Don't Marry Him

Clara's POV

The message disappeared into the void of silence. I waited 10 minutes, but no reply ever came.

I should've expected this. After all, the 18-year-old Clara had loved Adrian with all her heart. How could she possibly believe me?

I wiped away the tears at the corners of my eyes and resumed packing.

My daughter sat on top of the suitcase and asked abruptly, "Mommy, why are we moving?"

I opened my mouth to explain, only to realize I couldn't get a single word out.

What was there to say? What could I even say? Could I tell her that I had lost the divorce case against Adrian and had been forced to leave with nothing? Could I tell her that her father was marrying someone else and would soon form a new family with another woman?

No, I couldn't. That was far too cruel for a little girl who knew nothing about any of it.

The sound of a car engine drifted in from outside. A familiar Maybach pulled up in front of the house.

Adrian got out with his arm around Avery. The two of them chatted and laughed as they walked inside.

I dragged my suitcase behind me, headed downstairs, and naturally ran into them at the landing.

Avery waved her marriage certificate in front of my face. "Leaving so soon, Clara? Adrian's so eager. We finished the divorce hearing this morning, but he's already registered his marriage with me by this afternoon."

I didn't even look at her. My gaze went past the marriage certificate and settled on Adrian.

He didn't say a word. Instead, he stepped aside to let me pass, as if I were nothing more than a stranger.

Unaware of what was happening, my daughter reached toward Avery. "Aunt Avery, pick me up."

The smiling Avery pinched her chubby cheek, pulled an envelope from her purse, and pressed it into my hand. "This is just a little gift for the little one. Please take it."

The envelope felt surprisingly heavy.

Once upon a time, I would have slapped her across the face. But now, I only tightened my grip on it and slipped it into my bag.

Adrian frowned. "This is what you've been reduced to, Clara? You couldn't get a dime in the divorce, so now you're taking money from her?"

I fell silent for a few seconds before pleading one last time. "Adrian, please think about Sadie's surgery. Could you please—"

"That's enough, Clara." He cut me off, his expression darkening.

"Haven't I given you enough money over the last 10 years? Stop using our daughter as your personal ATM. I've seen her medical reports. She's perfectly healthy. You're not getting another penny out of me."

My fingers tightened around the suitcase handle. My nails dug into my palm until the pain nearly brought me to tears.

I had told him more than once that the report was wrong. Alas, he never believed me.

He insisted the hospital owned by Collins Group was the best in the city. There was no way it had made a mistake.

He trusted Avery with every fiber of his being.

When I showed him the diagnosis from a top-tier hospital, he tore it to pieces right in front of me. Then, he snarled and accused me of trying to scam him for money.

He even hired an internationally renowned team of attorneys to make sure I walked away from the divorce with absolutely nothing.

Sadie clutched my hand. "Mommy, I'm scared."

I bent down and picked her up, pulling my suitcase with my free hand as I walked between them.

As I passed Avery, a familiar perfume reached my nose. It was the same one Adrian had given me for our wedding anniversary two years earlier.

He had told me it was the only bottle in the world, a symbol that I was the only woman in his heart. Yet, I started smelling that same fragrance on Avery shortly afterward.

That scent felt like needles piercing my heart whenever I caught a whiff of it.

I loaded the luggage into the car. Just as the engine started, the screen of the old phone lit up.

"Are you really 28-year-old Clara? I asked Adrian, and he told me he'll only ever love me. He'd never cheat on me. He said our baby will be healthy and beautiful, and he'll give her the very best in the world. Adrian loves me. I believe him."

So, it seemed that 18-year-old Clara had chosen to believe him even after everything I told her.

I reached into my bag and pulled out the gold-embossed wedding invitation. Adrian's and Avery's names stood out in stark clarity.

I took a picture and pressed Send.

"Then, ask Adrian this for me. If he swore he'd love me for the rest of his life… Why? Why did he marry someone else?"