I thought leaving the Fu family residence would hurt the most.

I was wrong.

The most painful moment was when I realized that Adrián Fu truly believed I would come back.

Not because he loved me enough to fight for me.

But because he was certain I had nowhere else to go.

For four years, I had built my entire world around a man who always asked me to wait.

Wait until his family accepted us.

Wait until his grandfather recovered.

Wait until the company stabilized.

Wait until the right moment arrived.

And every time, I believed him.

But that night, when he introduced me as a “close friend,” I finally understood something.

Adrián had never asked me to wait because he needed time.

He asked me to wait because he was comfortable knowing I would always be there.

When I arrived home, I opened the door to the apartment we once shared.

The apartment that still carried traces of our marriage.

The photos on the wall.

The books on the shelf.

The piano I used to practice on before my injury.

Everything looked exactly the same.

Except I was different.

I walked into the bedroom and opened the drawer where we kept our important documents.

The divorce certificate was still there.

Three days old.

A paper that Adrián considered temporary.

But to me, it was the first honest thing that had happened between us in years.

My phone rang.

His name appeared on the screen.

I stared at it for a long time.

Before, I would have answered immediately.

Before, I would have worried if he was angry.

Before, I would have apologized even when I was the one who had been hurt.

This time, I let it ring.

A minute later, a message appeared.

“Why did you leave like that?”

I didn’t reply.

Another message came.

“You embarrassed my family.”

I smiled bitterly.

Not because it was funny.

Because even now, after everything, he still thought the problem was my reaction.

Not what he had done.

Then another message arrived.

“Come back. We need to talk.”

Need.

That word.

Not miss.

Not sorry.

Not I made a mistake.

Need.

I placed the phone face down.

For the first time in four years, I allowed myself not to run toward him.

The next morning, I went to the Fu family’s legal office.

The assistant looked surprised when she saw me.

“Mrs. Fu…”

She immediately stopped.

She corrected herself.

“Miss Xu.”

That small correction made me realize how quickly the world could change.

Yesterday, I was the woman standing beside Adrián.

Today, I was someone they had to carefully identify.

“I need the documents regarding the Fu family heritage items,” I said.

The assistant hesitated.

“Are you referring to the sapphire brooch?”

“Yes.”

She lowered her voice.

“Mr. Fu already requested the transfer record yesterday.”

I froze.

“Yesterday?”

“Yes. After the dinner.”

My fingers tightened around my bag.

So he had already planned everything.

The moment he placed that brooch on Serena Ye’s chest, he had already started changing the records.

He wanted the world to see Serena as the new lady of the Fu family.

And he wanted me to quietly disappear.

I took a deep breath.

“Prepare a copy of every document.”

The assistant looked at me.

“Miss Xu, are you going to challenge the Fu family?”

I looked at the reflection in the glass window.

For years, I had been the woman who protected Adrián’s reputation.

The woman who swallowed every humiliation.

The woman who believed love meant sacrifice.

But that woman was gone.

“No,” I said calmly.

“I am only taking back what belongs to me.”

That afternoon, Adrián came to find me.

He stood outside my apartment wearing the same expression he always had when he thought he could solve everything.

“Natalia.”

I didn’t invite him in.

He looked at me for a few seconds.

“You really intend to act like this because of one dinner?”

I almost laughed.

“One dinner?”

His expression changed.

“Yes. One dinner where you introduced me as someone insignificant.”

“I had no choice.”

“There is always a choice, Adrián.”

He became silent.

I continued.

“You chose to protect Serena’s position.”

“That is not what happened.”

“Then tell me what happened.”

He opened his mouth.

But no words came.

Because the truth was simple.

He wanted me to understand him.

But he never wanted to understand me.

Finally, he lowered his voice.

“The wedding date is still there.”

I looked at him.

“The hundred days?”

“Yes.”

He sounded relieved, as if that reminder could fix everything.

“I told you we would remarry.”

I nodded slowly.

“You are right.”

A small smile appeared on his face.

Until I finished my sentence.

“You scheduled a wedding.”

I looked directly at him.

“But you forgot to ask if I still wanted to be the bride.”

His smile disappeared.

For the first time, Adrián Fu looked afraid.

Because he finally realized the woman who had spent four years waiting for him was no longer waiting.

And when the hundredth day arrived…

He might be standing alone at the place where he expected me to return.