Chapter Two

Cordelia's POV

I hold his gaze for a long moment, then say it flat. "I'm not apologizing. And she's not walking out of here with a single thing."

I turn to the staff. "Everything Bianca tried on, take it back and hang it where it belongs."

"You wouldn't dare!" Bianca shrieks.

Garrett jabs a finger at me, losing it. "Cordelia, you put those clothes back today, and we're done. I'll divorce you."

I stop, my back to them. My cheek is still throbbing, but I smile.

I walk out without a word.

The cold air hits me. I pull out my phone and dial a number.

"Hi. My storefront, Éclat. I've decided to sell it. Yeah, now. Right away."

I walk down the late-autumn street by myself. A few people passing by give me odd looks, but I'm past caring.

The broker on the other end sounds thrown. "Ms. Pruitt, that place is prime real estate, and business has been solid. Why sell all of a sudden? And this request of yours is strange. What do you mean the buyer has to be hot-tempered and, what, connected?"

"Don't worry about the why. As long as you find someone who fits, I'll come down on price." I keep going. "The faster the better. I want a contract signed in the next day or two. I want the whole thing clean, and nobody hears about it."

"All right. Since you're set on it, I've actually got a serious buyer looking for a spot exactly like this. Guy's just a little... not someone you want to cross. I'll set up a meeting for tomorrow."

"Good. See you tomorrow."

I put the phone away and call a car home.

I push the door open. The living room is dark. Garrett isn't back yet.

I go into the bedroom, drag my suitcase out from under the bed, and start packing. Three years of marriage, and there's not much in this house that's actually mine.

Garrett likes his comforts. The whole place, the furniture, all of it was done to his taste. I was always at the store.

I've just zipped the suitcase shut when I hear a key turn in the front door.

I shove the suitcase back under the bed and sit down on the edge of it.

"Garrett, I am so done with today! Who does that Cordelia think she is, making me look like an idiot in front of all those people?" Bianca's voice carries in from the living room, sweet and sulky at once.

He brought her home?

"Okay, okay, let it go. She's got that petty streak. Small-town girl, never been anywhere, cares about money more than anything." Garrett's soothing her. "Relax. I own half that store. She's not going to actually do anything to you."

"But she wouldn't let me take the clothes today! I'm going to a yacht party tomorrow night with some of the girls, and I already told them the whole store's mine to pick from. Now what am I supposed to wear? I don't care, Garrett, you have to make this right for me." She's laying it on thick.

"Fine, fine, whatever you want." His voice goes soft and doting. "She got embarrassed today. She won't show her face at the store for a few days. Give it a couple days, then bring your girls in and take whatever you like. She tries to stop you, I really will divorce her. She walks away with nothing, not a cent."

"Really? Garrett, you're the best!" Bianca squeals, and then I hear them start kissing. It makes me sick.

"Just don't go overboard and clear the place out. That store's a golden goose. We still need it making us money down the road," Garrett says.

"I know, I know. I'll just take a few of the most expensive things and let the girls grab a couple too. Call it payback for Cordelia pissing me off today."

I sit in the dark bedroom, listening to these two scheme through the wall, and I can't even work up anger anymore.

Nothing kills you quite like not caring anymore.

To Garrett, I'm a machine that makes money. My store is his ATM.

Too bad none of his big talk changes one fact. That store has one registered owner, one person who holds it outright, start to finish. Me. Cordelia.

He didn't put in a dime back then, and he's not taking a dime now.

I get up and go to the vanity. In the moonlight coming through the window, I look at the woman in the mirror with the cold eyes.

Bianca. You want to bring your girls in for a free haul? You want the most expensive pieces?

Fine.

Let's see if you can carry them out.

The laughing and flirting keeps going out there. I go to the door and open it.

The living room light is on. Garrett and Bianca are wrapped up together on the couch. They spring apart when I appear.

Something panicked crosses Garrett's face, then he forces it flat. "What were you doing holed up in there, sneaking around so nobody knows you're home? Bianca came by to sit for a while. Go get her some water."

Bianca looks at me, all challenge.

I ignore him and let my eyes pass over the two of them, calm, like I'm looking at a couple pieces of trash about to get taken out.

"I'm not thirsty. Don't trouble yourself," Bianca says, snide.

I smile a little and go to the entryway to change my shoes.

"Where are you going this late?" Garrett frowns.

I pull the door open and don't look back. "To the store. Inventory count."