Chapter 5 No.5

The engagement party was the talk of the city.

Brady Kennedy and Hettie Lindsey, the triumphant couple, celebrating their love and their new empire. Karissa saw it splashed across every financial news site and society blog. She wasn't invited, of course. She was the ghost of the former regime.

She had one last thing to do. Her final board meeting at the company her father had built. It was a formality. A handover. A public execution.

She chose her outfit with care. A simple, severe black dress. No jewelry except for her mother's simple gold watch. She was no longer a Simon, trying to project power. She was just Karissa.

When she walked into the boardroom, all eyes were on her. The silence was thick with pity and morbid curiosity.

Brady was at the head of the table, the seat that had once been her father's. Hettie was beside him, not on the board yet, but acting as if she owned the place. She glowed with victory.

Karissa took her seat at the far end of the table, an outsider in her own kingdom. She listened as Brady outlined his vision for the Kennedy Corporation. He was sharp, brilliant even. He had learned well. A part of her, the part that had secretly mentored him, felt a flicker of pride. She crushed it instantly.

She didn't speak during the meeting. She just listened, her expression placid. This was her goodbye. A silent farewell to the life she was supposed to have.

After the meeting, as people were filing out, Brady approached her.

"I need to talk to you," he said, his tone low.

He led her to his office-her father's old office. The view of the city skyline was breathtaking.

"I've made a decision about your future," he began, standing behind the massive mahogany desk. He looked like a king on his throne. "Callum has been a thorn in my side for years, secretly attacking my side projects. I know he did it for you. As a gesture of goodwill, I'm not going to press charges. And I've arranged a position for you at a subsidiary in the Midwest. A quiet, administrative role. You'll be out of the way, and you'll have a stable income. It's more than you deserve."

He was banishing her. Sending her into exile. He was dictating her future, assuming she had nowhere else to go, no other options. He was still trying to control her, even as he cast her out.

Her heart, which she thought had turned to stone, felt a final, crushing blow.

As he spoke, she looked past him, out the window. It had started to rain. A cold, miserable downpour.

Hettie walked in then, not bothering to knock. She wrapped her arms around Brady's neck from behind and kissed his cheek.

"Darling, are you done? Everyone is waiting for us at the club."

She was wearing a white dress, eerily similar to a wedding gown. And around her neck was Karissa's necklace. The one from their first anniversary. He had given Hettie her necklace.

It was the final, profane desecration of their past.

Karissa felt nothing. Just a profound, soul-deep weariness.

"Thank you for the offer, Brady," she said, her voice even. "But I won't be needing it."

She turned and walked towards the door.

"Where will you go?" he called after her, a hint of annoyance in his voice. He wasn't used to being refused.

She paused at the door but didn't look back.

The rain was coming down harder now, lashing against the windows.

She pulled her thin coat tighter around herself and walked out of the office, out of the building, and into the storm. She didn't have an umbrella. She didn't want one.

The cold rain soaked her hair, her clothes, plastering them to her skin. But it felt cleansing. It was washing away the last four years. Washing away the scent of lilies, the weight of his contempt, the ghost of a love that had almost killed her.

I am not his ward to be managed, she thought, the rain dripping down her face like tears. I am not his past to be erased. I am not his junk to be thrown away.

She lifted her face to the sky, letting the storm wash over her.

I am free.