Miranda moved through the dining room like a ghost, balancing plates while her chest ached from the fresh wounds Colin had opened. His sneers about her past, her failures, and her background echoed louder than the clatter of dishes. But in the kitchen’s chaos, Chef Robert’s quiet compassion gave her something she hadn’t felt in a long time—permission to fight back without losing herself. His calm belief in her worth steadied her trembling hands and sparked a small, fierce courage.

The plan was petty, but it was hers. Watching Colin crumble under the unexpected heat, his arrogance melting into panic, didn’t erase the years of humiliation, but it shifted something inside her. When Michael stepped in, shielding her without exposing the truth, Miranda finally saw she wasn’t alone anymore. The real victory wasn’t Colin’s embarrassment; it was realizing she had people who chose her side—and that she could, at last, choose herself.