"Come on. You should feel confident and empowered," Monica said in a sing-song voice, waving her hands in the air dramatically as I drove through the parking garage looking for a spot close to the elevators.

"You're not listening to me," she complained, poking my shoulder. "You're supposed to be listening to me. I'm your best friend. I'm your personal cheerleader. I'm practically your fairy godmother and you just haven't realized it yet!"

I giggled at her choice of words, maneuvering the SUV to back into a space next to a bright red Corvette. After lunch, we'd gone back to Monica's house so she could drop off the massive amount of paperwork that was inhabiting her passenger seat. She'd begged me to take her with me to Hampton, Burns and Hampton, claiming she should be there for moral support. I knew she mostly just wanted to be there to watch me rip Derek a new one, though I wasn't so sure that's what was going to happen. The more I thought about it, the less confident I felt.

"Carrie," she whined, tapping my arm rapidly.

"What?"

"Do you feel confident?" Monica raised her eyebrows expectantly.

I nodded my head yes. "No."

"That... well I'm thoroughly confused," she frowned.

As we walked to the elevators, the nervous pit in my stomach continued to grow. I started regretting having seafood for lunch, knowing that was a bad combination with jittery nerves. After talking about it half the time we were eating, Monica had finally convinced me to go confront Derek. I wanted to get it over with but I also wanted to run the other direction and ignore him until he forgot who I was. Fat chance.

"You can do this," Monica grinned like an idiot when we stepped inside the elevator. "You're like the Hulk."

I looked at her like she had four heads. "The Hulk?"

"I don't mean you look like him," she said, scrunching up her nose and frowning like she was rethinking what she'd just said. "I mean you should have his attitude."

"Oh," I nodded slowly. I wondered where on earth she came up with these things.

"Yeah," she smiled and pressed the button for the forty-sixth floor. "Cause you're not green."

I groaned, feeling a headache in the works as I leaned against the wall, nauseous from the speed of the elevator carrying us to the executive floor.

The elevator doors opened with a ding. It had been awhile since I'd been to Derek's firm. Derek didn't like being disturbed during the work day so I rarely ever went to his office. I glanced around at the admins in their cubicles. Hampton, Burns and Hampton generally chose tall, thin, blonde women who looked like runway models as secretaries. Supposedly it gave off a better image of the firm. I thought it made them appear picky and rude. There were plenty of attractive girls who weren't tall, thin and blonde that would be great employees if they'd just give them the opportunity.

Opposite the sea of cubicles were the partners' offices. Twelve extravagant offices with floor to ceiling windows and glass walls lined the top floor. On the far right were Derek's and his father's offices. Monica gave me a light shove when I hesitated to move.

"Remember," she whispered in my ear. "Be like the Hulk."

I groaned. "You're insane, Monica. You really are."

Walking toward Derek's office, I told my nerves to shut the hell up. Monica followed a few feet behind. All the white plastic blinds were shut on the glass walls making it impossible to see inside Derek's office. I reached up to knock on the door and heard a muffled sound from inside. I looked to Monica with a frown. She motioned for me to go ahead so I threw caution to the wind and swung the door open.

A loud bang startled several of the secretaries when the door hit the stopper. I stood there in disgust watching Derek and Christine jump apart. Monica's jaw dropped in shock. Derek's shirt was half unbuttoned, his belt unbuckled, and his hair looked like he'd stuck his finger in a light socket. Christine's top was hanging from the lampshade on Derek's filing cabinet.

I crossed my arms, glaring and leaning against the door facing. "So this is why you never wanted me to come by your office."

Derek's face turned beet red. He was hurriedly trying to button his shirt while Christine quickly pulled her top over her head, making her hair frizz with static. She looked like she'd seen a ghost. I thought Monica was about to have a conniption, staring bug-eyed at them with her mouth open and her eyebrows up to her hairline. She was more surprised than I was.

I looked around noticing all the secretaries peeking over their cubicle walls to see what the fuss was about.

"This..." Derek ran a nervous hand through his hair, looking around the room at anything but me. "This is not what it looks like!"

"It looks like you're banging your partner behind your fiancé's back," I said, earning gasps from a few women behind me.

I wasn't nervous anymore. Now I just wanted to break one of those panel windows and push Derek out of it. And maybe Christine too.

"Baby," Derek said, putting his hands up in surrender. "It's nothing. You've got it all wrong."

"No. See I don't," I told him, stepping into his office. "I know exactly what you're up to and why. You may have had me fooled before but you don't anymore."

"I don't know what you're-"

"Talking about?" I laughed sarcastically. "You do. I won't say it here though. I'll let all your coworkers speculate after I leave."

The crowd listening in was growing as employees from other floors came to see. Christine put her head down, looking at the pointy tips of her bright red heels while she tried to slip passed me out of the room. I reached out and rested my hand on the door facing to block her exit.

"How long has this been going on?" I demanded, staring her down.

"I... it..." Derek stuttered, looking from me to Christine to Monica.

"Long enough," I answered my own question, turning around to leave.

I noticed Nick walking out of his office. I briefly considered kissing him in front of Derek just to be a bitch but decided it was probably best if I didn't.

"Oh, by the way," I said, turning back to look at Derek. "I came here to tell you the engagement is off. I guess you already got the memo, moving on to sluts though. And Derek? You might want to consider a password on your computer. Wouldn't want anyone to see what you're hiding."

