Chapter 1 — Not a Substitute

“I want a divorce.”

The words fell just like that from Mike’s lips the moment the front door closed behind him, as if he had prepared them long ago and was only now finally releasing them without hesitation.

Elara, who was standing in the middle of the living room, was still holding a glass of water in her hand. The thin steam rising from the warm water slowly faded, just like the expression on her face that instantly froze. She turned slowly, her movement almost imperceptible, only her eyes searching for the face of the man in front of her, as if hoping she had heard him wrong.

“What did you say?” her voice came out softly. “You said… divorce?”

Mike did not answer immediately. He took off his black suit jacket in one swift motion, then tossed it onto the sofa without really paying attention to where it landed. His jaw tightened, and when he finally turned to look at her, there was not even the slightest warmth in his gaze.

“Yes, Elara,” he said shortly, his voice flat. “This is enough. The woman I love has come back.”

The glass in Elara’s hand trembled slightly. She did not drop it, but her fingers tightened without her realizing it, as if it was the only thing keeping her standing upright.

“The woman you love?” she repeated slowly, her lips still lifted in a faint smile that looked far too forced to be called normal. “So… all this time, I wasn’t the woman you loved? If it wasn’t me, then who?”

Mike looked at her flatly, without the slightest sign of hesitation. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

A few hours earlier.

The clock showed twelve noon when Elara arrived at Mike’s company. In her hand was a cream-colored lunch box that she held carefully. She had cooked it herself since morning, choosing the best ingredients and remembering in detail what Mike liked, even though the man rarely ever truly paid attention to her.

That day marked the second anniversary of their marriage.

It was not a warm marriage, nor one filled with laughter, but Elara still came with a small hope that she kept quietly to herself. Maybe today would be different. Maybe there would be one moment when Mike saw her, truly saw her as his wife.

The CEO’s private elevator took her up quickly, and the higher the floors she passed, the faster her heart beat—not from exhaustion, but from the hope she was trying to control.

However, her steps came to a halt the moment she reached the door of the CEO’s office.

The door was not fully closed.

From the small gap, the sound of a woman’s laughter flowed out, soft, spoiled, and so familiar that Elara did not move right away. She stood there, silent, while her fingers slowly tightened around the handle of the lunch box.

Then Mike’s voice was heard.

The tone of his voice… was different. Lower, warmer, almost gentle in a way Elara had never heard in the past two years.

“You finally came back, Vania. I really missed you.”

That name made Elara’s steps feel rooted to the floor. Her breath caught, and for a moment, she simply froze as if her body refused to process what she had just heard.

She saw Mike standing very close to a woman whose face was not unfamiliar.

Yes, she was Vania Yoris.

The woman who had always been the center of attention in that family. The woman who always shone without even trying.

Mike’s gaze was fixed entirely on her. The corners of his lips lifted, forming a faint smile that Elara had never seen during their marriage.

“Mike, I missed you so much too,” Vania replied softly.

The lunch box in Elara’s hand shifted slightly. She immediately tightened her grip, stopping it from falling, even though her chest felt tighter with every passing second.

Elara took a deep breath, forcing her chest to continue rising and falling in a rhythm that appeared normal. Her face became calm again, as if nothing had changed, as if she had not seen anything behind that door.

Then she decided to leave.

Two years ago, that man had once been the reason why Elara believed that maybe, she was no longer alone in this life.

At that time, she worked full-time at the city’s central heart hospital. Her schedule was packed, her days were long, and her nights often passed without enough rest. But compared to life outside the hospital, all of that felt far simpler.

In the Yoris family, attention had never truly fallen on her. Elara was used to being in the corner, present without ever truly being seen.

Until that night.

Mike was brought into the emergency unit after a minor car accident. The sleeve of his shirt was torn, there was a wound there, and bruises on his chest that made his breathing slightly heavy. As the doctor on duty, Elara was the one who treated him.

At first, there was nothing special about it.

Just a patient and a doctor.

But after that, Mike started coming back.

Under the pretext of follow-up checkups.

Then with reasons that became increasingly difficult to call coincidence.

He came bringing coffee, waiting outside the doctor’s room, and whenever heavy rain poured down, he stood in front of the hospital entrance with a coat in his hands, waiting for Elara to finish her shift.

Those little acts of care, which might have seemed ordinary to others, slowly filled the empty space inside her that had never been touched before.

And without realizing it, Elara began to fall in love.

Elara looked at Mike, who stood not far from her, the distance between them feeling far even though they were physically so close.

