Chapter 4
Elena left the hotel around noon, her steps heavy but her face calm. The city noise buzzed around her like background music to a life that had shifted overnight.
She should’ve felt ashamed. Or humiliated. Or lost.
But strangely… she didn’t.
The pain was still there, but it no longer controlled her. It was like she had finally reached the bottom—and now, the only direction left was up.
She didn’t go home. That place didn’t feel like home anymore. It felt like a house built on lies.
Instead, she went straight to her lawyer.
“I want a divorce,” she said firmly as she sat across the table.
The lawyer looked surprised. “You sure? These things take time, and emotions can cloud—”
“I caught him cheating,” she interrupted. “With my best friend. Five years of my life down the drain. So yes, I’m sure.”
The lawyer’s tone shifted immediately. “Understood. Do you have evidence?”
Elena’s jaw tightened. “I have their voices stuck in my head. That enough?”
“We’ll still need something more concrete,” he replied gently. “Messages. Photos. Something we can present in court.”
“I’ll get it,” she said coldly.
He nodded. “We can file for divorce under infidelity. If he refuses to cooperate, we’ll drag him through every legal corner possible.”
Elena gave a tight smile. “Perfect.”
She signed the preliminary papers and walked out of the office feeling lighter. Not happy—but free.
That evening, she went to her apartment, packed some essentials, and checked into a service apartment downtown. Something short-term, until she figured out her next step.
She didn’t tell anyone where she was. Not even her parents.
Let them hear about the divorce from Andrew.
By the next morning, her inbox was filled with missed calls and messages from both Andrew and Chloe.
Andrew: Elena, please. Let’s talk.
Chloe: It wasn’t what it looked like! I swear I didn’t mean for this to happen.
She deleted them all without a second thought.
Let them squirm. Let them panic.
She was done explaining herself to people who had already decided she was less than enough.
By the third day, the gossip had started to swirl around.
She walked into a boutique to grab a new outfit and heard two women whisper behind a clothing rack.
“Did you hear? Andrew Evans and his wife are splitting up.”
“Wasn’t she the one who got cheated on?”
“Yeah. With her best friend, no less. That poor thing…”
Elena turned and gave them a smile so sharp it cut through their pity.
“I’m not the poor one,” she said smoothly. “I’m the one walking away.”
The women turned red and hurried out of the store.
That night, she opened her laptop and began typing something she had been putting off for far too long—a resignation letter.
She had worked for Andrew’s company for the past three years. As a silent executive assistant to one of the partners, she had always stayed in the background, never mixing work with marriage.
But not anymore.
She was done hiding.
To Mr. Andrew Evans,
Effective immediately, I am resigning from my position at Evans Corporation.
This has nothing to do with my personal grievances and everything to do with my dignity.
Regards,
Elena
She hit send and shut the laptop.
It was final now. All of it.
She thought she might cry again—but nothing came. She was emptied out. Burned clean. Ready to start over.
Later that evening, as she stepped out of her apartment for a walk, a sleek black car pulled up beside her.
The window rolled down.
“Leaving already?” came a deep, familiar voice.
Her heart skipped. She turned to find Sebastian in the driver’s seat, leaning back like he’d been waiting all day for her to show up.
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you stalking me now?”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” he said, but there was a slight smirk on his lips. “You’re not that hard to find.”
“What do you want, Sebastian?”
“I want to talk,” he said. “Maybe a drink.”
“I think we talked enough the other night,” she replied dryly.
He leaned forward, voice lower. “No, Elena. That was just the beginning.”
And something about the way he said it—like he already knew which buttons to press—made her pulse quicken in spite of herself.
She shouldn’t go. She knew that.
But she was tired of doing what she should do.
She opened the car door and slid in without another word.
Because for the first time in forever, she was the one making the choices.