Chapter 4

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway made Sienna turn toward the window.

“He's back.”

I stood beside the sofa, my fingers resting on the handle of my small suitcase.

I had been home for less than twenty minutes.

The house looked exactly as I remembered it. The crystal chandelier still hung above the staircase. The flowers on the center table were fresh. Even the wedding photograph on the wall remained untouched.

Three years of my life were inside these walls.

Three years of waiting for a man who never seemed to have time for me.

Sienna moved closer.

“Are you sure you want to do this today? You just got out of the hospital.”

I nodded.

I had spent enough time waiting for Adrian to care about what happened to me.

I wasn't going to wait another day to leave him.

The front door opened.

Adrian walked in, dressed in a black suit, his phone pressed to his ear. He was saying something about a meeting when he stepped aside to let the woman behind him enter.

Victoria.

She wore a cream dress that hugged her figure, her long hair falling over one shoulder. A designer handbag hung from her arm, and a pair of expensive heels clicked against the marble floor.

She was laughing at something Adrian had said.

Then she saw me.

Her laughter stopped for half a second.

A slow smile spread across her face.

“Well,” she said, looking me up and down. “Look who's finally home.”

Adrian ended his call and slipped his phone into his pocket.

His eyes settled on me.

For a moment, I thought he might ask how I was feeling.

He didn't.

“What are you doing here already?”

The question caught me off guard.

I stared at him.

I had been lying in a hospital bed, recovering from injuries that nearly killed me. He knew that. He had received the message from his lawyer.

And somehow, my return was what surprised him.

Sienna stepped forward.

“Are you serious right now?”

Adrian glanced at her. “This is between my wife and me.”

“Your wife?” Sienna repeated, letting out a short, bitter laugh. “You remember you have one?”

His expression hardened.

“Watch your tone.”

“Or what?” She took another step toward him. “You'll leave her in another hospital? You'll choose Victoria again and pretend Elena doesn't exist?”

Victoria's smile faded.

“Excuse me,” she said. “You need to learn how to speak to people.”

Sienna turned to her.

“Oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt your little date? I didn't realize you were so busy being the woman of the house.”

Victoria's cheeks flushed.

“Don't be ridiculous. Adrian and I have known each other for years. I was there for him when he needed someone.”

She looked at me.

“Unlike some people, I don't spend my time playing the victim.”

My fingers tightened around the suitcase handle.

Sienna's mouth fell open.

“Playing the victim?”

She moved so quickly that I had to reach for her arm.

“My best friend was kidnapped! She was tied up, beaten, and left to die. She had to fight her way out of that place while you—”

“Sienna,” I whispered.

My voice was still weak. Even saying her name made my throat ache.

But she heard me.

She stopped, though the anger in her eyes didn't fade.

I looked at Adrian.

“Did you know I was in the hospital?”

He stared at me.

“Yes.”

One word.

No apology. No explanation.

I swallowed.

“And you didn't come.”

His jaw tightened.

“I had things to deal with.”

Sienna stared at him as if he had just slapped me in front of her.

“Things to deal with?” she shouted. “YOUR WIFE WAS LYING IN A HOSPITAL BED!”

Her voice rang through the entrance hall.

“She nearly died, Adrian! Do you understand that? She could have died without ever seeing you again, and you couldn't spare a few minutes to visit her?”

Adrian's expression darkened.

“Enough.”

“No, it's not enough!” Sienna pointed at Victoria. “You chose her while Elena was being held at gunpoint. You left Elena to wonder whether she was going to live or die, and now you've walked in here with your mistress as if you've done absolutely nothing wrong!”

Victoria's face twisted.

“Don't call me that.”

“What should I call you? His wife?”

Victoria took a step forward.

“At least Adrian wants me around. I don't have to beg him to come home or wait by the window like some desperate little girl.”

Her eyes moved to my suitcase.

“Oh. Are you leaving?”

She laughed.

“Finally. I was beginning to think you'd cling to him forever.”

I felt the words land, but I didn't look away.

Victoria tilted her head.

“Honestly, Elena, have some pride. He's never going to love you. You should be grateful he let you stay in this house for as long as he did.”

“That's enough!” Sienna snapped.

Victoria folded her arms.

“Why? Is the truth too painful?”

Sienna moved between us.

“If I hear you insult her one more time, I swear you'll regret opening your mouth.”

“Stop threatening her,” Adrian ordered.

Sienna turned on him.

“Then stop standing there while she humiliates your wife!”

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Adrian looked at me again.

“Elena, tell your friend to leave.”

I shook my head.

“No.”

The word came out rough, barely louder than a breath.

But it was clear.

Adrian went still.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

I hadn't spoken much since my voice began returning. The doctors had warned me that speaking would take time and practice.

Yet I found myself speaking again because I couldn't bear to let him decide everything for me.

“No,” I repeated. “She's staying.”

