Chapter 15 - Chloe’s Second Chance
Chloe did not join Vance Capital.
That would have been absurd.
Instead, she rebuilt her life quietly.
She sold most of the gifts Luca had given her and returned money investigators determined had originated improperly from company-funded benefits.
Months later, she launched a legitimate design consultancy with her own money.
She sent me one message.
I finally own something because I actually built it.
I smiled when I read it.
We would never become best friends.
Some wounds do not need that kind of ending.
But hatred had become unnecessary.
When we eventually met for coffee, Chloe apologized without asking me to absolve her.
“I wanted your life,” she admitted.
“You wanted the version Luca showed you.”
She considered that.
“Maybe.”
“No. Definitely.”
She laughed.
So did I.
It was the first time we had ever laughed together.
Before leaving, she asked whether I regretted marrying Luca.
I thought carefully.
“No.”
She looked surprised.
“Fourteen years produced more than betrayal. We built things. We loved each other once. I learned who I was. Regretting all of it would mean giving the worst ending ownership over every good chapter that came before.”
Chloe nodded.
May you like
Outside the café, we went in opposite directions.
And that was exactly right.
