He Brought Her A Bag And Me A Keychain Chapter 08

He Brought Her A Bag And Me A Keychain Chapter 08

-Compared to the agreement I’d given him, this one was far more favorable to me.

I took the real estate and other fixed assets.

I waived the shares.

Declan was quiet for a moment, then it clicked.

“Right. Ashford stock’s worthless now. Why would you want it?”

I said nothing.

When the clerk told us to sign, Declan’s hand hovered over the page.

Then he suddenly asked, “Colette, if I hadn’t given that bag to Piper…”

“Would we still have ended up here?”

I finally looked up at him.

“You think Piper wouldn’t have wanted more without the bag?”

Declan fell silent.

If it hadn’t been the bag, it would’ve been something else. A necklace. A pair of shoes.

Piper had never set her sights on being the mistress.

And Declan was the type who could never keep his feelings in check.

The moment he’d allowed himself to want something from another woman, this ending had

become inevitable.

Because sooner or later, the truth always came out.

A bitter laugh escaped him. Then he signed.

The documents felt light in my hands, yet sharp enough to cut.

They severed every last tie between us.

Two months later, I heard the board had voted Declan out.

Unlike when I’d simply walked away, Ashford Group posted an official statement on its

website.

He was stripped of all titles and barred for life.

Then came Piper’s criminal sentencing.

She was convicted of assault and sentenced to just over a year.

On the day she was sentenced, her parents cried the entire time.

The two of them kept asking through sobs why she’d done it.

Piper screamed back, eyes red.

“Because of you!”

“My whole life, you pushed me to be somebody. Do you have any idea how hard that is for

someone like me?”

Tears streamed down her face as she dumped all her resentment on them.

I heard all this from a friend while I was stretched out on a beach, soaking up the sun.

My phone lit up. A new project confirmation from a partner.

I tapped “Accept.”

Then I set my phone beside the beach umbrella.

I closed my eyes and sank back into the peace that was finally mine.

The wind was free.

So was I.