the papers up. “Living with a husband who sleeps with your sister is pretty stupid, anyway.”

The café erupted.

Gasps. Murmurs.

A few shocked laughs.

Ryan’s face drained of color. “What are you talking about?!” he sputtered.

And then, Emily fell right into the trap.

“You know what, sis?” she said, stepping forward, chin high, voice dripping with triumph. “Me and Ryan are in love!” She turned to the room, putting on her best tragic face.

“But with your callous heart, you’d never understand real love.”

Silence.

Ryan expected me to shatter. Emily expected me to scream, cry, beg.

Instead, I smiled.

A slow, deliberate smile.

I took the divorce papers from his hands, barely glancing at them, then casually reached into my purse. The café was dead silent as I pulled out my own set of documents and slapped them onto the table.

“Oh, Ryan,” I sighed, tilting my head.

“You shouldn’t have gone through all this trouble.” I tapped my neatly prepared divorce papers. “I already took care of it. Filed everything last week.”

He stood there shocked.

“What?” he croaked.

I leaned in slightly, just enough for him to see the sheer satisfaction in my eyes.

“Including full custody.”

Emily’s smirk disappeared.

Ryan swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “That’s not possible.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“Oh, but it is.” I shrugged. “Turns out, courts don’t look kindly on fathers who cheat on their wives with their child’s aunt.”

Emily stepped forward, her voice rising.

“You’re lying. There’s no way—”

And then, the final blow.

A sleek black SUV pulled up outside, its tinted windows reflecting the streetlights. The door swung open.

My father stepped out.

Ryan’s breath hitched.

Emily stiffened.

Dad walked in, moving with the weight of a man on a mission. In one hand, he held a bouquet of flowers. In the other?

A thick, heavy envelope.

He ignored everyone else, making his way straight to me. He kissed my cheek, handed me the flowers, then turned, his gaze sweeping the room.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” he said smoothly. Then, after a pause, his voice turned sharp.

“Now… will someone explain why my daughter’s party has turned into a goddamn circus?”

The café erupted.

A dozen voices tried to explain at once. It only took five minutes for my father to piece together the entire story. His face hardened.

Then, slowly, he turned to Emily.

“You,” he said, his voice low and dangerous, “have no idea how much you’ve disappointed me.”

Emily flinched. “Dad—”

“No.” His voice sliced through the air like a blade. “You don’t speak now.

You speak when you learn what it means to be loyal to family. But you won’t learn that with my help.”

I reached for the envelope he carried. My fingers slid it open.

Inside? A stack of papers.

His will.

Dad’s voice was calm but firm. “As of today, you are my sole heiress.

I will not reward betrayal.”

A sharp gasp. Emily took a shaky step forward. “You have no right to do this!”

My father turned his back to her.

“And you had no right to destroy your sister’s home.”

Suddenly, there was a silence. A thick, suffocating silence that tasted like victory.

Ryan sat there, stunned. Emily’s lip trembled, her world crumbling.

I exhaled slowly, taking in the moment.

Then, I lifted my glass.

“To new beginnings.”

And as my friends and family raised theirs in return, I knew—my birthday had never felt sweeter.

Source: amomama