PART 6 — DAY FOUR

The next morning, Vanessa was waiting outside my first salon.

She stood beside a black SUV wearing sunglasses and an expensive white coat.

I walked past her.

“Elena.”

I kept walking.

“Elena, please.”

I stopped.

“Please what?”

She removed her sunglasses.

“I want to explain.”

“You don’t need to.”

“I didn’t know he was married when we started.”

I looked at her.

“That’s not true.”

Her face changed.

“He told you?”

“No.”

I took out my phone.

“I have messages from you asking him when I was leaving for work.”

She went silent.

“You knew.”

“I didn’t know it was serious.”

“You were in my house.”

“He said you were separated.”

“You drank my wine.”

She swallowed.

“You wore my robe.”

She looked away.

“And you laughed when he cut my hair.”

“I was drunk.”

“That doesn’t make it better.”

She started crying.

I didn’t feel victorious.

I felt tired.

“I don’t hate you,” I said.

She looked surprised.

“I don’t even know you.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Because you and Julian made a decision.”

I turned toward the salon.

“Now you both get to live with it.”

She grabbed my arm.

“Please.

He’s going to lose everything.”

I looked at her hand.

She released me.

“That’s not my responsibility.”

I walked inside.

At 11:00, Rebecca called.

“The hearing request has been filed.”

“How soon?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

I stopped.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

The fifth day.

Exactly as promised.

At 2:30, Julian’s employer terminated his corporate card privileges.

At 3:10, his attorney requested a settlement conference.

At 4:00, Rebecca sent me a draft settlement proposal.

Julian wanted:

• The marital residence.
• Half of the business.
• Half of the investment accounts.
• No responsibility for the $116,800 he had transferred.
• No disclosure of the affair to his employer.

I stared at the document.

Then I laughed.

Rebecca asked, “What’s funny?”

“Everything.”

“He believes he’s negotiating.”

“He is.”

“Do you want to counter?”

“Yes.”

“With what?”

I looked at the document.

“Nothing.”

She paused.

“Nothing?”

“I don’t want his house.”

“You may have a claim to it.”

“I don’t want it.”

“The investments?”

“I’ll take what’s legally mine.”

“And the business?”

“I’ll protect it.”

Rebecca smiled.

“I thought you’d say that.”

I looked at the clock.

Tomorrow.

The number five had been haunting Julian for days.

Tomorrow, he would understand.