All Chapters of The Calm Goodbye That Ended Our Love: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The winter wind was bitter, and I pulled my thin clothes tighter around me.Lena Cartwright hurried over and grabbed the hem of my shirt, rising on her toes to drape the coat over my shoulders."Jude Colby, stop being stubborn. Come home with me. I cleared my whole schedule today just to come get you."I pulled the coat off and handed it back, stepping away without a trace of emotion. "No thanks. I'm not cut out to be the other man."A gust of wind swept past, and I started walking again. This time, Lena didn't stop me. She just followed, unhurried, keeping pace a few steps behind.I took what little money I had and went looking for a place to rent, but every door closed in my face. Landlords looked me up and down with open contempt, then shoved me out like a stray, cursing as they went.Each time, Lena would appear from behind and catch my hand. Her voice carried a quiet exasperation."Jude, what are you still fighting for? Why do you have to make this so hard?"A shiver ran

Chapter 2

Those eyes of hers were so beautiful. Looking into them, I could almost see the Lena I'd known as a kid, before all the dirty tricks—back when she was just a girl who wanted a decent life.She'd grown up in an orphanage, but when she reported the director for skimming donations, they threw her out. She was a teenage girl with nowhere to go. She fought stray dogs over scraps and was covered in bruises. She was nothing but skin and bones.The wind cut right through her, and she had no home.But I liked her. I took her hand and brought her home, knowing full well I'd catch hell from my grandma for it."I can barely keep you fed, and now there's another one? You looking for a smack?""She's not my problem. You dragged her in, you take care of her."Nana talked tough but had a soft heart, and she took Lena in all the same. To make life a little easier, we hauled bricks and cement at construction sites.Between the two of us, we made 30 dollars a day, and sometimes we didn't even get

Chapter 3

Austin moved into our home after that.Maybe it was out of guilt, but he was always trying to make himself useful, and he kept making a mess of it. He'd break one of my expensive watches, accidentally throw out a birthday gift Lena had bought me, or ruin one of her designer dresses with the iron. It happened more than once.But Lena, who had never had patience for carelessness, would actually bend down and comfort him.She started to change. The woman who practically lived at the office began leaving on time every day. She carved out an hour each evening to teach Austin how to speak properly, even staying up late to make vocabulary flashcards, guiding him through each word with her hand on his throat so he could feel the sounds.It bothered me. I suggested hiring a tutor or enrolling him somewhere, but Lena shut it down."It's not safe leaving him with strangers. There are so many awful people out there. What if someone takes advantage of him?"Besides, teaching him reminds m

Chapter 4

Lena hid Austin at her company. To make room for him, she fired me without hesitation and told everyone I'd been the one chasing her, that I was a shameless homewrecker who'd forced my way in. She said that if it weren't for me, she and Austin would have been happy together.But she was generous enough not to hold my mistakes against me, apparently. She slotted Austin straight into a director-level position and made it official at a company meeting."Austin is mine. He's young, he's got energy, and he's here to learn the ropes. All of you are going to make way for him."Anyone who gives him trouble is giving me trouble, and you won't have a job here anymore. Whatever he wants, you give it to him. I'll handle the rest."I couldn't wrap my head around it. Lena was the girl who once reported an orphanage director for corruption, who swore she'd be a fair businesswoman. She'd thrown all of it away for a man who walked out of the backwoods.She turned the company into a toy, somethin

Chapter 5

The day Austin closed the deal, Lena was thrilled. She rented a billboard in the next town over and plastered it with photos of the two of them. They kissed and held each other in front of everyone, then disappeared together until the middle of the night.I sat in the dead-silent house, staring at the bed, one I'd built with my own hands so she'd sleep more comfortably. It was the same bed where we'd once been happy, now soaked in whatever the two of them left behind.Lena didn't come home until well past midnight. The faint smell of sandalwood still clung to her skin. She kneeled on the floor, wrapped her arms around me, and nuzzled her face into my chest with soft little whimpers.I frowned before I could stop myself."Austin likes this scent," she offered, like that was supposed to help.I couldn't hear a word. I just lay on the floor like something that had already given up. She poked my shoulder gently."Jude, don't you get it? What you need to do is keep me happy. Austin'

