Chloe exhaled softly, fingers brushing against the edge of the crystal glass in front of her, the cool surface smooth beneath her touch.
It had been years—too many years—since she had enjoy this luxury.
She had walked away from wealth. Her family. Their resources. Their support.
Not because she had to. Because she wanted to prove something.
That she could survive, stand tall, build a life without them.
And she had.
But she had also lost herself in the process.
She had scraped by when she didn't have to. She had accepted Kevin's failures as her own burden. She had sacrificed comfort for pride.
And now?
Now she had used the one card her eldest brother had given her. The lifeline she had tucked away out of stubbornness, convincing herself she'd never need it.
But here she was.
Back in the world that had always been hers to claim.
Her phone buzzed.
Sophia. Again.
Chloe exhaled, clicking the message open.
"You really thought you could hold onto him, huh? That he'd never want better?"
Chloe inhaled slowly, rolling her shoulders back, entirely unbothered.
She typed back, relaxed, deliberate.
"I never wanted to hold onto someone who needed convincing to stay. But hey—since you're still texting me, maybe you should ask yourself why you're so desperate for validation. Enjoy playing house, sweetheart. Oh, and Kevin? He's trash. And trash belongs in the bin."
Delivered.
Read.
Silence.
Chloe smiled, setting the phone aside.
She lifted the sleek black card from the bedside table—the card her eldest brother had given her years ago, telling her she could use it whenever she was ready to stop pretending she had to suffer to succeed.
She had held onto it for years, untouched.
Until now.
Now, she wasn't rejecting what was hers—she was reclaiming it.
She took another sip of her wine, letting the warmth settle deep.
And just like that, she leaned back into the sheets, at peace—because she had finally stopped choosing less.