3. A Strange Feeling

Declan woke from his sleep. He glanced at the red wall clock beside the wardrobe. It was still four in the morning. He blinked slowly, only to realize that the bed beside him was empty and cold. For a moment, he almost forgot that just a few hours ago, he had divorced his beautiful wife.

So why did he suddenly feel as though he had lost something?

Strange, wasn’t it?

He was about to leave the room to get some water when his eyes landed on the large suitcase sitting in the corner. For some reason, he suddenly felt compelled to check the wardrobe. He slid open the glass door. Sure enough… a large portion of its contents was gone.

Only his clothes and personal belongings remained. Sarah must have already packed all of her things into the suitcase. The quiet woman must have done it while he slept. Declan sighed softly, trying to push away the strange feeling that had suddenly settled in his chest.

“Wake up … you should take a shower first.”

“That’s what happens when you work overtime until midnight.”

“That’s why you should…”

“You should’ve…”

Declan smiled faintly. At least his mornings would be more peaceful now without Sarah’s constant nagging.

Wait… Beautiful?

After turning off the air conditioner, Declan left the bedroom to get some water and prepare his self. When he reached the kitchen, he nearly bumped into Sarah. She was already dressed in a white long dress. Her eyes were still puffy and slightly swollen, perhaps from the disappointment of their separation.

But why was Sarah so devastated? Their marriage had never been her choice to begin with. So why was she grieving as though she couldn't bear to part with the husband she… loved?

“Morning, Sarah?” Declan didn’t know why the question slipped out of his mouth.

Usually, Sarah was the one who woke him early morning. But this morning, there was that same strange emptiness in his heart.

“Yaah... morning.” Sarah answered briefly, lowering her gaze before walking back into the guest room where she had spent the night.

After finishing his coffee, Declan found himself confused once again when his body instinctively turned around, searching for the woman who usually hurried over to kiss the back of his hand. Of course, no one was there. Sarah was in the room next door.

Was she feeling the same emptiness? This is only temporary. This feeling of losing her is only temporary. This separation is what I wanted. Sarah will get through this just fine. She deserves to be happy with another man. Someone who isn't me.

I… I’ll take care of Natalie again. My Natalie, who is suffering too.

Declan kept talking to himself, filling his mind with one justification after another. This time, the only thing he needed to think about was how he was going to explain his separation from Sarah to his mother—the woman who loved her daughter-in-law so dearly.

At seven that morning, Declan was getting ready to leave for work. He noticed Sarah busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast. There was something different about his former wife’s appearance. Could he really call her his ex-wife already?

It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since he had ended their marriage. Sarah looked more put together than usual that morning. She wore a bright pink blouse patterned with sakura blossoms, paired with black culottes.

“Going to the salon?” Declan asked, making Sarah look up for a few seconds.

“Yes.” Her answer was brief.

“Don’t you usually go in later?” Declan’s question made Sarah stop what she was doing.

She had been arranging vegetables and soft-boiled eggs on slices of buttered whole-wheat bread. The twenty-five-year-old woman looked at him in confusion, perhaps surprised by how unusually talkative Declan was that morning.

“There’s some renovation work at the salon today, so I need to get there earlier. Besides, I don’t have any morning responsibilities at home anymore.” Sarah answered calmly.

But there was a dull ache in her heart when she saw how bright and carefree Declan looked after divorcing her. Aside from being a housewife, Sarah had also been busy running her own salon and spa near Brooklyn. She had named it Seesara Salon and Spa.

The business had been operating for more than four years, ever since Sarah graduated from college. What had started as a simple rented storefront had grown rapidly. Sarah had eventually been able to purchase a larger building of her own, along with hiring more employees as the business expanded.

Declan merely nodded. His hands were still busy trying to straighten the tie he had been struggling with for several minutes. His eyes fell on the two whole-wheat sandwiches Sarah had just finished preparing.

He cleared his throat softly when Sarah began eating one of them without offering him anything. Even the small dining table was missing the cup of warm orange juice she usually prepared for him. Not wanting to simply stand awkwardly beside the table, Declan pulled out a chair and sat down beside Sarah, facing the plate of sandwiches that had been tempting him ever since he'd seen them.

But what he never expected was for Sarah to pull the plate away from him and place the sandwiches inside the lunch box she had prepared. Not for Declan. For herself.

Declan exhaled slowly, merely glancing at the food as it disappeared into the lunch box. He picked up the empty glass and poured himself some water from the pitcher in the middle of the table, simply to wet his dry throat.

“I’m leaving now.” Sarah placed her lunch box, water bottle, and two apples inside the paper bag she usually carried when she went out.

“Want to go together? We’re heading in the same direction.”

“I’ve already ordered a taxi. Besides…” Sarah glanced briefly at Declan.

His appearance was unusually disheveled that morning.

“We may work in the same direction…” She paused. “…but we’re no longer headed toward the same destination in life.”

With that, Sarah left the house after saying her farewell.

***

Declan arrived at the office earlier than usual. As soon as he entered his office, he called the office boy to order breakfast.

“What should I get you for breakfast, sir? This is unusual.”

The young man sounded surprised. Declan smiled as he handed the hundred-thousand-dollars bill to the young man standing in front of him.

“Steak and get me some coffee too.”

The young man immediately nodded. “Coming right up.”

After he left, Declan happened to catch sight of Natalie walking past his office.

“Natalie!” His voice sounded unusually enthusiastic.

Hearing her name, Natalie stopped right outside his door. “You’re here surprisingly early. And you look surprisingly…” Her eyes traveled from Declan’s head down to his feet.

Something about him looked completely out of place. His usually neat appearance was a mess.

“A mess?” Declan finished for her with a soft chuckle.

“Yeah… something like that.” Natalie laughed, her smile mirroring his.

Declan stepped closer and sat on the edge of his desk.

“Come here.” Natalie reached out, offering to fix his tie.

For a second, their eyes met. Then Declan leaned closer. With a strange brightness in his eyes, he allowed Natalie’s slender fingers to straighten and knot the tie around his neck.

“You really don’t usually look this disheveled. You look like a husband whose wife stopped taking care of him.” Natalie giggled softly. “Did you two have a fight… with Sarah?”

Her attention remained focused on the knot she was tying. With their bodies standing so close, she could hear Declan’s slightly heavier breathing. Silence fell between them for several seconds. Until Declan’s deep voice finally broke it.

“Yesterday…” He paused. “I divorced her.”

Natalie froze. “What do you mean?” She stared at him, almost unable to believe what she had just heard.

“We got divorced.”

***