CHAPTER 1

SIGN IT

“Sign it, Serena.”

His voice was calm, so calm it almost felt unreal, like he wasn’t asking his wife to end a three-year marriage but simply approving a contract he had already decided on. I stood there for a moment longer than necessary,“You’re serious?”

I lifted my head slowly to look at him, staring at the document placed neatly in front of me, my fingers hovering just above the paper as if touching it would make everything final in a way I wasn’t ready to accept yet. The bold words at the top blurred slightly before my eyes, but I didn’t need to read them again. I already knew what they said.

I had known for three days.

, searching his face for something, anything that suggested hesitation, regret, or even the smallest trace of discomfort. But Damian Hart stood behind his desk exactly as he always did: composed, distant, perfectly put together in a way that made emotions seem like something beneath him. His dark eyes met mine without wavering, and for a second, I wondered if he had already erased me from his life long before today.

“I wouldn’t call you here for something trivial.”

His tone remained even and controlled, as if this were just another business discussion and not the end of a marriage.

A quiet breath left my lips, something between a laugh and something far more fragile.

“At least pretend this is difficult for you.”

Even as the words came out, I already knew better than to expect anything from him.

“It doesn’t have to be difficult. If you cooperate.”

Cooperate.

That word settled heavily in my chest, colder than anything else he had said. I lowered my gaze back to the papers, tracing the edge of the page with my eyes as if delaying the inevitable would somehow change the outcome. Three years. That was all it took for everything to come down to these neatly printed lines, a signature space waiting patiently for me to erase myself from his life.

“I didn’t expect you to do it this soon.”

My voice came out quieter this time, almost like I was speaking to myself.

“What do you mean?”

That caught his attention. I saw it in the slight shift of his expression, the faint narrowing of his eyes as he leaned forward just a little.

“I mean… I already knew.”

My voice remained steady despite everything twisting inside me.

“Knew what?”

“That you were going to divorce me. Three days ago.”

For the first time since I walked into the office, he didn’t respond immediately, and that alone was enough to confirm everything I had already figured out. A faint, almost bitter smile formed on my lips as I watched him process it, watched him realize that for once, I wasn’t the last to know.

“You’ve been preparing for this. The late nights, the distance, the way you stopped even pretending… and Vanessa.”

I paused just long enough for her name to settle between us.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

Before he could answer, the door opened.

The sound was soft, but it cut through the moment like a blade. I didn’t turn right away, I didn’t need to. I already knew who it was. The faint scent of expensive perfume reached me before anything else, followed by the confident click of heels against marble flooring.

“Damian, the reporters downstairs are asking again.”

Vanessa’s voice stopped the moment she noticed me.

“Oh.”

I turned slowly this time, meeting her gaze directly. She looked exactly as she always did, perfect, composed, effortlessly fitting into a world I had spent three years trying to belong to.

“I didn’t realize you were here.”

“That makes two of us.”

She stepped further into the room, placing a folder on Damian’s desk as though this was her space as much as his.

“They’re asking about the wedding rumors again.”

Wedding.

The word landed harder than anything else.

“Wedding?”

My voice was quieter now, but sharper.

“You didn’t tell her?”

Vanessa’s expression shifted slightly, though there was no real surprise in her tone.

“Vanessa.”

Damian’s voice was low, a warning.

“I thought since the divorce was happening today…”

She trailed off deliberately.

That was enough.

Something inside me stilled completely, like the final piece of a truth I had been avoiding had finally fallen into place. I looked at the papers again, then at the ring on my finger, then back at him.

“So this is it. You divorce me… and marry her.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then explain it to me.”

My voice rose slightly despite my efforts to stay calm.

“Because from where I’m standing, it looks exactly like that.”

“This is necessary.”

“For the company?”

“Yes.”

Of course.

Always the company.

I nodded slowly, absorbing it, accepting it in a way that felt almost unreal.

“Did you ever love me?”

The question hung between us, heavier than anything else.

He looked at me.

And said nothing.

That was the answer.

I exhaled slowly, reaching for the pen on the desk. My fingers didn’t shake. That surprised me more than anything else. Maybe I had already broken enough before today that there was nothing left to shatter.

“You’re not even going to argue?”

I paused for just a second, then looked up at him and smiled a small, calm smile that didn’t belong to the woman I had been three years ago.

“I thought about it. Three days ago.”

Then I signed.

My name settled onto the paper with quiet finality, each stroke smooth and deliberate. When I finished, I pushed the document back toward him and removed the ring from my finger, placing it gently on top of the pages.

“There. You’re free.”

For a moment, no one moved.

Then I turned and walked toward the door.

“Serena.”

His voice stopped me, but I didn’t turn around.

“Yes?”

“You’ll regret this.”

A faint smile touched my lips as I reached for the handle.

“No… You will.”

And then I walked out.

The elevator doors closed behind me, sealing off the life I had just left behind, and for the first time since I signed those papers, my phone rang. I stared at the unknown number for a second before answering, a strange feeling settling in my chest as I lifted the phone to my ear.

“…Hello?”

“You signed it.”

The man’s voice was low, controlled, unfamiliar yet strangely certain.

“Who is this?”

A quiet pause followed, then a faint, almost amused exhale.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

My fingers tightened around the phone.

“After all… you’re carrying something valuable.”

My breath caught.

“What are you talking about?”

Another pause.

Then 

“Congratulations, Serena.”

“You’re pregnant.”

The line went dead.

And just like that

Everything changed again.