Chapter 2: Leaving

“Leave.”

Ullysis’s voice cut through the office coldly.

Mike and Weldon exchanged a brief glance before silently walking out. The moment the door shut behind them, the calm expression on Ullysis’s face disappeared.

His jaw tightened.

Shantal signed the divorce papers?

The thought kept circling back like something lodged beneath his skin.

Yesterday, she still refused to discuss divorce.

Yesterday, she still looked at him with that quiet persistence he had long grown used to ignoring.

So how had she suddenly agreed so easily?

It didn’t make sense.

A humorless sneer tugged at his lips as he tossed the documents onto the desk.

Another tactic, perhaps.

Another way to gain attention.

Women often changed strategies when tears stopped working.

Yet even as the thought crossed his mind, irritation settled deeper in his chest instead of easing.

Ullysis leaned back against his chair and forced himself to focus on work. He picked up the stack of documents waiting for approval and flipped through them mechanically.

The words blurred.

Numbers meant nothing.

Signatures irritated him.

For some reason, every quiet second inside the office only made the silence louder.

And beneath that silence lingered one thought he could not shake away.

Shantal really left without fighting.

At the Ray Ford mansion, Shantal slowly descended the staircase with a suitcase in hand.

The sound immediately caught the attention of the household staff.

Wilma froze near the living room entrance. “Mrs. Ray Ford… are you going somewhere?”

Her voice carried cautious concern.

Everyone in the mansion already knew the marriage between Shantal and Ullysis existed because of Old Mr. Ray Ford’s insistence.

Without the old man, the relationship had become little more than an empty arrangement maintained out of habit and obligation.

Still…

No one expected Shantal to leave this quietly.

“No,” Shantal answered softly. “I’m moving out.”

The words came out calmer than she expected.

A few months ago, saying them would have shattered her.

Now, they simply felt… final.

She handed Wilma a small envelope.

“Thank you for taking care of me this past year.”

Wilma’s eyes reddened almost instantly.

Among all the wealthy wives who passed through the Ray Ford household over the years, Shantal had been the gentlest.

She never shouted at staff.

Never created unnecessary trouble.

Everything she did revolved around one person.

Ullysis.

“Are you really divorcing Mr. Ray Ford?” Wilma asked quietly.

For a brief second, pain flickered across Shantal’s eyes before she smiled again.

Small.

Controlled.

The kind of smile people wore when they no longer had the strength to explain themselves.

“Yes.”

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

She picked up her suitcase and walked toward the front door.

But halfway there, she suddenly stopped.

As if remembering something important.

Turning slightly, she said softly, “There’s one more thing.”

Wilma looked up immediately.

“The Malus trees in the garden…” Shantal paused briefly. “Please have them removed.”

Wilma stared at her in shock.

“But, Mrs. Ray Ford… you planted those yourself.”

Shantal’s fingers tightened slightly around the suitcase handle.

Back then, she spent weeks choosing those trees because she heard Malus blossoms symbolized quiet devotion and enduring love.

How ironic.

“Remove them,” she repeated gently.

“Ullysis never liked them.”

The words sounded simple, but something about them made the room ache with silence.

Since she was leaving anyway, there was no reason to leave traces of herself behind.

No reason to leave him with reminders he never wanted in the first place.

This time, she would leave cleanly.

Completely.

Without waiting for another response, Shantal walked out of the mansion.

And never looked back.

That evening, Ullysis returned home later than usual.

The moment he stepped out of the car, the noise in the garden made him frown.

A bulldozer stood near the front lawn while workers dug through the soil surrounding the Malus trees.

His expression darkened instantly.

“What’s going on?”

The workers froze.

Wilma hurried outside, already sensing the dangerous edge in his voice.

“Mr. Ray Ford…” she said carefully. “Mrs. Ray Ford ordered the trees removed.”

Ullysis’s eyes narrowed.

“Why?”

Wilma hesitated.

“She said…” Wilma lowered her gaze slightly. “...she didn’t want them anymore.”

Something unreadable flickered across Ullysis’s face.

His gaze shifted toward the uprooted trees lying against the dirt.

The same trees Shantal once personally watered every morning.

The same trees she protected during storms because she worried strong winds might damage them.

And now she discarded them herself.

As though they no longer mattered.

As though none of it mattered.

“Mrs. Ray Ford left this afternoon,” Wilma added quietly.

Ullysis’s gaze snapped back toward her.

“Left?”

The single word came out sharper than intended.

Something unfamiliar tightened suddenly inside his chest.

Fast.

Uncomfortable.

Almost like panic.

But just as quickly, he buried it beneath the same cold mask he always wore.

Unreadable.

Untouchable.

Yet his eyes lingered on the empty space beside the mansion doors far longer than they should have.

Without another word, Ullysis walked past Wilma and headed inside.

“Tell them to stop,” he said coldly. “Put everything back exactly the way it was.”

