Only five minutes had passed since the judge officially dissolved my marriage when my father, Gustavo Salazar, firmly took hold of my arm outside the family courthouse in downtown Chicago.
My heart was still in pieces.
Just moments earlier, my ex-husband, Michael Bennett, had strolled out of the courthouse with Vanessa Collins wrapped around his arm, carrying himself not like a man who had destroyed nine years of marriage—but like someone celebrating a victory.
Vanessa wore oversized designer sunglasses, an ivory silk blouse, and a smile that had nothing to do with happiness.
It was the smile of someone savoring another woman’s humiliation.
Michael glanced back over his shoulder one final time.
“Try not to cry too much, Mari,” he murmured with a smug grin. “Some women simply don’t know how to keep a man.”
Vanessa let out a light, satisfied laugh.
Heat rushed into my face.
