Chapter 2
At the Hermes boutique in The Galleria.
Charlotte pointed a manicured finger at the latest crocodile Birkin bag. She spoke to the sales associate with absolute entitlement. "Wrap this one up. And the one next to it, too."
She was flanked by her so-called best friends, all wearing expressions of jealous admiration.
"Oh my goodness, Charlotte. You're dropping another hundred grand just like that. Your son treats you so well," one of the women fawned.
"Absolutely. My husband only gives me ten grand a month for pocket money. He's so cheap. You're so lucky, Charlotte. Your son is incredibly successful, and your daughter-in-law is pretty obedient."
Soaking up the flattery, Charlotte puffed out her chest and tilted her chin even higher.
In her eyes, I was just a clueless pushover. In three years of marriage, I never dared to speak out of turn.
Charlotte swiped my card whenever she pleased, and I never had the guts to ask about it.
"Put it on my tab," Charlotte said elegantly, handing over the exclusive black card.
The associate took it with a polite smile and swiped it through the terminal.
A harsh beep echoed in the quiet store. The associate frowned and tried again.
Another beep followed. "Declined. Insufficient funds."
A dead silence fell over the VIP lounge. Charlotte's smug smile froze. "What's going on? Do you even know how to use that machine?"
The associate looked extremely uncomfortable. "Ma'am, this card has been canceled."
"What?" Charlotte shrieked, her voice pitching into an ugly tone. "That's impossible. This is an unlimited black card. Swipe it again!"
The envy on her friends' faces quickly melted into pure amusement. They were ready for a show.
The associate patiently tried one more time, but the result was identical.
"It really has been canceled, ma'am. Do you have another form of payment?" the associate suggested.
"Why would I need another card?" Charlotte's face turned a deep shade of purple. She could feel the judgmental stares piercing her from all sides. "Are you looking down on me? Call your manager!"
The store manager arrived promptly. After assessing the situation, his tone remained professional but carried a distinct chill.
"Ma'am, this card is invalid," he said. "Since you already made my staff break the protective seals on these bags, you must pay for them now. If you cannot, we will have no choice but to call the police."
Call the police? Charlotte panicked.
She had lived a life of absolute privilege in her social circles. She had never suffered such public humiliation.
With trembling hands, she pulled out her phone and called Stephen. The moment he answered, she burst into dramatic tears and completely exaggerated the story.
That was exactly what prompted his furious phone call to me.
Half an hour later, a furious Stephen arrived at The Galleria. He had to pay a massive 200 thousand dollar bill just to drag his thoroughly humiliated mother out of the store.
"Mom, what the hell happened? Why was that card canceled?" he snapped, aggressively loosening his tie the moment they got into his car.
"How should I know?" Charlotte slapped her thigh in frustration. "It has to be that total bitch, Skylar. She just divorced you yesterday, and now she pulls a stunt like this.
"This is outrageous! Stephen, you have to teach her a lesson!"
Stephen's face darkened with rage. He immediately grabbed his secondary phone and dialed my number.
This time, I picked up.
"Skylar, what exactly are you trying to pull?" he demanded, his voice thick with suppressed anger.
"I'm not pulling anything," I replied casually. "I am simply taking back what belongs to me."
"Belongs to you? Let me ask you one more time. Did I give you that black card or not?"
"No," I stated clearly. "That card is my premarital asset. I am the primary account holder.
"The card your mother used was just a supplementary one. Now that we are divorced, it is perfectly natural for me to revoke her access."
Stephen let out a dark, mocking laugh, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous lie on earth. "Did the divorce completely break your brain? Premarital asset?
"You were a penniless orphan living off grants in college. How the hell could you afford an exclusive bank account? If you are going to lie, at least make it believable."
"Believe whatever you want," I replied, not wasting another breath on him.
"I am warning you. Turn my mother's card back on right now! Or else..."
"Or else what?" I cut him off sharply. "Stephen, do you honestly believe I'm still the same Skylar you used to push around?
"How do you think Archer Technologies went from a nobody startup to a multi-billion dollar publicly traded company in just three years?
"Do you really think all those legendary investment choices were based on your own brilliant intuition?
"Do you actually believe you are some kind of business god?"
Every single word hit him like a sledgehammer.
Dead silence hung on his end of the line.
I could easily picture the horrified confusion warping his handsome face.
"What... what do you mean?" he asked, his voice suddenly going dry.
I smiled. "Nothing. Just a friendly reminder that the game has only just begun."
I hung up before he could say another word.
It was finally time to wake him up from the beautiful little fantasy he had built for himself.