Chapter 3

My tone seemed to catch him off guard. He frowned and pulled out the chair across from me, sitting down slowly.

"This is about Lily?" he asked. "Eva, can you act like an adult for once? We're not teenagers. You're jealous over nothing.

"She's a friend. She was sick, so I stayed with her. What's wrong with that? Why do you have to blow this up and make it into something bigger than it is? Who does that help?"

I watched him speak as if he were the reasonable one and almost laughed.

"A friend?" I said. "Do you usually transfer two million dollars to your friends and call them your one and only?"

"A friend?" I continued. "Do you tell your wife to leave on your wedding anniversary because of a friend?"

For a moment, he had no answer. His face flushed red.

"That was a New Year's gift," he said quickly. "I'm generous with my friends. And the 'one and only' line was for her, not you. Why are you taking it so personally?

"As for last night, I was angry. I didn't mean it. Why are you acting like I did?"

His voice softened as he tried a different approach. "Okay, Eva. Don't be upset. I know I went too far. Can we just not ruin the holiday?

"I was up all night. Let me get some sleep. When I wake up, I'll take you out somewhere nice, and we can celebrate properly. We'll make up for it."

He reached across the table to take my hand, but I pulled it back.

"That won't be necessary," I said.

I placed a pen in front of him. "I've reviewed the agreement. It's simple. We split all marital assets equally, including your shares in NovaTech. You keep the house. I keep the car. I won't ask for anything else. I'll walk away with nothing."

When he heard the words "walk away with nothing", something shifted in his expression.

The last trace of guilt or restraint disappeared, replaced by open relief.

He probably thought I was bluffing, that this was just another tactic to win sympathy.

Or maybe he simply did not care whether I left with nothing.

As far as he was concerned, if I stopped making trouble, he would finally be free to be with his first love without hiding it.

"Eva, you said it, not me." He picked up the pen without hesitation. "Don't come back later saying you made a mistake and expect me to fix it."

He signed his name quickly at the bottom of the agreement.

The signature was bold and rushed, almost eager.

When he finished, he tossed the pen onto the table and leaned back in his chair, studying me as if I were the unreasonable one.

"If this is what you want, I won't stop you," he said. "Honestly, I'm tired too. You can take whatever you want from the house. Just make sure you're out within three days."

He yawned after that and walked toward the bedroom, as though he had just signed a routine document instead of ending a five-year marriage.

I watched his back as he left, looking exhausted but faintly satisfied, and felt nothing but cold clarity.

Henry, did you really think you had won?

Did you think you had finally gotten rid of a burden and were about to marry your first love and start some perfect new chapter?

What you signed was not just a divorce agreement.

It was the end of your career.

I did not take three days.

An hour later, I was standing outside the villa with my suitcase.

Henry was already asleep. I could hear his steady breathing drifting out of the bedroom.

I took one last look at the house I had lived in for five years.

Every piece of furniture, every detail of the decor, had been chosen by me.

Now it was just a place I used to live.

I turned and closed the door behind me without hesitation.

A black Rolls-Royce Phantom was parked quietly at the curb.

Robert stood beside it in a tailored suit and opened the rear door for me.

"Ms. Sterling," he said respectfully, "welcome back."

I gave a small nod and stepped into the car, leaning back against the soft leather seat. "Take me to Eclat Tower."

"Yes, Ms. Sterling." Robert nodded.

The car pulled away smoothly from the gated neighborhood.

In the rearview mirror, the white villa grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared.

Goodbye, Henry.

Goodbye, the version of me who stayed silent.

From that day on, I was no longer Henry's wife.

I was Eva Sterling, heir to Eclat Group.