He stared at me as though he couldn't understand why I wasn't obeying him.

Then his gaze dropped to the suitcase beside me.

“What is this about?”

I reached into my handbag and pulled out the envelope.

For three years, I had worn his ring and called myself his wife.

Today, I was going to end that.

I took out the divorce papers and held them toward him.

“I want a divorce.”

Victoria went quiet.

Adrian didn't take the papers.

Instead, he looked at me with an expression I knew too well. It was the same look he gave me whenever I did something he hadn't expected.

Disbelief, followed by irritation.

“Divorce?”

I nodded.

His lips curved into a humorless smile.

“Because I chose Victoria?”

I looked at him.

“Because I'm done.”

“Don't be dramatic, Elena.”

Sienna made a furious sound.

“Dramatic? She nearly died!”

Adrian ignored her.

“You're upset. I understand that. But you're not thinking clearly.”

I almost laughed.

Not because anything was funny.

Because even now, after everything, he believed he knew my mind better than I did.

“I've thought about this for three years,” I told him.

His face changed, just slightly.

I continued before I could lose my nerve.

“I waited for you. I forgave you. I kept telling myself that one day, you would look at me and see your wife instead of someone you were forced to marry.”

My throat tightened.

“But you never did.”

Adrian's expression hardened.

“You knew what this marriage was from the beginning.”

The words struck a place inside me that was already bruised.

Sienna looked ready to tear him apart.

I lifted my hand, stopping her.

This time, I needed to finish speaking.

“I know what it was now.”

I placed the papers on the table between us.

“Sign them, Adrian.”

He stared at the envelope.

Then he laughed once, without a trace of warmth.

“You really think you can walk away from me?”

I didn't answer.

He stepped closer.

“Listen carefully, Elena. If you divorce me today, don't come running back when you realize what you've lost.”

Victoria watched with a satisfied smile.

Adrian's voice grew colder.

“If you come back begging me to take you in, I won't forgive you. You can cry, apologize, or throw yourself at my feet. I will never take you back.”

Sienna's hands curled into fists.

“You arrogant—”

“Sienna.”

I touched her arm.

Then I looked at my husband.

For years, I had imagined what it would feel like to hear Adrian say he didn't want me anymore.

I had thought it would destroy me.

But standing there, with my suitcase beside me and his mistress watching me like a woman who had already won, I discovered something.

I was tired.

Tired of trying to earn a place in his heart.

Tired of making excuses for his cruelty.

Tired of being the only person fighting for our marriage.

I picked up the pen from the table and placed it beside the papers.

“You don't need to worry,” I said. “I won't come back.”

His eyes searched my face.

“You're making a mistake.”

“Maybe.”

I pushed the papers closer to him.

“But it's my mistake to make.”

For the first time since he entered the house, Adrian had nothing to say.

Victoria's smile slipped.

I turned toward my suitcase.

Then Adrian spoke again.

“Fine.”

I stopped.

He picked up the pen.

“You want a divorce? You'll get one.”

Sienna looked at me, startled.

Adrian signed the first page, then the next. His handwriting was sharp and hurried, as if he couldn't wait to be rid of me.

He pushed the papers across the table.

“There. Now you can leave.”

I looked down at his signature.

Three years of marriage.

Three years of loving him.

And he had ended it in less than a minute.

Victoria slipped her hand through his arm.

“Come on, Adrian. Let's go. You don't have to waste another second on this.”

I picked up the papers.

“I was leaving anyway.”

I reached for my suitcase, but Adrian's voice stopped me.

“One last thing.”

I turned.

He stood beside Victoria, his expression hard and certain.

“When you realize no one else will put up with you, remember this day. Remember that I gave you a chance to be my wife, and you threw it away.”

Sienna took a furious step toward him.

But I was already shaking my head.

“No, Adrian.”

He frowned.

“You didn't give me a chance.”

I held his gaze.

“You gave me three years of reasons to leave.”

Then I walked toward the door.

Sienna followed, still muttering under her breath about what she would do if she ever saw him again.

I had almost reached the entrance when Adrian spoke one final time.

“Don't ever come back, Elena.”

My hand rested on the doorknob.

For a moment, I remembered the girl who had stood at this same door years ago, believing she was walking into a home where she would always be loved.

That girl had waited for Adrian to choose her.

I wasn't her anymore.

I opened the door.

“Don't worry,” I said without turning around. “The next time you see me, you won't recognize the woman you threw away.”

And I walked out.

Behind me, the door slammed shut.

I didn't know that Adrian was already reaching for his phone.

I didn't know who he was about to call.

But as Sienna helped me into the car, my phone began to ring.

An unknown number flashed across the screen.

I answered.

A man's voice came through.

“Miss Sterling? This is Jonathan Reed. Your father's lawyer.”

My heart stopped.

“Your twenty-fifth birthday is approaching, and there is something your father left in my care. Something you need to know before it's too late.”