Chapter Four: Now It's My Turn to Leave

After the wedding, Lucas had done everything himself. Isabella said she disliked strangers in the house, so they never hired a nanny.

If he didn't look after the boys, Isabella would have to do it herself.

One day of living his life had already worn her out. And he had lived it for years without a single complaint.

Just then, Adrian came down from the boys' room. "Izzy, I've already bathed them. It would have gone faster, but Noah wanted to play and splashed water all over me."

Only after reaching the bottom of the stairs did he glance at Lucas, as if he had just noticed him.

He smiled faintly. "Mr. Hale is back. Have you been drinking?"

Lucas ignored him and bent down to change his shoes. Adrian's voice followed him.

"Mr. Hale, no matter how unhappy you are, you shouldn't take it out on the children. They thought they were bad kids for being late, and they made such a fuss today. Izzy is busy with work, and I'm lucky I was free to help. Otherwise, how would she have managed alone?"

Lucas paused. He straightened slowly and looked at Adrian with cold eyes. "Are you blaming me?"

Adrian waved his hands at once, putting on the same wounded innocence as the night before. "That's not what I meant. I was only offering some advice."

He turned to Isabella with a helpless look.

She stepped forward and took his hand. "You don't need to explain yourself to him. I owe you so much for today. I truly don't know what I would have done without you."

Adrian squeezed her hand back with a smile. "Why so formal? You've thanked me a dozen times already. Besides, you already gave me a thank-you gift. That robot trophy has such a unique design. I really love it."

Lucas had found the sight of their joined hands almost unbearable. But the word *trophy* made him freeze.

"What trophy?" he asked sharply.

The Grand Prize in Artificial Intelligence he had won at the Academy was shaped like a little robot. It sat in his study, the only trophy in the entire house with that design.

Adrian pulled it from his bag. "This one. Izzy told me to pick anything I liked, so I chose it."

The moment Lucas saw it, his face turned terrifying.

He strode forward and held out his hand. "That's mine. I never agreed to give it away. Give it back."

A chill spread through his chest. Isabella knew exactly what that trophy meant to him. And she had handed it over without even asking.

Adrian frowned. "You can't take back something that's already been given. It's just a trophy. There's no need to be so petty."

Lucas didn't waste words. He grabbed the robot's body. "Taking something without asking is stealing. Let go."

He pulled hard. Adrian refused to release it.

Sensing trouble, Isabella opened her mouth to intervene.

Then Adrian suddenly yanked, and the trophy slipped from both their hands. It struck the floor and shattered into pieces.

Lucas stood frozen, as if lightning had struck him, staring at the fragments in disbelief.

Isabella was stunned too. When she saw the darkness gathering in Lucas's eyes, a strange panic rose in her.

A pang of guilt hit her. She whispered, "I'm sorry. This trophy..."

Before she could finish, Adrian crouched to gather the broken pieces. The next second, he gasped.

Isabella looked down and saw blood on his hand, cut by the shards. She grew anxious and pulled him up. "How could you be so foolish? Why would you pick up glass with your bare hands?"

Adrian answered softly, "I'm sorry. I just feel so guilty. I wanted to explain things to Mr. Hale, but I never expected him to snatch it from me. In the end, the trophy broke because of me..."

He paused, and his guilt deepened. "Ever since I arrived, you two seem to argue constantly. Maybe I should leave, so I don't damage your marriage."

He turned to go.

Isabella caught him at once. "What are you saying? Our fights have nothing to do with you. Why would you leave?"

Lucas shook himself out of his daze. He swallowed the bitterness rising in his heart and said with a mocking smile, "That's right. You don't have to leave. I'm the one who should go."

They were relics of the past anyway. Let the shattering of the trophy be his ceremony of farewell.

He didn't spare Isabella a single glance. He turned, climbed the stairs, pulled out his suitcase, and began to pack.

He didn't own much. One suitcase was nearly enough.

As he stood up with it, his eyes caught the wedding photo hanging above the bed. It was the only photo of him and Isabella together.

She always said she hated being photographed. In five years of marriage, there was only this one.

He had treasured it. From time to time, he would take it down and wipe it clean.

Lucas stared at it for a long moment. Then he reached up, lifted it from the wall, and threw it to the floor. The glass shattered and scratched across the face in the picture.

Next, he pulled a photo album from the cabinet. It held every picture he had secretly taken of Isabella over the years: her lost in thought, her asleep at her desk after a long day, her from every angle he had ever dared to capture.

Without a flicker of hesitation, he tore them all to pieces and threw the album into the trash.

Only then did he carry his suitcase downstairs.

Isabella had her back to him, gently bandaging Adrian's wound.

Lucas stopped. He wouldn't be coming back. He should settle the matter of the divorce with her now, to avoid any trouble later.

He stepped forward, about to speak, when Isabella's phone rang.

She answered. It sounded like work. She frowned. "Understood. Go over the contract again and send it to me."

When she hung up, Lucas finally spoke. "Isabella, about the papers I asked you to sign..."

She stood and shot him an impatient look. "I'm busy right now. I don't have time for your pointless talk. We'll discuss it later."

Then she bent down and said gently to Adrian, "Remember, don't get the wound wet. I have to get back to work."

Adrian smiled and nodded as he watched her walk into her study.

The moment the door closed, his mask fell away.

He looked Lucas up and down and sneered. "What a coward. I've already stepped into your home, and you're still standing here. Can't you see that Izzy and your sons are on my side?"

He rose and advanced on Lucas, one step at a time. "Be smart. Divorce Izzy right now."

"Haven't you heard the saying? The one who isn't loved is the intruder. And that's you."

Lucas couldn't hold back any longer. His fist landed squarely on Adrian's nose.