“I don’t understand,” she said softly, her voice remaining steady even though her fingers slowly gripped the side of her blouse. “I always thought you loved me. Even though for the past two years of marriage your attitude was always cold… I still thought that was your way of showing your feelings.”

Mike actually let out a mocking laugh.

Then he took a folder from his work bag and threw it onto the table with a sound loud enough to break the silence in the room.

“I was only pretending, Elara,” he said lightly, as if what he was talking about was not something that could destroy someone. “I married you because of the circumstances.”

Elara’s gaze fell on the folder. Her hand did not move right away, but her breathing became slightly heavier.

“So all this time…” she paused for a moment, swallowing something that felt bitter in her throat, “you were only pretending to love me?”

“Yes,” Mike answered without hesitation. “And I’m already sick of having to keep pretending. When she is the woman I love.”

Elara slowly lifted her face. Her eyes began to glisten, but she did not let the tears fall.

“Is the woman you love Vania Yoris?”

Mike’s expression instantly changed, even if only for a split second.

“So you already know,” he said at last. “Good, then.”

Elara gave a small nod. “I saw the two of you at the office earlier.”

There was no denial from Mike, not even an explanation. Mike simply remained silent.

“Elara,” Mike’s voice sounded firmer, “sign the papers.”

Elara slowly shook her head. “I don’t want to.”

Mike’s jaw tightened. He stepped closer, one step, then another, until there was almost no distance left between them.

“Why don’t you want a divorce?” he asked, his voice beginning to rise.

Elara lifted her chin and looked directly at him. Even though her eyes were slightly wet, she did not look away.

“Because I love you.” The words came out just like that.

Mike fell silent for a moment, then his expression turned cold again. “That’s not a reason for me to keep you.”

“Then what is?” Elara’s voice began to tremble, but she remained standing where she was. “Because Vania came back, you immediately throw me away? After two years of me being by your side? I never asked anything from you, Mike.”

Mike looked at her sharply. “Don’t talk as if I ever gave you hope.”

Elara let out a small laugh, the sound thin and bitter. “Weren’t you the one who came after me back then? Saying that I didn’t have to face everything alone?”

Mike did not answer.

That silence became an answer more painful than anything else.

“Was all of that a lie?” Elara asked again, this time more softly.

A few seconds passed before Mike finally said, “I only did what I was supposed to do.”

That sentence made Elara close her eyes for a moment. Her chest rose and fell more deeply, as if she was trying to keep something inside herself from completely collapsing.

“What if I still refuse?” she asked.

Mike looked at her straight. “Don’t force me to act harshly.”

Elara lowered her gaze. Her fingers gripped the edge of the blouse she was wearing, leaving small creases in the fabric.

Slowly, she lifted the divorce papers. Her fingers touched the surface, but she did not open them. She only looked at them for a few seconds, then placed them back on the table.

“I need time…”

Mike clicked his tongue softly. “I don’t have much time. I will marry Vania soon.”

Elara lifted her face again, looking at the man who had once been the center of her world.

“Then… be patient a little longer,” she said softly, but clearly. “For two years I endured being your wife. At least give me time to accept that all this time… I was only a replacement.”

“Whatever,” Mike answered shortly.

Without saying anything else, he turned around and walked toward the study. The door closed with a loud sound, leaving behind an echo that slowly faded inside the house that had returned to silence.

Elara did not move.

She remained standing in her place, staring at that door for a long time, until finally her vision began to blur. The tears she had been holding back finally fell one by one, wetting her cheeks in silence.

Elara wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, but this time she did not rush to wipe them all away. She let a few drops fall just like that, as if wanting to remember clearly what it felt like to be at this point—to be ignored, replaced, and treated as if she had never meant anything.

Her hand slowly closed the divorce folder, her fingers pausing for a moment over Mike’s neatly printed name there, before she finally took a long breath and straightened her body.

“If you want a divorce…” her voice sounded calmer than before, even though the traces of tears were still clearly visible on her face, “I will give it to you.”

She paused for a moment, her eyes fixed on the tightly closed study door, where the man was without the slightest concern for what he had just left behind.

“But not now.”

The tone of her voice changed, no longer fragile, but soft yet firm, like something that had just been decided in silence.

“After you finally realize… that the woman you threw away today is not someone you can easily replace.”

Elara lowered her head slightly, then smiled faintly, a smile that was no longer the same as before.

“And when that happens, Mike…” she whispered softly, almost like a secret that only she herself was allowed to hear, “I will not be in the same place waiting for you to come back.”