Chapter 6

The working hours passed slowly, without anything unusual happening.

Alexander was in his office at the company, moving between meetings and files while his mind remained occupied with the new deal.

It never crossed his mind that something in his life had already changed.

Shortly before the end of the workday, he closed the file in front of him and glanced at the clock.

It was time to head home.

He grabbed his coat and left the office.

Throughout the drive to the mansion, he thought about nothing but his long day.

He expected to find Elena at home, as usual.

Perhaps she would ask him about his day.

Perhaps she would tell him about something she had read or the new flower in the garden.

Simple things he had grown so accustomed to that he no longer paid attention to them.

The car stopped in front of the mansion.

Alexander stepped out and headed inside.

"Elena?"

No one answered.

He took off his coat and set it aside.

"Elena, I'm home."

The house remained silent.

He frowned slightly.

He walked into the living room, then checked the kitchen.

She wasn't there.

He hurried up the stairs.

He opened the bedroom door.

Empty.

He looked around.

The bed was neatly made, the wardrobe was closed, and everything appeared to be in its proper place.

Yet something was missing.

He could feel it without knowing what it was.

He opened the wardrobe.

He stopped.

Some of the clothes were gone.

He moved to the drawers.

They were less full than usual.

He stood there for several seconds.

Then he remembered the past few days.

Her calmness.

Her silence.

Her tiredness.

And that strange look he sometimes noticed in her eyes.

"Elena...?"

This time, her name came out in a different tone.

He turned and left the room.

He searched the mansion again until he reached his office.

He opened the door.

The moment he stepped inside, he stopped in his tracks.

A white envelope lay on his desk.

Beside it was a stack of papers.

He approached slowly.

He picked up the envelope.

His name was written on it.

"To Alexander."

He stared at it for a few moments before opening it.

The first thing he pulled out was a set of official documents.

He read the heading.

Divorce Papers.

His expression froze.

He lifted his eyes from the documents as though he couldn't understand what he was seeing.

Then he looked at them again.

Divorce?

From Elena?

Why?

He picked up the next sheet but couldn't bring himself to finish reading it.

There was another envelope inside the first one.

He opened it.

Several printed photographs slipped out in front of him.

He picked up the first picture.

His expression changed immediately.

It was the same picture that had been sent to Elena.

He looked at the first photograph, then the second.

Then the third.

He recognized them.

He recognized the place.

And he recognized the woman.

In that single moment, he understood that Elena hadn't left him without knowing the truth.

She had known everything.

He remained standing without moving.

Then he noticed the letter.

It had been folded carefully.

He opened it.

And began to read.

"Alexander,

By the time you read this letter, I will have already left the house.

Don't look for me, and don't try to follow me.

I didn't leave you because I no longer love you. I left because I realized that one-sided love isn't enough to build a life together.

For the past two years, I believed that the changes in you were caused by work, and every time, I found excuses for you.

I told myself you were tired, that your responsibilities had increased, and that perhaps I was overthinking things.

But I learned the truth.

I received the pictures and the video.

I heard every word you said about me.

And I learned about Victoria.

I didn't confront you because I didn't want to hear another lie after everything I had already heard.

Perhaps you saw my care for you as a burden, and perhaps I had become nothing more than an old habit to you.

But I considered you my entire world.

So I won't blame you for no longer feeling what you once felt.

Love is not something you can force someone to feel.

I only wish you had been honest with me before things reached this point.

I've left behind all the gifts you gave me and everything you bought for me.

I haven't taken any of it.

I've taken only what belongs to me because I don't want to carry things into my new life that would keep me living in the past.

I hope you won't look for me.

And I hope you find whatever it is you're searching for in the life ahead of you.

As for me, I'll try to learn how to live without you.

Thank you for the four years we shared.

Despite how they ended, I won't deny that they were once the most beautiful part of my life.

Goodbye, Alexander.

Elena."

He finished reading.

He remained silent.

Not a single tear fell.

He felt no urge to smash anything.

He simply stood where he was, the letter in his hands.

It was too much for him to comprehend all at once.

His wife, the woman who had lived with him for four years...

Had left.

All without giving him a single chance to realize that she had been planning to leave for an entire week.

Alexander slowly raised his head and looked around the empty room.

For the first time in years, the mansion felt strangely vast.

But the only thing he could think about wasn't sadness.

It was a single question.

How had I failed to notice that she was preparing to leave right before my eyes?