Chapter 2

Owen only replied to Gabriella's message half an hour later, long after she had arrived home.

"No need. I'm sure that whatever you ask me to sign won't harm me."

It meant that Owen wasn't going to look at the divorce agreement.

Gabriella wasn't surprised.

Owen was in a rush to pick up Samantha, who was drunk. He didn't have the time to spare to look at the divorce agreement, even though it was easily within his reach.

It rained for an entire day, only letting up in the evening.

Gabriella stayed home the whole time, quietly deleting all her post-wedding updates on her social media. She had just finished deleting everything when she saw Samantha's new post.

Samantha was lounging on a yacht. Each photo that she took was perfectly angled to show off a man's defined hand.

Gabriella knew the hand belonged to Owen and that Samantha had intentionally taken those photos. However, she no longer cared about Samantha's petty actions. She locked her phone, got up, and headed to the kitchen to prepare a bowl of salad for herself.

Owen suddenly returned home just as Gabriella finished making dinner.

Gabriella was momentarily stunned when she noticed that he was holding a cake. "Why did you suddenly buy a cake?" she asked. "I thought you didn't like sweet things."

Owen walked over to her, frowning slightly when he noticed the dinner that she had made for herself.

"Did you forget that today's your birthday? Why are you having such a simple meal?"

Gabriella was stunned again.

Her parents had divorced when she was five years old, abandoning her with her grandmother, who passed away when she was 16 years old. No one took care of her after her grandmother's passing, so she stopped celebrating her birthday as well.

However, Owen remembered Gabriella's birthday every year ever since they got married three years ago. No matter how busy he was, he would always rush home and celebrate her birthday with her.

He always worried about her safety whenever she left the house for an extended period, and he would deliberately drop by the airport to pick her up when she returned from trips.

He also knew that she was scared of stormy days and would gently pull her into his embrace.

Gabriella assumed that these moments of kindness from Owen meant that he was developing feelings for her. However, she got a wake-up call when he cancelled their wedding anniversary candlelight dinner, claiming that he needed to work overtime at the company.

She had been wallowing in her disappointment when Anne called her, asking if she could deliver her coat to her at the bar. When she arrived, she noticed Samantha was there as well.

Samantha was heavily intoxicated as she clung to Owen, who was supposed to be working overtime at the company, refusing to let go of him.

Owen's face darkened as he angrily pulled her off him, shouting, "Get a grip, Samantha! Let go of me! What do you take me for? A toy that you can play with and abandon as you please?"

However, Samantha seemed to be deaf to his words and wrapped her arms around his waist once more. She kept throwing herself at him, no matter how many times he shook her off, seeming to never tire of the endless back and forth.

In the end, Owen gave in to Samantha. His eyes were overflowing with nearly indiscernible adoration as he looked at her. "What am I going to do with you, Samantha?" he asked, sounding resigned.

The bag slipped from Gabriella's fingers, landing on the floor with a thud. Countless images flashed through her mind.

She had witnessed Owen pushing himself through the crowd to tightly grasp Samantha's hands. She had seen him tilting the umbrella in Samantha's direction to shield her from the rain. She had also been there when he got down on one knee, still in his graduation robe, and proposed to Samantha.

Every scene that flashed through her mind proved that Samantha was the only woman whom Owen loved.

Gabriella had witnessed every scene firsthand, so she couldn't deny the truth, even if she wanted to.

It didn't matter that they had been married for three years. It didn't matter that she was his wife, and he had taken care of her during certain fleeting moments.

She couldn't deny the fact that he didn't love her. She knew that she had only gotten a chance to experience Owen's kindness because Samantha wasn't around. Nevertheless, she had still foolishly believed that she had captured his heart because of the tiny moments of kindness that he showed her.

The reality was that Owen never belonged to Gabriella, not even for a second.

It was why she had stayed perfectly calm as she looked at the number "24" that was on the cake. She politely nodded at him and thanked him for the cake.

Owen smiled as he lit the candles. "We're married, Gabriella. You don't need to thank me for something like this. Go ahead and make a wish."

Gabriella nodded. She had just stood up when Owen's phone started ringing.

It was easy for her to guess who was on the other end of the line when she noticed his eyes darting around. She sat back down again.

As expected, Owen left the house after ending the call.

A bitter smile stretched across Gabriella's lips as she listened to his car pull away from the driveway, the engine's sound fading into silence.

She didn't switch on the light in the room.

The dancing flames cast her lonely shadow on the wall.

Gabriella laced her fingers together and made a wish on her 24th birthday.

"I wish for Gabriella Candola to stop loving Owen Wendell."