My Ex, a Cashier, Started Driving a Sports Car and

A Parking Lot Revelation

A month after my unexpected divorce from Michael, I spotted him in a supermarket parking lot—stepping out of a sleek sports car, dressed in a designer suit and Rolex. Gone was the man who wore bargain khakis and worked minimum wage.

I approached him, stunned.
“Michael?” I asked.

His reply was cold: “Katherine, we’re not together anymore. This isn’t your business.” He tossed a $100 bill at my feet.

As I picked it up, I froze. A tiny smiley face was drawn on it—something I’d doodled years ago on a bill my dying grandfather had tried to give me. I’d refused the money then, thinking I didn’t need it.

But now, it was in Michael’s hands.

Suspicious, I visited Harrison, my grandfather’s old friend. When I showed him the bill, he sighed. “I think your grandfather gave Michael the money. He thought it would help you.”

I was furious. “He played us both.”

Harrison asked, “Do you want him to keep that money? Or do you want to take it back?”

With legal help from Logan, an attorney, we confronted Michael. Logan warned him:
“We have witnesses, bank records, and text logs… You can return the money now or fight and lose.”

Michael relented. “Fine. I’ll sell everything.”

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Full Circle

With the returned funds, I opened a veterinary clinic named after my grandfather. On opening day, Harrison beamed with pride.

A week later, Logan asked me to dinner. Two years later, I married him.

In my wallet, I still keep that $100 bill with the smiley face—a symbol of love lost, justice found, and the future I never saw coming.