Chapter 5

He had lost weight and looked much more worn down. His usually perfect hair was messy, and even his expensive suit jacket was wrinkled. A shadow of stubble darkened his jaw, making him look rough and defeated.

The second he saw me, his lifeless eyes lit up like a drowning man grabbing driftwood. He strode toward me, but I stepped back on instinct and moved in front of my mom.

That tiny movement made him stop in his tracks. A flash of hurt passed through his eyes. "Lottie." His voice was terribly hoarse.

My mom was tense, clutching my arm tightly. I patted her hand to reassure her, then looked up and met Andrew's gaze calmly. This was the man I had loved for ten years, two of them dating and eight of them married.

I had once believed he was my whole world. But now, looking at him, I felt nothing. No love. No hate either. Just distance, like I was looking at a stranger.

"What are you doing here?" My voice was cold.

My indifference seemed to sting him, and his brows knitted hard. "Come home with me." His voice still carried that same command that never left room for disagreement.

I laughed. "Andrew Shaw, do you still not understand what's going on? My home is here. As for that place of yours, to me it was just a hotel I stayed in for eight years. And now I'm done staying there."

His face darkened. "Charlotte, stop this and come back with me." He reached for me, but I jerked my hand away. "Don't touch me."

I looked straight at him and spoke each word clearly. "Andrew Shaw, there's nothing left for us to talk about. My lawyer will send you the divorce papers soon. If you still have an ounce of decency, sign them and be done with it."

The word divorce cut right through the calm mask he'd been wearing. Something churned in his eyes, shock, anger, and maybe even panic. "I won't divorce you," he said through clenched teeth. "Not in this lifetime."

"Then I'll see you in court." I took my mom's hand and turned toward the building, but he grabbed my wrist. Hard. "Do you really have to be this heartless?" he demanded, eyes bloodshot.

"Do our eight years together mean that little to you?" The second I heard him say that, the anger I'd buried for so long finally snapped. I spun around and yanked my hand free. "Together? Andrew Shaw, what right do you have to talk to me about that?"

"When you left me alone at the airport, why didn't you talk about it then? When you made me wait at the exit for two hours while you ignored my calls and messages, why didn't you talk about it then?"

"And these past five days, when you sent threatening messages to my parents and had people harass my friends, why didn't you talk about it then?"

"And Serena Cole, your precious old flame." At last, I said her name out loud.

The second he heard it, Andrew's pupils tightened sharply. A flicker of panic crossed his face. It vanished quickly, but I still caught it. My heart sank all the way down. So it was true.

I took a deep breath and forced down the ache rising in my chest. "She's back, isn't she? You left me at the airport so you could go see her, didn't you?"

My voice wasn't loud, but each word hit him like a hammer. He opened his mouth, like he wanted to explain. "I..."

"Enough." I cut him off. "I don't want to hear a single explanation from you. Because I don't care anymore. Andrew Shaw, the moment you left me at that airport, we were over."

After that, I didn't look at him again. I took my mom's hand and walked into the building without turning back. Behind me, Andrew didn't chase after us.

When we got home, my mom held me and cried so hard she could barely speak. My dad paced the living room, furious, cursing him as a bastard the whole time.

I, on the other hand, felt strangely calm. Now that everything had been said aloud, it felt like the last chain inside me had finally broken. I was exhausted. All I wanted was one good night's sleep. What I didn't expect was that Andrew's harassment had only just begun.