Wilma blinked in surprise.

The Malus trees?

If Mr. Ray Ford truly wanted the divorce… why keep the trees Shantal planted?

Everyone in the mansion knew how distant he had always been.

Since the marriage, Ullysis rarely returned home. And when he did, it was usually long past midnight, just enough time to sleep a few hours before leaving again.

But tonight…

he came home early.

For the first time in months.

Wilma lowered her head quickly. She did not dare ask questions.

“Yes, Mr. Ray Ford.”

Outside, the workers immediately stopped digging as the staff hurried to replant the uprooted trees.

Upstairs, Ullysis pushed open the bedroom door.

Then stopped.

Silence greeted him instantly.

Not peaceful silence.

Empty silence.

Cold silence.

Something in his chest tightened unexpectedly.

The room looked untouched at first glance, but the feeling was wrong.

Before, no matter how late he returned, the bedroom never felt like this.

Shantal always waited for him.

Sometimes asleep on the couch with a blanket slipping from her shoulders.

Sometimes sitting quietly by the window pretending to read while secretly listening for his footsteps.

And every single time he entered, she would look at him like he was the only person in the world worth waiting for.

Now,

nothing.

Ullysis loosened his tie impatiently and tossed it onto the bed.

His gaze swept across the room.

Then paused.

The bookshelf.

Half-empty.

A faint crease formed between his brows.

He walked to the closet and pulled the doors open.

His clothes remained untouched, arranged perfectly as always.

But Shantal’s side,

was empty.

No dresses.

No perfume.

No traces she had ever lived there at all.

Ullysis stared at the vacant space for several long seconds.

His jaw slowly tightened.

“She wouldn’t actually move out,” he muttered under his breath.

It sounded less like certainty and more like an argument he was trying to force himself to believe.

Maybe this was another attempt to get his attention.

Maybe she expected him to stop her.

Maybe,

His thoughts cut off abruptly.

Because deep down, Ullysis already knew something was different this time.

And that realization irritated him far more than it should have.

Meanwhile, across the city, Shantal stood inside a luxury apartment she had never once used during her marriage.

Technically, the property belonged to Ullysis.

One of the many apartments under his name.

But even before the divorce, she had quietly maintained it.

Cleaned regularly.

Prepared carefully.

Almost as though a part of her had always known she would eventually need somewhere to escape to.

Shantal placed her luggage beside the sofa before pulling out her phone.

The call connected after several rings.

A sleepy male voice answered lazily.

“Shantal…” he drawled. “I was literally dreaming about you. Should I believe in fate now?”

Under different circumstances, she might have rolled her eyes.

Tonight, she did not even smile.

“I need a favor.”

The teasing tone on the other end disappeared almost instantly.

“What happened?”

Shantal walked toward the window overlooking the city lights below.

“I need you to investigate someone for me,” she said quietly. “When you find evidence, send everything directly to me.”

Her tone remained calm as she explained the details.

Precise.

Methodical.

Nothing like the emotional, desperate woman she used to be.

After the call ended, silence filled the apartment again.

Shantal lowered the phone slowly.

Then closed her eyes.

Because even now, remembering what that person had done in her previous life still sent a chill crawling down her spine.

The next morning, Shantal arrived at the Civil Affairs Bureau early.

The building had just opened, yet the lobby was already crowded.

Some couples stood together nervously waiting to register their marriages.

Others sat in silence, waiting to end theirs.

Shantal remained near the entrance, quietly watching the doors.

One hour passed.

Ullysis never came.

Her brows slowly tightened.

She called him once.

No answer.

She tried Weldon next.

Still nothing.

Shantal checked the time again.

In another hour, the Bureau would close for the morning.

A trace of irritation surfaced in her eyes.

In her previous life, she had begged him not to leave.

Now, the one thing standing between them and freedom was his absence.

Without another choice, Shantal turned and headed back toward her car.

Half an hour later, she entered Ray Ford Corporation.

The moment she stepped into the lobby, several employees froze in surprise.

Mrs. Ray Ford rarely came here anymore.

Especially not alone.

Shantal ignored the curious looks and headed toward the elevators.

But before she could take another step, someone deliberately blocked her path.

A familiar perfume hit first.

Sweet.

Heavy.

Expensive.

Then came the woman’s voice.

“Well… if it isn’t Mrs. Ray Ford.”

Shantal slowly lifted her eyes.

Long maroon hair cascaded over one shoulder. The woman’s fitted designer outfit hugged every curve shamelessly, drawing attention with calculated precision.

Beautiful.

Confident.

Provocative.

The kind of woman impossible to ignore.

And unfortunately,

someone Shantal knew very well.

Because this woman had appeared countless times during her marriage.

Especially on the days Shantal personally brought lunch to Ullysis.

His ex-girlfriend.

And the woman who, in Shantal’s previous life…

eventually became his fiancée.