hair. "The board is freezing all non-essential expenditures until the patent issue is resolved, Tessa. It's standard procedure."

"Standard procedure?!" Tessa shouted. "Daniel, my agency put four hundred thousand dollars of our own capital into the Riverfront launch campaign! If Mercer cancels our contract, my business goes under!"

Daniel closed his eyes, feeling an overwhelming fatigue settle into his bones. "I'm doing everything I can, Tessa. I just came from Claire's studio."

There was a sudden, sharp pause on the line. "You went to see her?"

"Of course I went to see her!" Daniel said, his voice rising in frustration. "She holds the patents! She's the only person who can stop the city from shutting down the firm!"

"And what did she say?" Tessa demanded, her tone shifting from panic to suspicion. "Did she ask for money? Did she ask for you to come back to her?"

Daniel let out a bitter, joyless laugh. "She tore up a fifteen-million-dollar settlement offer in my face, Tessa. She doesn't want my money. She doesn't want me. She wants to see Mercer fall."

"Then sue her!" Tessa urged aggressively. "File an emergency injunction! Claim that she developed those patents while using corporate resources during your marriage! You have the best lawyers in Chicago, Daniel! Use them!"

Daniel looked at his phone, feeling a strange, profound sense of detachment. Eighteen months ago, Tessa’s fierce, ambitious drive had felt intoxicating—a sharp contrast to Claire’s quiet reserve. Now, standing in the rain, listening to Tessa demand legal warfare against the woman whose life he had helped dismantle, it felt hollow. Ruthless. Cold.

"It doesn't work that way, Tessa," Daniel said quietly. "The patents were filed two years before we were married. They belong to her."

"Then find another way!" Tessa yelled. "Because if Mercer goes down, Daniel, my agency goes down with it. And I didn't sacrifice my reputation for the last eighteen months just to end up bankrupt with a ruined executive!"

The words hit Daniel like a cold bucket of water.

I didn't sacrifice my reputation... just to end up bankrupt with a ruined executive.

He stood silent in the rain. "Is that what I am to you, Tessa? An executive?"