PART 3 — THE DAY EVERYTHING COLLAPSED
Saturday morning arrived.
Derrick woke up completely unaware.
He walked downstairs wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt.
He was making coffee when someone knocked on the door.
He opened it.
Two people stood outside.
One was a process server.
The other was Simone.
Derrick’s smile disappeared.
“What is this?”
Simone said nothing.
The process server handed him the papers.
Derrick looked down.
His face went pale.
“Divorce?”
Simone folded her arms.
“Yes.”
“Simone, wait.”
“No.”
“Please, just let me explain.”
She looked at him for several seconds.
“Explain what?”
Derrick swallowed.
“I made a mistake.”
Simone almost smiled.
“A mistake?”
She stepped closer.
“You didn’t make one mistake, Derrick.”
She held up her phone.
“You made the same mistake every Tuesday and Thursday.”
Derrick’s eyes widened.
“You knew?”
“For weeks.”
“Simone…”
“You brought her into our home.”
“I was going to tell you.”
“No.”
Her voice remained calm.
“You were going to leave when it was convenient for you.”
Derrick started crying.
“I love you.”
Simone shook her head.
“You love what I provided.”
He tried to reach for her.
She stepped back.
“Don’t.”
That single word stopped him.
Within an hour, Derrick was packing a suitcase.
The locks were changed later that afternoon.
The house became quiet.
For the first time in years, Simone stood alone in her kitchen.
And strangely…
She felt lighter.
But Derrick wasn’t ready to let go.
He tried to claim half the savings.
He demanded spousal support.
He threatened to fight her over the house.
Patricia simply opened the evidence folder.
Every message.
Every photograph.
Every security recording.
Every timestamp.
Everything.
The divorce settled much faster than Derrick expected.
He left with his car and a relatively small settlement.
The house remained Simone’s.
Most of the savings remained hers.
And Amber?
Her life began falling apart too.
But Simone refused to become obsessed with revenge.
She had something more important to do.
Rebuild herself.
She renovated the bedroom.
She removed the furniture she associated with Derrick.
She painted the walls.
Bought new sheets.
Changed the photographs.
Then she adopted a golden retriever.
She named him Sunny.
For the first time in years, the house sounded alive again.
