Day Two

Anna’s POV

Too many dresses, too many shoes, too many bags. I owned too many things. Too many beautiful things I had bought thinking I’d have enough time to enjoy them.

I stood in front of the open wardrobe for several minutes, staring at everything I had collected during my marriage. Some pieces still had tags while others had been worn once and even forgotten.

There were dresses Mark had bought for me because he knew I liked them, and there were dresses he had bought because they looked good on the woman standing beside him at an event.

I used to care about the difference but not anymore. I picked up a black evening gown and held it against myself. I remembered the night I had worn it.

Mark had barely looked at me before telling me we were late. I smiled at the memory. It wasn’t a happy one.

By the time I was done, half of my wardrobe was lying across the room. I called Sandra. She arrived an hour later and stopped in the doorway.

Her eyes moved from the clothes to me. “Anna…” my shoulders dropped. “I don’t need them anymore.” She looked at the expensive dresses scattered everywhere.

“You’re giving all of this away?” I nodded. She knew why, so she didn’t bother asking again. We spent the next few hours trying to fit everything into the boxes.

I didn’t feel sad and I was shocked at this. Letting go was supposed to hurt. Instead, it felt like finally breathing after being under water for so long.

When the first box was carried downstairs, I heard the front door open. Mark. I looked towards the hallway. His footsteps came closer. He appeared at the bedroom door a few seconds later, still wearing his suit from work.

His eyes moved around the room then they landed on the boxes. “What are you doing?”

“Cleaning.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “Cleaning?” I nodded and picked up another dress to fold. “I’m giving some things away.”

He looked at the piles again. “You’re giving your clothes away?”

“Some of them.” He gave a quiet laugh. “Why?” I shrugged. “I don’t wear them.” He stared at me for a moment. I could almost see the thoughts forming in his head.

He thought this was about him. He probably even thought I was angry because he ignored me again. I didn’t care to correct him. He walked further into the room. “You bought most of these recently.”

“I know.” I paused to look at him. “Then why give them away?” I folded another dress. “Well, because I don’t want them anymore.”

He watched me for a few seconds then he shook his head. “You’re actually being dramatic.” The words didn’t hurt as much as they once would have. I expected that from him.

I looked at him. “Maybe.” He sighed and loosened his tie. “You know you don’t have to do all this to prove you’re upset with me.” I almost laughed.

He still thought I was interested in getting his attention. For a moment, I wanted to tell him. I wanted to say that I have seven days, and that the woman standing in front of him might not be here much longer but the words stayed inside me.

I looked down at the dress in my hands. “I’m not upset.” Mark looked at me. He didn’t believe me but he also didn’t push. He walked away. Classic Mark.

He always left when things got hard. I waited until I heard his footsteps disappear before I let out the breath I had been holding.

Sandra came closer. “You could still tell him.” I shook my head. “No.” She rested her hands over my shoulder. “He deserves to know.” I sighed. “Maybe.”

I looked towards the doorway. “But I deserve to know what he does when he thinks I’m leaving for good.” Neither of us said a word.

The boxes were finally taken away that afternoon. When the last one disappeared through the front door, I walked back upstairs. My wardrobe looked strangely empty.

This was my first time seeing the back wall. There was only a few clothes left. The ones I actually loved. The ones I knew I would need but the rest were gone.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my phone vibrated. I picked it up. A message from Mark. “Dinner tonight?”

I stared at it. After everything, this was what he wanted to ask. Dinner. I typed several replies and deleted them. I didn’t know how to reply. “I’m not hungry.” I sent it.

A few seconds later, his reply came. “Fine.” I placed the phone beside me. No concerns, no questions, none of that.

That same evening, I opened my notebook. Yesterday, I had written the first letter. Today was the second.

“Day two.” I stared at the page for a long time before finally writing. “Today, I gave away the things I would keep forever.” I stopped and started to spin the cover of the pen before I continued. “Because I finally understood that beautiful things could mean nothing when you don’t have the time to enjoy any of them.”

I smiled faintly then I wrote one final sentence. “I wonder how many things we hold onto simply because we’re afraid of letting go.”

I closed the book. Tomorrow was day three and there was one thing I was avoiding more than the hospital. My work. To the world, Brantley holdings had been Mark’s company but I knew the truth.

There were parts of that company that existed because of me. Ideas I had given, deals I had helped him secure, problems I had solved behind the scenes and tomorrow, I was going to take my hands off all of it.

For the first time, Mark Brantley was going to have to run his empire without me. I just didn’t know how quickly he would realize what he had lost.