Adrian thought the divorce was another argument that would eventually disappear.
Like every other time.
He thought Claire would cry.
She would get angry.
She would wait for him to calm down.
And then she would return to being the wife who always stayed.
But this time…
Claire didn’t come back.
The divorce papers remained on the table for three days.
Adrian didn’t sign them.
Not because he didn’t want a divorce.
At least, that’s what he told himself.
He simply had too many things to do.
Too many meetings.
Too many problems.
Too many reasons to postpone something that was already decided.
But every night, when he returned home, he found something missing.
At first, it was small.
The coffee cup Claire always used.
Gone.
The little plant she placed near the window.
Gone.
The blanket she always folded on the sofa.
Gone.
The house was exactly the same.
But somehow…
it no longer felt like home.
On Friday night, Adrian entered the kitchen and stopped.
There was only one plate on the table.
His.
For four years, Claire had always waited for him.
Even when he came home at midnight.
Even when she was tired.
Even when he forgot to tell her he wasn’t coming.
She always left food covered in the kitchen.
A note.
A message.
Something.
Now there was nothing.
Just silence.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Olivia.
“Are you coming to the premiere tomorrow? I need you there.”
Adrian looked at the screen.
Months ago, that message would have made him smile.
Now…
he felt strangely tired.
He replied:
“I have something else to do.”
Olivia immediately called.
“Adrian?”
“Yes.”
“You promised.”
“I know.”
“Is this because of Claire?”
Silence.
That silence answered more than words.
Olivia’s voice changed.
“She finally stopped chasing you, didn’t she?”
Adrian frowned.
“What does that mean?”
A small laugh came from the other side.
“Don’t pretend you don’t understand.”
“Claire spent four years trying to keep you.”
“Now that she stopped…”
“you suddenly notice her.”
Adrian gripped his phone.
“Enough.”
But after hanging up…
he couldn’t forget those words.
The next morning, Adrian went to the guest room.
The door was slightly open.
Inside, everything was neat.
Too neat.
Claire had always been organized.
But this was different.
It looked like a temporary room.
Like she had already prepared herself to leave.
On the desk was a notebook.
Adrian hesitated.
Then he opened it.
The first page contained a list.
Apartment viewings.
Lawyer appointments.
Moving dates.
Budget calculations.
Dates.
All written fifteen days earlier.
The day after their fight.
His fingers stopped.
Because suddenly he understood.
Claire hadn’t threatened to leave.
She had planned it.
She hadn’t said:
“Maybe we should divorce.”
She had said:
“We should finish what you started.”
A sound came from behind him.
Claire.
She stood at the door.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then she said:
“You shouldn’t read my things.”
Adrian closed the notebook.
“You were really leaving.”
Claire looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Without telling me?”
She smiled slightly.
“Did you ever tell me before you decided to leave?”
The question hit him.
Because he had no answer.
“Claire…”
She walked past him and picked up a box.
Inside were old photographs.
Their wedding.
Their first trip.
Their anniversary.
Adrian looked at them.
“You kept these?”
“For myself.”
Not for him.
Not for the marriage.
For herself.
“Do you really not love me anymore?”
The question escaped before Adrian could stop it.
Claire froze.
Then she turned around.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Because…”
He stopped.
Because he didn’t know.
Because for years he had assumed Claire’s love was permanent.
Something guaranteed.
Something that would always exist no matter what he did.
Claire looked at him quietly.
“I loved you.”
The past tense made his chest tighten.
“I loved you when you ignored my calls.”
“I loved you when you chose someone else over me.”
“I loved you when you made me feel like I was competing with a person who wasn’t even part of our marriage.”
Her voice remained calm.
That was what hurt the most.
There was no anger.
No tears.
Only acceptance.
“But Adrian…”
She placed the box down.
“Love becomes very tired when only one person carries it.”
That afternoon, Adrian went to Marcus’s wedding alone.
Everyone expected Claire to appear beside him.
After all, they had always been the perfect couple in public.
But when Adrian entered the hall alone, people immediately noticed.
“Where is Mrs. Ji?”
The question followed him everywhere.
For the first time…
he understood how Claire felt.
Standing beside someone who wasn’t really standing with her.
Then the bride and groom entered.
Adrian smiled politely.
Until he saw Claire.
She was there.
Not beside him.
Not waiting for him.
She was sitting with a group of guests.
Wearing a simple white dress.
Laughing.
Actually laughing.
A kind of happiness he hadn’t seen on her face in years.
And then someone approached her.
A man.
Adrian recognized him immediately.
Dr. Ethan Zhou.
The doctor who treated Claire after her accident.
They talked.
They smiled.
And when Claire laughed at something he said…
Adrian felt something he couldn’t explain.
Not anger.
Not jealousy.
Fear.
Fear that someone else had discovered the woman he had spent four years taking for granted.
That night, Adrian finally opened the divorce agreement.
He read every line.
Claire asked for nothing.
No house.
No compensation.
No revenge.
Only freedom.
At the bottom was her signature.
And one sentence written by hand:
“Thank you for teaching me that losing someone is not the most painful thing.”
“The most painful thing is losing yourself while trying to keep them.”
Adrian stared at the words for a long time.
Then his phone rang.
It was his assistant.
“Mr. Ji…”
“What happened?”
“We found something about Olivia Lu.”
Adrian frowned.
“What?”
A pause.
Then:
“The rumors about her and you weren’t accidental.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone has been pushing those stories for months.”
Adrian stood up.
“Who?”
The assistant hesitated.
“Mr. Ji…”
“It’s connected to the accident.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
Because suddenly he remembered.
The day Claire was injured.
The reason he ignored her call.
The reason he immediately ran to Olivia.
It had all seemed like coincidence.
But maybe…
it wasn’t.
Meanwhile, Claire was sitting by the window of her new apartment.
Her phone vibrated.
A message from her lawyer.
“The divorce hearing has been scheduled.”
She looked at it.
Then smiled softly.
For the first time in years…
she felt free.
But she didn’t know yet…
that the reason her marriage collapsed was not only Adrian’s choice.
Someone had been quietly pushing them apart from the beginning.
And when Adrian discovered who it was…
he would finally understand why Claire had stopped fighting for him.
TO BE CONTINUED…
