I caught a glimpse of myself in the side mirror of Lindsey's car before stepping out. And for the first time in years, I didn't see the broken girl I was.
The woman staring back at me was fierce.
My skin glowed from weeks of detoxing my pain, and my body? Let's say heartbreak makes you one hell of a gym rat. The fire-red bikini hugged my curves like a designer glove, paired with a sheer wrap that teased just enough to stir curiosity. But it was the red lipstick, bold, daring, and unapologetic, that sealed the deal.
I wasn't coming to hide. I wasn't coming to beg.
I was coming to make sure Ethan never forgot what he threw away.
Lindsey let out a low whistle beside me. "Tessa You're illegal. Like, genuinely should come with a warning label."
I laughed, shaking out my hair as we walked together toward the pool area. I walked slower than usual, each step deliberate a strut that said I don't chase, I attract. Confidence pulsed in my veins like champagne bubbles.
We were passing the last row of lounge chairs when I saw him.
Ethan.
Tall. Athletic. Still irritatingly handsome. His hand casually rested on the shoulder of some platinum blonde Barbie knockoff in a barely-there swimsuit. He hadn't seen me yet his head was tilted back in laughter, clueless.
But the universe? Oh, it has a wicked sense of humor.
"Damn," one of the guys near him muttered, clearly not trying to whisper. "Who the hell is that goddess?"
Ethan turned.
His smile faded like a candle being blown out.
His hand snapped off Barbie's shoulder like he'd touched an electric fence. I saw his lips part, eyes raking up and down my body, lingering on the red lipstick. He blinked. Twice.
"T-Tessa?" he stammered, taking a step forward like he wasn't sure if I was real. And even more surprised that I knew Lindsey. "What… What are you doing here? And what is this? What's going on?"
All eyes turned to us now.
Barbie-like girl, whose name I guess was Jessica, cocked her head, voice high and sugary. "Babe, who is she?"
He turned to her, his voice flat but laced with panic. "She's my wife. And don't call me babe. I told you I'm married."
Her mascara-coated eyes blinked rapidly."You what? You never told me you were married, Ethan!"
"Well, I am," he snapped, then scrubbed a hand over his face like the moment would disappear.
Another guy from their group looked between us, eyebrows raised so high they nearly disappeared into his hairline. "Dude… that's your wife? You've been married this whole time? You said you were separated."
I took a breath, steadying the hurricane inside me.
I could scream. I could throw the drink Lindsey just handed me in his face. I could cry. I could run.
But no.
Not this Tessa.
I squared my shoulders and walked the rest of the way toward them, hips swaying like a metronome set to revenge. Ethan stood there frozen, watching me like he was waiting for a slap. Good. He deserved ten.
I reached him, stood on my tiptoes, and gently almost lovingly kissed his forehead.
A collective gasp fluttered through the group.
I smiled sweetly, my voice dipped in velvet. "Hush, hon," I said softly, just for him. "I'm not here for you."
Then I turned, leaving him standing there like a broken statue in a garden full of blooming flowers.
My heels clicked against the stone tiles as I strolled to the poolside, the air alive with tension. I could feel their eyes on me. Not just the men all of them. Whispers. Admiration. Confusion. Lust.
Lindsey followed behind me, her smirk wide and proud. "Damn, Tess. You just dropped a nuke and walked away in slow motion."
I sat at the edge of a lounger, crossing my legs, sipping my drink like royalty, feeling Ethan's gaze burn into my back. Jessica was probably still arguing, still trying to understand the lie she'd bought into. But me? I'd said my piece.
And the best part?
I wasn't done.
The sun shimmered on the pool's surface, but all I could feel was fire burning under my skin. I sat down gracefully, my legs crossed at the knee, a polite smile on my lips, but inside, I was breaking apart one breath at a time.
The silence that followed my kiss on Ethan's forehead had been louder than any slap. Now, as I perched beside the water, sipping something fruity and cold I could barely taste, the weight of a thousand gazes clung to me. I could feel their eyes tracing my figure, drinking in the glow, the confidence, the revenge body that pain had sculpted.
But I couldn't breathe.
Behind me, I heard her voice Jessica, Barbie reincarnated, shrieking like a banshee dipped in glitter. "You're telling me that was your wife? You never said you were married!"
No subtlety. No shame.
I heard her voice crack and his silence echo.
Good.
Ethan wasn't even defending himself. He was stunned, like a child who just saw his lie burn in public. My stomach twisted, and I had to look away before I burst into tears in front of all these people. That was one thing I had promised myself he could break my heart, but I'd never let him see me shatter.
Lindsey saw it.
The wobble in my lips, the tight grip on my glass, the way my toes curled into the cement like I was holding myself down.
She leaned over with a wide, fake smile and a chirpy voice. "Hey, guys! Tessa and I are gonna go unpack real quick don't party too hard without us!" Her hand slid under my elbow like a lifeline.
The moment we were around the corner, I fell apart.
I barely made it into the room. My room, before I collapsed onto the floor. My knees hit the tiles, and I let go. Face down, sobbing, the kind of sob that doesn't care how pretty you look or how loud it sounds. It ripped out of my throat like it had been waiting for weeks.
Lindsey didn't say a word. She just set a bottle of champagne on the nightstand, popped the cork, and handed it to me like a prescription. I chugged half of it before wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
"I hate him," I whispered into the carpet. "I hate that I ever trusted him. I hate that I still want him to beg."
Lindsey knelt beside me, a box of tissues in hand."Cry it out. You've earned it." "Did you see the look on his face?"
So I did. For everything the lies, the gaslighting, the nights I stayed up waiting, the smiles I forced, the version of me I'd shrunk to just to be enough for a man who wasn't even honest enough to say he wanted out.
I don't know how long I lay there crying, my mascara ruining the floor tiles. The bottle was nearly empty when the knock came.
No, not a knock. A bang.
"Tess!" His voice was hoarse, frantic. "Please open the door. Baby, please let's just talk."
I didn't move. I didn't flinch.
"I'm sorry," he begged. "I swear I never meant to hurt you. Please, just open the door. I'll explain everything."
Lindsey rolled her eyes and handed me another tissue.
The banging continued. "Tessa, please. Don't do this to me. Let me fix it. We can talk this through. I love you, I swear I do. I was stupid. Just open the door!"
I choked out a cold, bitter laugh. Now he wanted to talk? After everything?
I sipped again from the bottle, even though the bubbles were long gone. My head was starting to spin, but I didn't care. I wanted to be numb. I wanted his words to sound like static.
But more than anything, I wanted to teach him what silence felt like.
And so I stayed down on the floor while he kept knocking harder, then softer. He begged. Whispered my name. Apologized again. I heard the scrape of his palm against the door like he was leaning into it, praying I was listening.
I was.
I just didn't give a damn.
I wasn't going to make this easy, give him closure, or soften his shame.
Let him knock.
Let him wonder.
Let him sit in the chaos he created and realize I wasn't the same woman who used to run every time he snapped his fingers.
By the time he stopped, over an hour had passed. The hallway was quiet. My sobs had dried into shallow hiccups. My heart still ached, but there was a shift; a small, trembling layer of steel forming beneath the cracks.
Lindsey handed me a cold washcloth. "You okay?"
I looked at her through blurry lashes. "No."
I wiped my face, forcing the wine and pain down. "But I will be. And when I rise, I'm making sure Ethan never forgets the woman he threw away."
She smiled. "Now that's the Tessa I love."
I reached for the mirror above the desk. My face was a mess but underneath it… I was still that woman by the pool. Still, the one who turned heads. Still, the one who made even Ethan stammer.
And tonight, I'll show him just how unforgettable I could be…