Chapter 2

Kayla’s POV

The sound of rain is the first thing I hear when I open my eyes.

It’s morning, but the world outside looks gray. The curtains are drawn halfway, letting in a sliver of light that falls across the table,  the plates from last night still untouched, the wine glass half empty, the necklace box lying open like a scar I can’t close.

My head throbs from crying and wine. My throat feels dry, my chest heavy. I pull myself off the couch, my neck aching from sleeping there.

The house smells faintly of perfume and regret.

I move to the kitchen, pour a glass of water, and try to breathe, but every corner of this place reminds me of last night. The candles, the food, the silence — everything feels suffocating.

I glance at the clock. It’s already past nine.

Adrian still hasn’t come home.

My heart stings at the thought. I grab my phone, hoping — foolishly — to see a message, a call, an apology. Nothing.

Just emptiness.

I stare at his contact name, ‘Adrian’ and for a moment, I almost delete the heart beside his name. Instead, I tighten my grip on the phone and grab my car keys.

If he won’t come home, I’ll go to him.

I need answers.

The city looks cold, washed in the aftermath of rain. My reflection on the car window looks like a stranger — eyes swollen, hair tied messily, expression somewhere between exhaustion and anger.

By the time I pull into the parking lot of Ward International, my hands are trembling. The tall glass building stands arrogantly under the cloudy sky, like a monument to Adrian’s success.

The guard at the front gate recognizes me immediately and gives me a polite nod. “Good morning, Mrs. Ward.”

“Morning,” I reply quietly, forcing a smile as I park in my usual spot.

Inside, the building hums with life… employees walking briskly, phones ringing, printers running. Everyone looks sharp, focused, and efficient. They all smile at me politely as I step out of the elevator, but I can hear the whispers as I pass.

Does she know? She looks upset. He’s been with her again.

I tell myself it’s just my imagination. It has to be.

Adrian’s office is on the top floor. The elevator ride feels endless. I clutch my bag tighter, trying to steady my breath. When the doors open, the familiar scent of expensive cologne and polished marble hits me.

The receptionist, a young woman I don’t recognize, looks startled when she sees me.

 “Mrs. Ward… good morning. Mr. Ward is—”

“I know where he is,” I say softly, walking past her before she can finish.

The glass hallway is quiet, lined with photographs of Adrian at business events, shaking hands with politicians, smiling for cameras. The man in those photos looks perfect, powerful, untouchable.

But I know the man behind the smile.

I reach for the handle of his office door, hesitate for just a second, and push it open.

And everything inside me stops.

There they are.

Adrian and someone I would recognize by any part of her body… Vivian.

She’s perched on his desk, her long hair tumbling over her shoulders, her lips locked on his. His hand is around her waist, pulling her closer like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

For a moment, I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I can’t move.

The sound of the door closing behind me makes them both turn.

Vivian freezes first, her eyes widening, a flicker of guilt flashing before she replaces it with something sharper, smugger. Adrian straightens his tie, his expression unreadable, cold.

The air feels heavy, like the world itself is mocking me.

My voice finally comes out, small and broken. “Adrian?”

He doesn’t flinch. Didn’t move toward me. Doesn’t even look guilty.

Vivian slides off the desk, her lips curling into a faint smirk. “You should have called first, Kayla. Walking in without knocking isn’t very polite.”

Her tone cuts like glass.

I look at Adrian, waiting,  praying, for him to deny it, to say something, anything. But he just stares at me, eyes empty.

“After everything…” I whisper, my voice trembling. “You brought her here? Into your office?”

Adrian exhales slowly, leaning back against the desk. “Kayla, let’s not make a scene. You shouldn’t be here.”

The words hit me harder than any slap.

“Shouldn’t be here?” I repeat, my heart twisting painfully. “This is your company, Adrian. And I’m your wife!”

Vivian laughs softly under her breath. “Wife? That’s a generous title for someone who’s been nothing but a shadow these past few years.”

I turn toward her, my anger surging past the pain. “You were my best friend, Vivian. I trusted you.”

Her smile doesn’t falter. “And you trusted him too, didn’t you? Look how that turned out.”

Something inside me shatters completely.

I face Adrian again, hoping,  still hoping… for a glimpse of the man I married. But his eyes are steel. His voice is colder than the rain outside.

“This isn’t working anymore, Kayla,” he says flatly. “You and I… we’ve both known it for a while.”

I feel dizzy. “You’re ending our marriage because of her?”

He shakes his head. “Don’t make this about her. This is about us. About the fact that I can’t keep pretending everything’s fine when it’s not.”

“Pretending?” I choke out. “You were pretending, Adrian. I was fighting for us!”

The silence stretches, heavy and suffocating.

Finally, he picks up a folder from his desk, slides a paper across it, and says without meeting my eyes, “I’ll have my lawyer send you the divorce papers by the end of the week. I think that’s best for both of us.”

The world blurs. My heartbeat echoes in my ears, each thud louder than the last.

Vivian stands beside him now, her hand resting casually on his arm — claiming what was once mine. Her smile is victory disguised as sympathy.

“Don’t take it personally, Kayla,” she says softly. “Some people just… outgrow love.”

I want to scream. Cry. Break something. But all I can do is stand there, staring at the two people who destroyed me. One I loved, the other I trusted.

My legs finally move, but my voice is gone. I turn and walk out, each step heavier than the last. The office feels colder now, every wall whispering my humiliation back to me.

The receptionist lowers her eyes as I pass. The elevator doors close behind me with a final, echoing sound that feels like the end of everything.

By the time I reach the lobby, the tears I’ve been holding back finally fall… silent, unstoppable. I step out into the rain, not caring that it soaks my clothes, my hair, my skin.

Maybe the rain is better company than the people who betrayed me.

I stand there for a long time, watching the cars pass, my mind empty.

 Then, slowly, a strange calm settles over me… the kind that comes after pain so deep it leaves nothing but numbness behind.

Maybe this is how a person breaks… quietly, with no one noticing.

But somewhere deep inside, a flicker of something else begins to stir… anger. 

Adrian took my heart. Vivian took my trust.

They both took my peace.