All Chapters of He Divorced Me On Our Anniversary: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Lena's POVI check the oven again even though I literally just checked it. I know it’s fine. I know that. The chicken smells good. Really good. Garlic, butter, rosemary, all the stuff Ethan loves. He always says it smells like home when I cook like this, and that makes my chest feel tight in a good way.I tell myself to stop fussing but my hands won’t listen. They keep moving. Wiping the counter. Touching the oven handle. Fixing nothing.Tonight matters.I keep thinking that like if I repeat it enough, it’ll stay true.Our first anniversary matters.I smooth my dress down again, fingers pressing into the fabric like it might suddenly wrinkle if I don’t watch it. It’s not fancy. Not cheap either. Just something simple. Something Ethan once said made me look beautiful without trying. I remember rolling my eyes at him and saying I always try, and he laughed and kissed my cheek and said yeah, I know.That feels like another lifetime.I miss that version of him already and he’s not even hom

Lena POVThe taxi smells like cheap air freshener and old seats and something else I don’t want to name. I sit there staring out the window and my hands won’t stop shaking so I shove them under my thighs like that will fix it. It doesn’t. Nothing does.“Where to,” the driver asked earlier, and I said the address like it wasn’t a place I hadn’t been in months, like it wasn’t the only door left that might open.I keep thinking any second now my phone is going to ring. Ethan. Or his parents. Or someone telling me this is a misunderstanding and I should turn around. The phone stays quiet a dead weight in my lap. Just plastic and glass and silence.When the car stops, I don’t move right away. The building looks the same. Beige. Boring. Keenan’s place. Third floor. I’ve laughed here before. I’ve cried here before too, but not like this. Not shattered like this.“You good,” the driver asks.“Yeah,” I say, too fast. “Thanks.”I get out, grab my bag, slam the door harder than I mean to, and imm

Lena’s POVThe plane touches down harder than I expect and my stomach flips, not from the landing but from the fact that this is real. Los Angeles is behind me now really behind me. Not just for a night and not just to cool off. Gone.I don’t look out the window right away I’m too scared that if I do I’ll panic and want to run back even though there’s nothing left there to run back to.Keenan nudges my arm. “Hey. We made it.”I nod even though my throat feels tight and my chest feels heavy almost like everything inside me shifted and hasn’t settled yet. My bag feels heavier than it should when I stand up maybe it’s not the bag.The airport is small and quiet. There wasnt popl who was in a rush. No noise that feels familiar. People move slower here, like no one’s chasing anything. That alone makes me feel out of place.On the drive I keep staring out the window. Trees everywhere. Not the sad kind stuck between highways, but thick ones that block everything behind them. The air smells d

Lena’s POVIt hits me when I try to check the time.Not because I actually need to know what time it is but that’s just what I do. Reach for my phone my thumb sliding over the screen without thinking. Memory from years of always being reachable. Always available. Always someone’s wife, someone’s responsibility, someone’s problem.The screen lights up.No bars.I tilt it. Then I move closer to the window like that’ll help. Like the signal is shy and just needs encouragement.Still nothing.“No,” I mutter. “That’s not funny.”I walk to the front door and step outside barefoot, the wood cold under my feet. The air smells like salt and trees and something damp. I lift the phone again.Nothing.My chest tightens in a way I don’t like.I tap the screen harder than I need to. Swipe. Check settings. Turn airplane mode on and off even though I know it won’t magically fix anything.Still dead.That’s when it sinks in.No one can reach me. My in laws will be worried if they cant reach me.I shoul

Maya POVI don’t knock.I never knock anymore.This house already feels like it’s supposed to know me, like it should open its doors without asking questions. I step inside and breathe in deep, slow, letting the smell of the place sink into me. Wood polish. Expensive soap. That faint clean scent that always clung to Ethan like he belonged here.Maria looks up from the hallway, surprise flashing over her face for just a second before she masks it.“Oh,” she says. “Miss Maya. I didn’t know you were coming.”I smile. Soft. Sweet. Practiced. “I thought I’d help today. Ethan’s been having such a hard time.”She doesn’t smile back.“My work isn’t done yet,” Maria says carefully. “Mr. Carter didn’t say—”“You can leave,” I cut in.She blinks. “Excuse me.”“I said you can leave,” I repeat, sharper now. “I’ll take care of things from here.”Maria straightens, crossing her arms over her chest. She’s been in this house longer than I have. Longer than Lena even. She knows how things work here. She