Chapter 5
Morning sunlight spilled through the curtains of Emma’s new apartment as she stood by the window with a mug of coffee.
Although the place was much smaller than the Hayes penthouse, she found herself breathing more easily than she had in years.
She glanced around the small living room, smiled to herself, and realized that while nothing there was expensive, every single thing belonged to her.
Her phone vibrated against the kitchen counter, and when Mia’s name appeared on the screen, Emma answered with a tired smile.
“So,” Mia said with a teasing laugh that softened into concern, “did you survive your first night as a divorced woman?”
Emma leaned against the counter before replying honestly. “I actually slept through the night, and I can’t remember the last time that happened.”
Mia let out a relieved sigh before saying. “Thank God, because I was worried you’d spend the whole night crying.”
“I thought I would,” Emma admitted while staring out the window at the quiet street below, “but I think I already cried everything out long before the divorce.”
There was a brief silence before Mia asked gently. “Do you regret it?”
Emma lowered her eyes to the warm coffee in her hands and smiled faintly.
“No,” she answered without hesitation, “I regret waiting so damn long.”
Mia laughed softly.
“Now that’s the Emma I’ve been waiting to hear.”
After ending the call, Emma carried her mug to the living room and opened her laptop, intending to clear the endless flood of unread emails that had piled up during the last few days.
Most of them were from reporters asking for interviews, while others came from gossip websites hoping she’d comment on Sophia Bennett or the divorce.
Emma deleted every single one without opening them.
Then another email caught her attention.
Luna Interior Design Studio
Her heartbeat slowed.
She already knew what it was.
Six months earlier, Luna had invited her to become the lead designer for an international luxury hotel renovation, but Alexander had looked at the proposal for less than ten seconds before sliding it back across the table.
“My wife doesn’t need to work.”
She still remembered forcing a smile before replying. “It’s not about money, Alexander, because I actually love designing.”
He hadn’t even looked up from his laptop.
“You don’t need to waste your time chasing projects when you already have everything.”
That single sentence had quietly ended the career she had spent years building.
Emma opened the email.
Miss Carter, our offer still stands if you’re interested, and we’d be honored to have you lead the project.
She stared at the screen for several long seconds before a small smile slowly appeared.
This time,nobody could tell her no.
She placed her fingers on the keyboard.
I’d love to accept.
She pressed send.
Almost immediately,her phone rang.
“Emma?” an excited female voice asked the moment she answered.
“This is Olivia from Luna Design Studio.”
Emma smiled.
“Hello.”
“We honestly weren’t expecting you to say yes because we’d heard you stepped away from the industry.”
Emma looked around her apartment.
“I stepped away from myself.”
Olivia laughed softly.
“Well… welcome back.”
Emma thanked her before ending the call, and for the first time in years, excitement quietly replaced the heaviness that had lived inside her chest.
Across the city, Hayes Group’s executive boardroom was unusually quiet as Alexander listened to senior executives discuss a billion-dollar investment, yet despite the endless numbers appearing across the presentation screen, his thoughts kept drifting somewhere else.
“Mr. Hayes?”
Alexander blinked.
“I’m sorry?”
One director cleared his throat awkwardly.
“The proposal.”
Alexander looked down at the report in front of him and realized he had been staring at the same page for nearly five minutes.
“Continue.”
The meeting dragged on for another hour, but Alexander barely remembered anything that had been discussed by the time it ended.
Ethan followed him toward his office before asking carefully. “Sir… are you going home tonight?”
Alexander frowned.
“Of course.”
“You’ve been staying late every night this week.”
Alexander kept walking.
“I have work.”
Ethan nodded, though neither of them believed that answer.
Meanwhile, Emma spent the afternoon arranging books on a simple wooden shelf before carefully placing her sketchbooks beside them, and although the apartment still looked unfinished, every little corner slowly began feeling like home.
A moving box remained unopened near the sofa.
She knelt beside it.
Inside rested old photographs from happier days.
She quietly closed the lid again,not today.
Some memories could wait.
Evening slowly settled over the city.
Alexander finally stepped into the penthouse after another exhausting day, automatically loosening his tie as he called out. “Emma… I’m home.”
Silence answered him.
He frowned.
The words had left his mouth before he even realized he was saying them.
He walked farther inside.
The apartment felt strangely lifeless.
His eyes wandered toward the dining room.
Something rested in the center of the table.
A small gift box.
He slowly walked over and picked it up.
A handwritten tag remained attached.
Happy Anniversary.
Alexander’s fingers tightened around the ribbon.
He carefully opened the box. Inside rested an elegant fountain pen.
The exact limited-edition pen he had once mentioned wanting during a conversation months earlier.
He had completely forgotten.
Emma hadn’t.
Something folded under the gift caught his attention.
He unfolded the paper.
Emma’s familiar handwriting greeted him.
“Thank you for the good memories.
I hope one day we both find the happiness we couldn’t give each other.
Take care of yourself.
— Emma”
Alexander read the note again,then again.
There was no anger,no blame,no accusation.
For reasons he couldn’t explain,that hurt more than if she had screamed at him.
He slowly lowered himself into one of the dining chairs and stared at the empty seat across from him where Emma had spent countless evenings waiting for him to come home.
For the first time,he wondered how many dinners she had eaten alone.
That night, Alexander lay on the enormous bed with one arm behind his head as sleep gradually pulled him under, and somewhere between exhaustion and dreams, he instinctively rolled onto his side and reached across the mattress for the familiar warmth that had always been there.
His hand met nothing except cold sheets.
Alexander’s eyes flew open.
The room was silent.
Emma’s pillow was gone.
Her blanket was gone.
Even the faint scent of her perfume had almost disappeared.
He stared into the darkness as an unfamiliar heaviness settled inside his chest, and for the very first time since she walked away, he realized with painful certainty that this wasn’t another argument she would eventually forgive.
Mrs. Hayes was truly gone.