Chapter 6

Lena froze. "Jude, what did you say?"My voice was perfectly steady, but my hand tightened on her waist. "I said sure."Whatever she'd prepared to say died in her throat. She buried her face in my chest, clinging to me, playing up the sweetness for all it was worth.Anyone watching would have thought she was terrified of losing me. I even caught the briefest hitch in her breathing, something that almost sounded like a sob."Jude, I'm sorry! After you went away, I couldn't sleep a single night."I finally realized I was wrong. I'm too soft-hearted. I feel too much for people. I just gave in when Austin cried, and you're the one who paid for it."She blinked hard, holding my gaze. "But it's all going to be different now. I'm going to take care of you every single day."She pulled out our marriage certificate and pressed it into my hands, chattering away with a smile she couldn't contain."Look, this is our marriage certificate. The whole time you were gone, I kept it on me every

Chapter 7

In prison, the insomnia had been brutal. I could never fully sleep, as my body would be wound tight around the clock, on guard against everything. The moment the sky lightened, I was up.I went to Nana's grave. It looked like no one had visited in a long time, as the headstone was covered in dust.Two trees stood beside it. She'd always said she wanted trees planted by her grave when she died, and Lena and I used to cut her off whenever she brought it up.I ran my hand along one of the trunks, and my throat closed up."Nana…" I wiped the headstone until it gleamed, then sat down quietly beside her."Nana, I brought you some of those butter cookies you liked." I kept wiping at the stone, even though it was already clean.I had no idea how much pain she'd been in when she died. She went to her grave believing the child she'd raised all on her own was someone the whole world looked down on.My fingers trembled as I touched her name on the headstone. "Nana, I didn't do it.""Well,

Chapter 8

I had two days of peace before Lena showed up again on the third, looking exhausted. She held out a small box."A present. Open it."It was a ring. No, a pair of them. They caught the light beautifully, giving off the kind of glow that would have made my heart skip once."Do you like them? We can start wearing these from now on, okay?"I turned them over in my fingers. "What, you're done handling the one outside, so now you're back to sweet-talking the one at home?"Lena was quiet for a moment. "I'm not sweet-talking him. I don't want to see him. I've been staying at the office."I got rid of the baby. You don't have to worry. It won't happen again."I looked at her face. She really was alarmingly pale. It seemed she'd actually gone through with it.I snapped the box shut and tossed it straight into the trash.Lena's eyes went wide, and she reached out. "You... I had those custom-made. How could you—"Something crossed her mind, and she let out a sigh and dropped her hand. "F

Chapter 9

After we got back, Lena fired Austin. She put out a public statement with evidence attached, clearing my name of everything that had never been mine to carry. She even offered to bring me back into the company.It turned out that the difference between guilty and innocent came down to nothing more than a few words from her. Whoever she chose to protect was the one who walked free. Now Austin was the one everyone was after, with the occasional murmur of sympathy thrown my way.She wanted me to come back, but I said no. I didn't want to fall into the same hole twice.I asked her for a divorce, but she said no too. She lost it completely, smashing everything in the house she could get her hands on. She clung to me and said she wouldn't allow it. She looked angrier than she'd been the day I caught her in bed with Austin.She had people watching me. She gave me every promise I could think of, except the one I actually wanted.The very next day, she sent Austin away. She got rid of th

Chapter 10

Before I could react, flames erupted around me. Through the haze, I caught a glimpse of Austin's silhouette walking away, looking victorious.The fire spread fast, and thick black smoke billowed up on every side. It burned my eyes until tears streamed down my face. I didn't even have the strength to stand.I thought I saw Nana. I missed her so much, and I wanted to tell her I hadn't turned bad—I'd just saved someone I never should have saved and loved someone far longer than I should have.I regretted all of it.But somewhere in the blur, I felt something dragging me. Lena's voice was shaking as she said, "Don't fall asleep. Stay alive. Please." She choked on her words. "I'll give you the divorce. Anything."Her eyes were red, and I couldn't tell if it was the smoke or the fear. She dragged me toward the exit. The moment a beam started to come down, she threw every last bit of her strength into shoving me clear of it.The burning pillar landed across her face. She let out a

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