The color drained from his face when he realized what I was referring to. Monica was right. This did feel empowering and I did feel confident.

Nick was leaning against the wall, arms crossed with an amused smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. I ignored Derek's calls behind me and walked toward Nick while Christine ran passed me to her office, slamming the door and closing all her blinds in an embarrassed frenzy. I could faintly hear Monica giving Derek a piece of her mind but I wasn't listening.

Nick chuckled when I slumped against the wall beside him with a huff. "That was interesting."

"It was a long time coming," I groaned. I was ready for a stiff drink and some ice cream to put my overactive mind at ease.

"Should've punched him though, don't you think?" he breathed a laugh, shooting daggers at Derek. He pushed away from the wall, stepping around me. "Excuse me one sec."

I watched Nick casually walk up to Derek who was proceeding to tell Monica and one of the secretaries how he was the real victim and Christine had come on to him and I was such a bitch to him all the time that he just had to get away.

"Hey man," Nick said, putting a hand on Derek's shoulder.

Derek glared at him. "The fuck do you want?"

Before Derek could react, Nick's fist collided with his jaw, sending him stumbling back against the door. The blinds banged against the glass making loud crashing sounds. A multitude of gasps sounded from the crowd watching.

Nick walked back to me with a laid back expression as if nothing had just happened. Derek was trying to get up, holding his hand over his nose where blood was pouring out. If looks could kill, Nick would've been dead right then.

"You alright?" Nick asked me.

I shrugged. "Too much excitement for one day. I think I'll take Monica home and go get some rest." My adrenaline was quickly dissipating.

"I'll take her so you can go straight home and relax," Nick offered. "You don't mind, do you Monica?"

Monica looked for my approval in the form of nod. "Sure. I guess I don't mind."

"Thanks," I said tiredly, hugging Nick. "I just need to take a breather."

While Nick was taking Monica home, I headed back to my house, exceeding the speed limit to get home faster. My thoughts were a tornado of frustration and exhaustion. It had felt great to tell Derek off but I wished it had never come to that.

I thought about Derek and Christine hooking up behind my back. I'd always thought Christine was really nice. I'd liked her. Until now. It surprised me that she of all people would do that to me when she knew how happy Derek and I had been together. It would have been different if she hadn't known he was in a relationship, but for her to meet me on several occasions, always complimenting Derek's and my relationship, and then do this. It just amazed me. Christine had some nerve!

I closed my eyes, shaking my head violently as if that would expel all the negative thoughts from my mind.

Walking in the house, I fetched a big black trash bag, turned the radio up loud, and went on a rampage through the house, throwing everything I could find that belonged to Derek in the bag. I went through the kitchen, trashing all his beer and any food he'd brought over that I didn't want. I tore the closet apart, shoving every piece of clothing I could find of his in the bag. I trashed his shampoo bottle and his razors. I trashed his toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, and everything else I could find that had any connection to him.

I went to the laundry room with my third bag, yanking all his clean clothes from the dryer. I grabbed all the DVDs he'd brought over and I threw them in. I went back to my room, rifling through my jewelry box and finding every cheap piece of cubic zirconia Derek had ever bought me, tossing those too. I even threw away the clothing he'd bought me, never wanting to wear it again.

I dragged each bag to the end of the driveway and as my final act, I proceeded to back my SUV over each trash bag, flattening everything inside and ripping up the plastic while blasting a country song about a woman getting revenge on a cheating man where anyone within a three block radius could hear.

Once I was finished making a spectacle, I slammed the door of my Honda dramatically and headed back inside the house.

I flopped down on the couch, giving up on everything for the day. My phone vibrated across the coffee table and I groaned. I didn't want to talk to anyone unless they were offering me a Caribbean vacation, free pizza, or a baseball bat to hit Derek with.

"Yeah," I huffed, answering the phone.

Monica's usually cheery voice responded worriedly. "What's wrong, Carrie? Do you want me to come over?" It sounded like she was grabbing her car keys.

"I just want to be alone right now," I said quietly. I was too exhausted for Monica's chipper personality.

Monica sighed. "I'm sorry, love. Nick just dropped me off and I think he's going to come by and see you."

As much as I didn't feel like seeing or talking to anyone, I was too lazy to tell Nick not to come over.

As if on cue, he knocked on the door, calling my name from the entryway. "Carrie?"

"Monica, I'll call you later," I said, hanging up. "In here!"

"Hey," he smiled and my heart fluttered. "How you feeling?"

"I kind of had a tantrum." I felt a giggle threatening to come out.

"I figured you might've been a little upset," he said, pointing his thumb in the direction of the street. "It looks like Derek's closet exploded in your driveway."

"Can I burn that?" I asked tiredly, not liking the idea of having to clean up the mess I'd made. "Is that legal? Can I have a bonfire in my driveway?"

Nick chuckled, sitting down beside me. "I don't think so. Not in the city."

I scoffed. "The city should make an exception. Simply because Derek's an asshole."

Nick smiled, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me against his side. I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. He squeezed my side, kissing my forehead and I smiled. We sat in silence until I remembered what Nick had said to me when I was leaving the courthouse.

"Nick," I said, looking up at him.

"Hm?"

"You said you got some leads," I sat up straighter. "You were going tell me about it."

Nick's eyes brightened. "Yeah. It's kind of a long story and a lot of details unless you want to hear the short version, but I got some really good shit today."

"Let me grab some drinks and you can tell me all about it."