Before Dessert

Part 3: The Last Anniversary Gift

Three weeks later, the investigation revealed the full extent of Marcus’s financial misconduct.

Vivienne’s consulting company had received more than $3.4 million through fraudulent invoices.

The River North apartment had been paid for using company funds.

So had several vacations, luxury purchases, and private dinners.

But the biggest surprise came from Vivienne herself.

When investigators questioned her, she provided messages showing that Marcus had promised to divorce me and marry her once he secured full control of the company.

She had believed him.

Unfortunately for both of them, the money trail told a different story.

Marcus had been using her company to conceal transactions he never intended to share with her.

They had both betrayed me.

And neither had been loyal to the other.

Two months after our anniversary, Marcus requested a meeting.

I agreed to see him at a quiet café near the Chicago River.

He looked older.

His expensive suits had been replaced by ordinary business clothes, and the confident smile I once knew had disappeared.

“Hannah.”

“Marcus.”

He sat opposite me.

For a while, he simply stared at his coffee.

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Then he spoke.

“I never thought you’d actually leave.”

I stirred my tea.

“That was your first mistake.”

“I thought you loved me enough to forgive anything.”

I looked at him.

“Love isn’t permission to humiliate someone.”

He swallowed.

“Vivienne was a mistake.”

“No. Bringing her to our anniversary dinner wasn’t a mistake. It was a decision.”

He looked down.

“I was trying to make you jealous. I wanted to know if you still cared.”

“And when you saw that I did?”

He didn’t answer.

I continued.

“You didn’t apologize. You laughed. You told me not to make things awkward.”

His eyes became wet.

“Hannah, I miss you.”

For a moment, I remembered the man who had once waited outside my office with flowers. The man who had promised to build a future with me.

But memories weren’t a reason to return to a life that had already ended.

“I don’t hate you, Marcus.”

He looked hopeful.

“But I don’t love the man you’ve become, either.”

His expression collapsed.

I reached into my handbag and placed one final envelope on the table.

He stared at it.

“What’s this?”

“The divorce papers. My attorney has already reviewed everything.”

He opened the envelope slowly.

The settlement was fair. My personal assets remained mine, the company shares stayed with the family trust, and all disputed company funds would be addressed through the ongoing legal proceedings.

Marcus looked up.

“Is this really the end?”

I stood.

“It ended the night you brought another woman to our anniversary dinner.”

He reached for my hand.

I stepped back.

“Goodbye, Marcus.”

This time, he didn’t follow me.

Six months later, Reed Financial had a new CEO.

The company recovered from the scandal, its financial controls were rebuilt, and I accepted a position on the board as the family’s representative.

I never wanted to take revenge on the company.

I wanted to protect what my grandfather had worked so hard to build.

As for Marcus, he eventually lost his executive position and faced the consequences of the financial investigation.

Vivienne disappeared from Chicago’s social scene.

Neither of them contacted me again.

On October seventh the following year, I returned to Bellweather.

I wore a beautiful midnight-blue dress and sat beside the window overlooking the Chicago skyline.

This time, there were only two place settings.

One for me.

And one for the future I was finally ready to welcome.

When the waiter approached, he smiled.

“Are you expecting someone, madam?”

I looked at the empty chair and then at the city lights.

“No,” I replied. “Tonight is just for me.”

He poured my wine.

I raised the glass slightly.

Seven years ago, I had walked into that restaurant believing I needed to save my marriage.

One year later, I returned knowing I had saved something far more important.

Myself.

And for the first time in seven years, I enjoyed my anniversary dinner without waiting for a man who didn’t deserve to sit beside me.

The End.