After I Left, His Empire Collapsed Chapter 43

After I Left, His Empire Collapsed Chapter 43

His eyes went red.

“Vanessa. A lot has happened. I just wanted—”

“Nine.”

“Eight.”

“Seven.”

Whatever he saw on my face, it was final.

He pressed his lips together. Eyes wet. Turned. Ran.

I didn’t watch him go. I called a locksmith. Ordered a better lock.

***

Weeks later. News trickled in.

Sadie. The moment Dylan’s company collapsed and the FBI came knocking, she emptied what remained of the corporate accounts. Booked a one-way to Mexico. Rumor was she’d latched onto a local businessman. Vanished completely.

And Dylan. Bankruptcy finalized. Debt crushing. The house. The car. All of it. Gone.

Everything he’d built in the tech world. Erased overnight.

The last I heard of him was six months later. Someone spotted him in Austin. Cheap work jacket. Servicing an old Toyota with an Uber sticker on the windshield.

He’d found work at an auto shop.

That same night, Leo and I got married at a vineyard outside Austin.

The city lights glittered. I remembered a long time ago. A garage somewhere in this town. A man holding my hand. Promising me a future that would never exist.

The wedding march began.

Leo stood at the end of the aisle. Hand extended. Smiling.

The officiant’s voice rang out.

“Vanessa Vance. Do you take Leo DeVries to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love and to cherish. For better, for worse. Until death do you part?”

I looked at Leo. At a man who saw only me.

The corners of my mouth lifted. My voice steady. Clear.

“I do.”

I walked toward him. Toward my future.

Behind me, the Texas night breeze blew soft and warm.

The past was smoke. I had no interest in looking back.

[End]