All Chapters of Divorced And Out of His League: Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

Kayla POVThe steak had gone cold two hours ago. The candles I lit with excitement now burned low and uneven, wax dripping down like tears onto the white tablecloth. The wine sat untouched beside two crystal glasses, and the roses I spent thirty minutes arranging this morning were already beginning to wilt.Just like my marriage.I glance at the clock again. 10:37 p.m.A bitter laugh escapes my lips as I tighten my grip around my phone. “Unbelievable.”Tonight was supposed to matter. Not because of the expensive dinner or the decorations or the black silk dress I wore just because Adrian once told me it was his favorite. Tonight mattered because it was our anniversary. Three years of marriage.Three years of loving Adrian Ward — the powerful CEO everyone admired, the man magazines called brilliant, ruthless, unstoppable.The man who hadn’t come home again.I pace across the living room, heels clicking softly against the marble floor while thunder rumbles outside the penthouse window

Kayla’s POVThe sky was already dark when I got home.The rain hadn’t stopped since morning. It fell harder now, like the heavens themselves were mocking me. My clothes were soaked, my hair clinging to my face as I stumbled inside, shutting the door behind me.The house… our house… felt different. Empty. Hollow.Every piece of furniture I had picked out, every wall I had painted, now looked like a stranger’s home. My chest tightened painfully as I looked around. This place once held laughter, warmth, and promises. Now, it only holds memories that cut deeper than knives.I dropped my bag on the floor and stood there, staring into space. I should pack my things. I should call my mother. I should do something. But I couldn’t move. My body felt heavy, my heart heavier.I walked to the dining room, where last night’s candles still sat, their wax hardened, the food untouched. The necklace Adrian sent lay on the table, glinting under the dim light… a cruel reminder of how blind I’d been.I

Kayla’s POVFour years later.Sometimes, I wonder if the woman I used to be would even recognize me now.Back then, I was soft… always waiting, hoping, forgiving. Now, I’m steel beneath silk. Still kind, but never naive.The world broke me once. I rebuilt myself with the pieces.The morning sunlight poured through the tall glass windows of Brooks Atelier, my company… my empire. What had started as a small interior design studio in a rented office now occupied two floors of a high-rise building in downtown Manhattan.The faint hum of the city below always energized me. It reminded me of how far I’d come… from crying on cold floors to walking in heels worth more than my old rent.My phone buzzed on the desk. My assistant, Maya, peeked in through the glass door, holding a tablet.“Good morning, Ms. Brooks,” she said with her usual bright smile. “You have a 10 a.m. meeting with the investors from Halden Properties, and your 11:30 call with the new luxury hotel in Milan.”“Perfect,” I repl