“And because despite everything, I don’t want you to fail.”
She looked down.
“I already did.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You made mistakes.”
She looked at me.
“There’s a difference.”
She smiled faintly.
Then she walked out.
I watched her leave.
For years, I had imagined revenge as something dramatic.
A courtroom.
A ruined business.
A public humiliation.
A moment where everyone finally admitted I had been right.
But standing there in my shop, I realized I didn’t want any of that.
The best revenge wasn’t destroying Laura or Brent.
It wasn’t the $7,018.
It wasn’t the document they signed without reading.
It wasn’t even the panic at 5:03 that morning.
It was simpler.
They had spent years telling me I would never amount to anything.
And now they had to watch me succeed without needing anything from them.
That night, Rick and Noah came over.
We
