Chapter 7

Back home, Melissa locked herself in the guest room.

Feeling utterly drained, she didn't want to spend another second maintaining appearances with Hayden.

It took her the entire night to piece the bracelet back together. She rubbed her sore, aching shoulders.

After checking her phone, she found a thoughtful message from Andrew alongside a string of spiteful texts from Lydia.

She ignored Lydia's messages and called Andrew instead.

He picked up almost instantly. His warm, gentle voice came through the line. "Melissa, you're still up?"

Hearing Andrew's voice brought an unexplainable wave of comfort to her chest. "Yeah, I am. Did you have something to tell me?"

He chuckled softly. "It's been getting pretty chilly over here lately. Just wanted to remind you to pack plenty of warm clothes."

His simple gesture of care sent a quiet warmth through her heart.

The two ended up reminiscing about their university days, and a rare smile broke across Melissa's face.

It was a smile that reached her eyes for the first time in weeks.

After hanging up, Melissa hummed a quiet tune as she opened her bedroom door, only to find Hayden standing right outside.

Noticing the faint trace of amusement still lingering around her eyes, he couldn't help asking, "Who were you talking to just now? You sounded so happy."

Melissa's smile vanished instantly as she replied flatly, "Just an old classmate. Did you need something?"

Her cold, distant tone stung him. Frowning, he said, "You've seemed upset with me recently. What's going on?"

Melissa almost laughed out loud. What was going on? Did he truly have no idea?

"If you don't have anything important to say, I'm going to sleep," she said.

A flare of anger surged in Hayden's chest. He stated icily, "The Webb family is hosting a party in two days. Make sure you're ready to attend."

Melissa had no desire to see Kyle or Lydia ever again. "I'm not going."

Hayden stared at her indifferent eyes. He wanted to say something gentle, but what came out instead was harsh and demanding. "As long as you hold the title of Mrs. Davies, act like it. You're coming with me."

Without giving her a chance to refuse, he turned on his heel and walked away.

A mocking smile tugged at the corner of Melissa's lips. This was the first time in three years he had ever asked her to accompany him to a public event.

Was he finally offering to acknowledge her as his wife? It didn't matter anymore. She couldn't care less.

Early the next morning, the divorce papers arrived.

Without a moment's hesitation, Melissa signed her name before tracking down Hayden.

He was reviewing documents, though the faint smudge of lipstick on his shirt collar betrayed where he had been.

Melissa cast a detached glance at it before handing him the paperwork.

Stacked right on top of the divorce agreement was a property transfer document.

"I'm buying a place," Melissa said smoothly. "Sign this for me."

Hayden frowned slightly. In all three years of their marriage, she had never asked him for a single thing.

He reached to flip through the pages, but Melissa spoke up first. "It's just a house. Are you really going to hold out on me over a piece of property?"

Irritated by her words, Hayden signed the bottom of the page without reading another word.

"There. It's signed. Now let me get back to work." His words came out laced with anger, but the instant he finished speaking, regret washed over him. Deep down, he wanted Melissa to stay.

Yet Melissa acted as though she hadn't heard his harsh tone at all. She retrieved the signed contract and turned around to leave, completely ignoring the intense gaze following her out.

Once downstairs, she printed out every single provocative message Lydia had sent her over the past few weeks.

She gathered her positive pregnancy test along with her medical records from the abortion, packing them all neatly into a gift box.

Next, she copied the video of Hayden and Lydia's intimate encounter onto a USB drive and hired a courier.

"Please deliver this drive to the party venue's front desk tomorrow. Tell them to play it on a loop on the main screens."

Tomorrow was the Webb family's party, and it was also the day she was leaving Cavareth.

She hoped Hayden and Lydia would enjoy her farewell gift.

That evening, when another string of taunting texts arrived from Lydia, Melissa quietly blocked her number.

She left all the gifts, jewelry, designer bags, and clothes Hayden had given her over the years in the closet.

Underneath her pillow, she placed a bank card containing all the money she had earned over the years editing doctoral dissertations.

Once she walked out that door, she wouldn't owe him a single cent.

When Hayden returned home and saw the empty room, a strange sense of unease settled in his chest.

He asked, "Where are all the things I bought you?"

Melissa looked at him calmly. "I'm not used to them. If they don't belong to me, I don't want them."

Just like him. He didn't belong to her, so she didn't want him anymore.

Hayden pulled her into a tight embrace and said, "Melissa, your period should be over by now, right? Can we…"

Melissa pushed him away. "I'm not feeling well today. Maybe another time."

A wave of frustration washed over Hayden. She had been rejecting his every touch for days now.

Tonight, he had walked away from Lydia's desperate pleas just to come home and be with her, only to be met with this cold indifference.

He slammed the door shut and left. Melissa watched his departure without a single flicker of emotion.

It suddenly struck her how pathetic it all was. Was this really the man she had loved unconditionally for three whole years?

Three years of devotion would end right here.