Chapter 2

Declan's lips trembled. My face remained perfectly calm.

"Fine. I'll go."

I turned toward the front door, ignoring his parents' protests. Just before I reached it, a hand seized my wrist and yanked me back.

‘Are you actually angry? Don’t scare me. Are you leaving me?

‘If you leave me, I'll die.

‘Please don't leave me.’

His inner voice rushed in all at once, wrapping around me. I turned back in shock and saw Declan's eyes rimmed red. My resolve wavered.

Then, the very next second, his cold voice came crashing down.

"Go ahead and leave. But take off those shoes first. I bought those for you."

My whole body went rigid. I looked down at the shoes on my feet, worn soft from years of washing.

Declan had bought them for me when we got married. At the time, he had just left them in the living room without a word, but his inner voice had seeped through from the bedroom.

‘Did you see the shoes, honey? Come ask me about them. Ask me if I got them just for you.

‘I had them custom-made. Come on, honey. Tell me you love them.

‘I want you to be the happiest bride in the world.’

For six years, I had treasured those shoes. Not just because Declan had commissioned them just for me, but because they stood for everything fierce yet unspoken in the way he loved me.

However, none of that mattered now.

I crouched down numbly and slipped them off.

"Here. They're yours."

Declan's expression darkened further. The corners of his eyes were red, as though he was holding his emotions back by sheer force of will.

Janet hurried forward. "Wren, you've been with him for ten years. You know he never means what he says. There's no way he'd actually let you walk out of here barefoot. He's just trying to get you to stay."

The words had barely left her mouth when Declan picked up the shoes and tossed them into the fireplace.

"You wore those shoes for six years. Now, you're giving them back to me? I don't want them. They're filthy."

He spoke softly, but his words hit like a sledgehammer. I watched the flames swallow the shoes whole, the pain in my chest so sharp that I could barely breathe.

I had cared for those shoes as if they were something precious for the last six years, but to Declan, they were nothing more than kindling.

When he caught sight of my reddened eyes, his inner voice surged again.

‘Are you hurt? You still care about me, don't you?

‘Just say you were wrong. Tell me all of that was a joke, and I'll fill your entire closet overnight.

‘I'll buy you so many new, beautiful shoes.’

I listened to every word, numb and hollow. Nothing stirred inside me anymore. No matter how intricate or how beautiful those new shoes might be, none of them would ever be as special as my first pair.

Whatever Declan and I once had was over. It had burned to nothing but ash, just like those shoes.

I walked out barefoot, and not a single ‘family member’ came after me.

Only Petra's voice lingered behind, dripping with satisfaction. "You're really not going after her? She looked pretty upset."

Declan scoffed. "Why should I? Let her go. Give it half an hour, and she'll come crawling back to apologize."

He did not know that I was truly leaving this time. There was a transfer list at work, and my name was on it.

My flight was booked for tomorrow.