It's Time To Leave

The room fell silent.

Lucien stood a short distance away, one hand still holding the bottle of water he'd taken from the fridge.

For a moment, he simply looked at her.

Then his brows slowly creased.

"Why?"

Nova met his eyes.

“Why do you think?”

Lucien remained silent.

After a brief moment, he asked,

“Is this because of Gwen?”

Nova's gaze lowered slightly, and a faint smile touched her lips.

“No.”

She looked back at him.

“Have you forgotten? We agreed to part ways once the three years were up.”

Lucien's expression remained calm.

But his gaze deepened imperceptibly.

Nova continued,

“Three years ago, our agreement was that I'd marry you to keep Grandma happy for the three years she had left. I believe we've spent those three years well."

She paused briefly.

“And I think it's better not to continue holding on to something that was only meant to last this long.”

The room fell silent again.

Lucien stared at her.

She looked remarkably calm.

He had always known this day would come.

Yet now that Nova was actually standing before him, asking for a divorce, something felt strange.

After a brief silence, he finally gave a small nod.

"Okay. I'll ask Hayden to draw up the divorce agreement for you to sign."

Nova seemed pleased by his answer. She gently nodded, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"Alright. Thank you."

Her voice was as soft and brisk as always, but Lucien couldn't help frowning.

She was obviously delighted by the news.

As though she couldn't wait to divorce him.

"You're really that eager to leave?"

There was a trace of annoyance in his voice.

Nova looked at him.

Then she smiled faintly.

“Lucien, this was always the plan.”

She paused.

“You've done nothing wrong by wanting your life back. Neither have I.”

Her smile was calm, and Lucien couldn't find anything wrong with her words.

That was indeed the agreement they had.

Yet something about her words bothered him.

Lucien stared at her, but before he could ask what she meant, Nova turned toward the staircase.

“It's late. Goodnight.”

She began walking away.

But just as she passed him, Lucien suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Nova stopped.

Slowly, she looked back at him.

Lucien was looking at her intently.

There was little expression on his face, but the look in his eyes seemed unusually intense.

He simply held onto her wrist, his hold loose but unmoving, as though some part of him didn't know how to let go.

Nova frowned slightly.

"Lucien."

He didn't respond.

For a moment, it looked as though he wanted to say something.

His fingers shifted faintly around her wrist, and his jaw tightened.

"Nova..."

Just then, his phone suddenly rang.

The sound broke through the silence around them.

Both of them looked toward his pocket simultaneously.

She remained silent while he pulled the phone out.

It was Gwen calling again.

A faint smile appeared on Nova's lips once she saw the caller ID.

Of course.

Gwen was waiting.

Yet he was still standing here, holding onto her wrist.

Nova gently looked toward the phone.

“Didn't you say Gwen needed help?”

Lucien's eyes shifted toward her.

Nova gave a small smile.

“You should go.”

His phone continued ringing.

For a brief moment, Lucien remained where he was.

Then his gaze fell toward the screen again.

His fingers slowly loosened around Nova's wrist.

Nova pulled her hand away.

“Goodnight, Lucien.”

This time, she turned and walked up the stairs.

Lucien remained standing there.

He stared toward the corridor Nova had disappeared into and his expression slowly darkened.

A moment later, he finally answered the call.

---

The next morning, when Nova woke up, Lucien was not beside her.

In fact, his side of the bed was as smooth as it had been the night before.

Clearly, he hadn't come home.

Nova stared at it silently for a brief moment.

Then she got out of bed and adjusted her nightwear before walking downstairs.

Madame Greene served her breakfast before leaving for the grocery store, leaving Nova alone in the dining room.

The television was on, showing a reality show. She didn't recognize any of the guests, so she picked up the remote and changed the channel, eventually stopping on a news station.

Since it was nine in the morning, the newscaster was still reading the morning news.

To her surprise, the report was about the Delacroix Group.

Apparently, one of the companies they had invested in had suddenly encountered a hostile takeover, and critics were discussing how heavily it would affect the group.

The newscaster continued talking, but Nova's attention lingered on the familiar face displayed on the screen.

Lucien Delacroix.

For three years, this man had been her husband.

And soon, he wouldn't be anymore.

Nova stared at the screen for a moment before turning off the television.

---

After breakfast, Nova returned upstairs.

She walked into their walk-in closet and began packing all her clothes into suitcases.

She was in the middle of packing when her phone, lying on the bedside table, rang.

She picked it up and held it to her ear.

"Hello."

A male voice sounded from the other end, respectful but serious.

"Boss, I managed to secure the land on Crestfall Avenue you wanted. But that old geezer, Norman, is trying to one-up us."

An icy chill settled into Nova's gaze.

It was completely unlike her usual gentle temperament.

"Okay. Just secure the land. Don't rush in blindly and complicate matters. I'll deal with Norman myself."

"Yes, Boss. Understood."

There was a brief pause before he asked, "What's the next step?"

Nova pulled a black maxi dress from the closet.

Then she answered casually, "Come and pick me up."

"Wyatt Estate?" he asked.

The man sounded visibly surprised.

"Boss, are you..."

"Yeah," Nova replied without hesitation. "It's time to leave."

There was silence on the other end.

Only after a few seconds did he respond.

"Okay. Understood."