Chapter 2: Building an Empire of Her Own

Nathaniel saw the look of pure terror on Vivian's face and spun around to see what had caused it.

The moment he registered that it was Claire standing in the doorway, his stomach dropped.

Seeing the man she'd built five years of her life around looking so pathetic only fed Claire's fury. She raised the mop and swung.

Nathaniel took the hits across his bare skin, wincing, throwing his arms up to shield his eyes from the dirty water streaming down.

Once she'd given him a proper thrashing, Claire turned the mop on Vivian, scrubbing it across her too before flinging it aside and tearing at the clothes the woman had just hurriedly pulled on, ripping them clean off her.

She grabbed the mop again and went at Vivian like she was chasing off a stray dog, the woman shrieking the whole time.

The second Nathaniel got a window, he yanked on his clothes and pulled Claire off Vivian, his face dark with something between shame and barely restrained anger furious that his little rendezvous had been so rudely interrupted.

Seeing the nerve of him, still acting wronged, Claire drew back her hand and slapped him across the face without hesitation.

Then, not sparing him another glance, she marched toward Vivian and yanked away the blanket the woman was using to cover herself.

"You shameless homewrecker. You had no problem screaming his name a minute ago what exactly are you trying to hide from me now?"

She slapped Vivian twice more, leaving her cheeks blotched red beneath the tear tracks.

Watching his mistress get manhandled was apparently the last straw for Nathaniel. He shoved Claire back and planted himself between the two women, wrapping Vivian protectively in his arms, his heart clearly aching at the sight of her pretty, tear-streaked face swelling from the blows.

Claire stumbled back against the wardrobe, stunned for a beat before whipping around to face the pair of them, her expression turning glacial.

Nathaniel had already draped his coat over Vivian's shoulders, holding her like she was something precious.

Claire studied them both, cold and unreadable.

Curled against Nathaniel, Vivian's eyes swam with tears, her small frame trembling with sobs. There was no denying the woman was beautiful the kind of delicate, wounded beauty that could turn a certain type of weak man's head completely.

That fragile, heartbroken look on her face was clearly working exactly as intended on the fool holding her.

Watching the two of them together, Claire felt her carefully composed expression crack, flushing red with rage.

It hit her all at once how their intimacy had thinned out over the last two years, how distant he'd grown.

This wasn't Vivian. Not the first, not by a long shot. He'd probably been cheating for years, and lately they'd gotten so comfortable they didn't even bother hiding it outside anymore. Bold enough now to bring it straight into her home.

They hadn't just betrayed her. They'd stopped even respecting her enough to be careful about it.

The longer she thought about it, the colder her fury became. She looked at the two of them locked together, let out a short, humorless laugh, and delivered one flat, final line before walking out.

"I'll see you at the marriage registry office tomorrow morning."

That rotten, diseased excuse of a man infected with who knows how many other women's filth. She wanted nothing more to do with him.

He disgusted her.

Whoever wanted him now could have him, and gladly.

Nathaniel said nothing. Didn't even try to explain himself.

Of course he wouldn't. He'd probably been praying for this exact moment waiting for her to be the one to say the word divorce first, so he wouldn't have to carry the blame for it.

He must have been done with her for a long time already, just biding his time.

Claire walked out of that apartment feeling frozen straight through, her eyes stinging, her throat raw, her heart in pieces.

At least there were no children caught in the middle of this. That made a clean break easier.

She drove to the small apartment she'd bought years ago and kept for herself quiet, tidy, hers. She didn't stay there often, but she came by every few days to keep it clean, and right now she was grateful for that.

She sat down on the sofa and let herself replay five years of her life, of everything she'd given to Nathaniel Whitmore, and the tears came without permission.

She cried until she had nothing left, and somewhere in that exhaustion, her mind cleared in a way it hadn't in months.

Claire. Pull yourself together.

That man was never worth what you gave him.

Claire, you understand now, don't you?

From this point forward, she would live for no one but herself.

From this point forward, she'd be sharper, bolder, and freer than any man who thought he could hold her down.

From this point forward, Claire Bennett belonged only to Claire Bennett.

She'd eat well, live well, and let nothing weigh her down again.

No matter how charming the next man might be, she wasn't going to fall for it twice. She was done collecting hearts one at a time from here on out, she intended to build herself an entire empire of admirers, and keep every single one of them exactly where she wanted them: nowhere near her heart.