So This Is It

Sera’s voice came out barely above a whisper. “Why?” 

Adrian looked at her without any change in his expression, his face cold and unreadable. “I’m not here to argue with you, Sera,” he said coldly. “I’m not here to go back and forth over a decision I’ve already made. I’ve considered everything, and I have nothing more to say.” He tapped the documents lightly before pushing them closer to her. “I’ve already signed my part. All that is left now is for you to sign yours.”

 Sera remained still, her eyes fixed on the papers, but when she slowly tilted her head, she saw Celine sitting beside Adrian, watching her with a faint, satisfied smile. 

The sight alone was enough to make humiliation rush through her, hot and painful, until she felt it settle heavily in her chest. She quickly lowered her eyes, reached for the documents with trembling fingers, and held them tightly against herself.

 Adrian picked up his briefcase and rose from his seat. “I’m going upstairs to freshen up,” he said coldly, already dismissing the conversation as though it had meant nothing. Sera said nothing. She simply turned and walked past them toward the staircase, carrying the papers with her. 

Sera said nothing. She simply turned and walked past them toward the staircase, carrying the papers with her. Just as she reached the first few steps, a low, mocking laugh came from behind her. 

She did not turn around. She tightened her grip on the documents and hurried upstairs, her footsteps growing quicker until they disappeared into the silence of the upper floor.

That evening, Sera was still in her room, sitting on the edge of the bed with tears quietly streaming down her face as Adrian’s words replayed in her mind.

 She had spent years holding on to the hope that one day he would look at her differently, that perhaps the marriage would eventually become something more than the cold arrangement it had always been, but that evening he had finally made it clear that there was nothing left to wait for. 

He had chosen Celine. He had chosen the child she was carrying. He had chosen a future that did not include Sera, and the divorce papers lying on the bed beside her made that reality impossible to ignore. 

She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, but another tear followed almost immediately. 

For a while, she simply sat there, staring at nothing, her shoulders trembling with each quiet breath. 

Downstairs, the house had returned to its usual rhythm, as though the conversation that had just shattered her life had meant nothing. The sound of plates being arranged and faint voices drifting from the dining area reached her room, reminding her that Adrian and Celine were already settling into dinner. 

Sera lowered her head, pressing her lips together as another wave of pain moved through her chest, but she forced herself to breathe slowly.

A few minutes later, one of the maids climbed the stairs and stopped outside Sera’s door. She knocked gently before speaking. “Madam Sera, dinner is ready.” 

There was no answer at first. The maid waited a few seconds and knocked again. “Madam?” From inside came a faint sound, so weak that the maid almost did not hear it. 

“I’m... not hungry.” Her voice broke halfway through the sentence, and she had to pause before finishing. “Please... go ahead.” 

The maid remained outside for another moment, clearly unsure whether she should insist, but the silence that followed made her step away from the door. She quietly returned downstairs and continued with the other servants, leaving Sera alone again. 

At the dining table, Adrian sat beside Celine while the food was served between them. Neither of them asked why Sera had not come down. Celine simply picked up her fork and began eating, while Adrian did the same, his attention fixed on the meal in front of him. 

Their conversation continued in low voices, completely untouched by the empty seat that remained at the table. 

 Upstairs, Sera slowly lifted her face from her hands and looked around her room. The tears were still there, but something in her expression had changed. 

She reached for the divorce papers and stared at them for several seconds before placing them carefully inside a small bag. Her fingers lingered over the papers, and she swallowed hard. She had spent enough time crying over Adrian. Enough time waiting for a man who had never truly turned toward her. Enough time allowing herself to be wounded by a decision he had probably made long before he finally said it aloud.

Sera rose slowly from the bed and walked toward her wardrobe. Her legs felt heavy, but she forced herself to keep moving. She began pulling out the things she knew she needed, folding them without much care and placing them into a travel bag. 

A few dresses went in first, followed by some personal belongings and whatever else she could carry without making the bag impossible to drag. Every now and then, she stopped to wipe her face, but she no longer allowed herself to sit down. 

The thought of her unborn child gave her something to hold on to when everything else seemed to be slipping away. She placed a hand briefly over her stomach, even though there was nothing yet to show the life growing inside her. 

The gesture was small, almost instinctive, but it steadied her. She could not remain in that house and continue pretending that she was fine. She could not keep watching Adrian build a life with Celine while she slowly disappeared inside the same walls. Whatever happened next, she would face it herself. 

Sera closed the bag and looked around the room one last time, her tear stained face reflected faintly in the mirror. She picked up the divorce papers, tucked them securely into her bag, and reached for the handle. For the first time since Adrian had placed those papers in front of her, she was no longer thinking about how to make him stay. She was thinking about how to leave.

It was exactly 3:00 a.m. when Sera finally left her room. She lifted the bag and opened her bedroom door quietly, stepping into the dark hallway. Her movements were careful as she pulled the door gently behind her, making sure the latch did not make a sound. She took a few steps toward the staircase, but before she reached it, she suddenly stopped.

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‎Sera turned her head toward the far end of the hallway.

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‎Adrian's room was there.

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‎The door was closed, just as it had been every other night, but the sight of it made her chest tighten. 

‎For a few seconds, she simply stood there with her hand wrapped around the handle of her bag, staring at the door that had once meant so much to her. 

‎

‎Behind it was the man she had spent years loving, the man whose presence had once been enough to make this house feel like home. Memories came rushing back in pieces, but Sera quickly lowered her eyes, refusing to let them pull her back into the same pain she had finally gathered the courage to leave behind. 

‎

‎Her lips trembled as she took one last look at the door, and something quiet passed across her face before she turned away. She did not step closer to knock. She did not wait for him to wake. She simply tightened her grip on the bag and continued toward the stairs.

‎

‎Sera descended slowly, placing each foot carefully on the steps to avoid making unnecessary noise. 

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‎When she reached the ground floor, she paused and listened. The entire house was silent. There was no movement from the dining area, no voices from the parlor, and no sign that anyone was awake. 

‎

‎She crossed the dinning and headed toward the back door of the parlor instead of using the main entrance. 

‎

‎The door opened with a soft click, and the cold night air immediately brushed against her face. Sera stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind her, then stood for a moment beneath the darkness, looking back at the house.

‎

‎The enormous villa stood quietly behind her, its windows dark and its walls hiding the life she had spent two years trying to hold together. She turned away before the memories could weaken her and started toward the back gate.

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‎As she approached, however, she noticed the security guard standing nearby. Sera immediately slowed, her fingers tightening around the handle of her bag. She had not thought about the guards when she decided to leave. 

‎

‎If she walked straight toward the gate, he would see her, and there would be questions about why she was leaving the property at two in the morning. 

‎

‎She glanced around quickly, searching for another way out, until her eyes landed on a loose stone near the wall. She bent down, picked it up, and held it tightly for a moment before throwing it toward the opposite end of the property. The sharp sound immediately caught the guard's attention. 

‎

‎He turned away from the gate and moved toward the noise, trying to see what had caused it. Sera did not hesitate. She pulled her bag behind her and hurried toward the narrow passage beside the back gate, slipping through before the guard could turn around. Her heart pounded as she emerged on the other side, but she kept moving. She did not look back at the mansion again.

‎

‎She simply walked into the darkness.

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‎The streets were quiet at that hour, and Sera dragged her bag along the sidewalk as she tried to put as much distance as possible between herself and the mansion. She had no clear destination yet. She only knew that she could not go back.