All Chapters of Our Fifth Anniversary Became My Exit Plan: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

My husband, Yosef Sinclair, didn't make it home until 2:00 am.He walked straight to the kitchen carrying a large bag of bread and stocked the fridge with unusual patience.Only then did he notice me sitting in the dark living room.He froze for a moment before asking, "Shouldn't you be in bed? Why are you sitting in the dark?"The warm glow of the light flickered on, making me blink.I looked right at Yosef and asked with a trembling voice, "Do you remember what day yesterday was?"Yosef paused, thinking for a moment before making tentative guesses. "Is Clara's bakery lease up for renewal? Or is it time for her checkup?"My chest tightened, and my voice came out hoarse. "It was our fifth wedding anniversary."He let out a sigh of relief, and his expression instantly relaxed. "Is that all? You're not a teenager anymore. Why do you still care about these silly dates?"My words caught in my throat. The pain was so intense that I could barely breathe.Silly dates?Back when we

Chapter 2

The next morning, I booked an appointment for an abortion.Before I left, Yosef handed me bread and milk—a rare gesture from him."Clara made these. She mentioned bread's your favorite and asked me to bring some over. She also said it's been a while since she saw you, so drop by her shop today if you have time."I lowered my eyes at the food pushed into my hands.My mind flashed back to four years ago, on a winter day when Yosef and I had just walked out of the office.Clara Lawson was standing in the biting wind, shivering in paper-thin clothes. I pulled out a piece of bread from my bag—the one I'd forgotten to eat that morning—and gave it to her.From that day on, I bought an extra piece every single morning.As we grew closer, Yosef and I chipped in to help her open a bakery. She was driven, and business took off quickly. Soon, crowds were lining up for her cakes and pastries.I opened the wrapper. It was my favorite kind.I took a small bite, only to realize my throat was

Chapter 3

My footsteps faltered.Five years of marriage, and Yosef still maintained his single facade to the rest of the world. He told me that he needed to focus on his career first.I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and got down to business.After handing in my resignation at HR, I went back to my desk to pack up.I boxed up most of my belongings and arranged to have them shipped home. On my way past the break room, I overheard HR chatting with a coworker over coffee."Renee's finally leaving. I have no idea how an Eldish major managed to stick around our company for so long in the first place.""If you ask me, Yosef only brought her on as a favor to an old classmate!"The words stung.Well, I was leaving now, and I'd never come back.Before I knew it, my feet had carried me to the bakery. I instinctively peered through the window.There was a familiar back—Yosef.He was deftly helping Clara pack up takeout orders. Their movements were seamlessly synced, and a natural warmth e

Chapter 4

I blinked back the raw tears stinging my eyes and met his gaze. "I'm not throwing a fit. I mean every word. Yosef, I don't have to sit here and accept that your heart belongs to another woman. I want a divorce."I roughly wiped the tears from my cheeks, reached into my bag, and pulled out the divorce agreement I had already drawn up. I thrust it toward him.After scanning the text, Yosef let out a cold laugh. "Renee, are you seriously going to make a scene like this? You're not young anymore. Who else do you even know in Ravenshire besides me? You need to realize that you are nothing without me."He snatched the paper and scribbled his signature with a few harsh strokes.Then, he tossed the divorce agreement toward me, but I failed to catch it.I picked it up and slowly stood back up.Seeing the tear tracks on my face, Yosef felt a sharp pang in his chest. He reached out his thumb to wipe away the remaining moisture from the corners of my eyes.Bending down, he whispered close t

Chapter 5

Third-Person POVAs Yosef stared at the single tick, his mind spiraled into complete chaos.He backed out of the chat, repeatedly checking the phone number and contact name. Every digit was right.A terrifying realization settled deep in his chest—Renee wasn't throwing a fit. She was actually gone.The HR manager, a longtime employee, had never seen Yosef like this. "Yosef, so what if Renee's gone? Her degree wasn't even relevant anyway. If you hadn't been nice enough to keep her around, she would've never stepped foot—""Shut up!" Yosef cut him off coldly. "Without her, I never would've made it this far, and this company wouldn't even exist! She is my wife. Show some respect!"The HR manager's eyes widened in sheer disbelief, and he blurted out, "Yosef… aren't you courting Ms. Lawson? Since when are you married?"Yosef stood frozen as if struck by lightning. After a long silence, he said, "Renee is my wife. Clara is just a mutual friend."With that, he bolted out the door and

Chapter 6

So, Renee had been that deathly pale at the hospital because she had just terminated her pregnancy?Yosef stood rooted to the spot, completely unable to process the realization.At the time, he had only cared about Clara's feelings, never once stopping to wonder why Renee was at the hospital in the first place.He slammed his fist against the table with brutal force.Just then, a faint clatter broke the silence as something slid off the table and hit the floor.He looked down to find a simple, plain band resting on the tile. The ring had been meticulously cared for. Its surface gleamed brightly under the lights.Yosef had given it to Renee after their first year of building the business, which was also their very first year of marriage.Back then, he had felt consumed by guilt for not being able to afford a bigger, more exquisite diamond.However, Renee had been so understanding. She had comforted him with a soft smile and insisted she didn't care about things like that.How c

Chapter 7

Renee's POVMeanwhile, I had touched down and stepped off the plane.The hotel representative had been waiting for me for quite some time. I walked over and greeted him.The rep was a young guy who froze the moment I greeted him.I waved a hand in front of his face to snap him out of it.Gaining his composure, he flashed a bright smile and eagerly took my luggage. "Sorry about that! You're just stunning. I'm Connor Sullivan. Let me take you to the hotel."I nodded with a faint smile and followed him out.After settling onto the bed in my room, I pulled out my phone and saw a message from a close work friend, Lucy Russell."You're married to Mr. Sinclair? No wonder you always dodged bringing your husband out whenever we asked!"I froze for a moment before asking how she knew.She replied instantly, "Mr. Sinclair said so himself right in front of HR! The whole company's talking about it."I stayed silent for a beat before replying to her first message, "He's not my husband. We

Chapter 8

I supported Connor by the arm as we brushed right past Yosef.Yosef stared at my retreating back, lost in a quiet haze.There was a time when I had looked after him with that exact same devotion.He had known how lucky he was back then, but somewhere along the way, he grew used to it and stopped cherishing me.Step by step, he had driven the woman who loved him further and further away.My love for him was broken beyond repair. Trying to piece it back together would be nearly impossible now.…At the hospital, the doctor bandaged Connor's wound and stepped out.Left alone with him in the room, I offered an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry. It's my fault you got hurt."Connor touched the edge of the bandage, trying to play it off like it didn't hurt, only to wince with a sharp gasp.He managed an embarrassed grin. "It's nothing! I'm young, I can take a hit. Besides, don't say it's because of you. That jerk was just losing his mind."Over the past few days, Connor had sensed the

Chapter 9

I returned to the hotel, packed my bags, and left a farewell note.There were paths in life that a person must walk alone. So, without anyone by my side, I set off on my own.In the departure lounge, as I watched plane after plane take to the skies, an unusual calm washed over me.It wasn't until the aircraft cleared the land, leaving my homeland, Caldoria, behind, that something stirred in my heart.For the past few years, I had lived entirely for someone else.In the days ahead, I wanted to live for myself. I wanted to pick up the dreams I had abandoned and embark on a new journey.I had no idea what the future held, but I knew with absolute certainty that my path was moving upward.A decade ago, I majored in Eldish at university, earning every qualification available. So, I decided to pursue further studies in Elden and bring outstanding Eldish literary works and research papers back to Caldoria.By a stroke of fate, I met a female school principal who invited me to join her

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