Chapter 3
I ended up waiting for a whole four hours.
Luckily, the air outside the villa was incredibly fresh, almost soothing.
I lingered, sometimes sitting on the steps and sometimes wandering a few paces on the maple leaves scattered all over the ground.
Autumn had arrived, and everything felt even lonelier and emptier.
I turned back to glance at the huge villa. It also looked so empty now.
Just then, Ethan's car pulled up, kicking up a few maple leaves as it rolled in.
He stepped out, his eyes landing on me sitting on the steps. He frowned and said, "What are you doing out here? Why didn't you get in?"
I shook my head. "I left my keys at home."
"You left them at home? Or did you just lose them while you were hanging out?" he said, turning back to the car to grab his keys and unlock the door.
As the door opened, a wave of musty air rushed out and hit me in the face.
Ethan coughed, his handsome face darkening as if he was about to lose his temper.
I called out to him, "Ethan, let's just talk out here. No need to go inside."
There was a time when I went to extremes, but it just didn't seem necessary to argue anymore.
He turned back, his face clouded with darkness that I couldn't quite understand. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked.
I unzipped my jacket, which was stuffed with documents, and pulled out the papers. "Let's get a divorce. Go ahead and marry Ms. Nunez."
He froze, staring at me in disbelief, and then I could see that he was about to explode.
"This time, I don't want anything. I'll walk away with nothing to my name," I said.
His anger flared with utter disbelief as he stared at me.
If I had another chance, I really would have left with nothing.
I put everything I had into fighting him.
I trapped myself in the villa here to prove a point and get only 5% of the shares, because I couldn't accept how my youth had been wasted.
But in the end, I got nothing out of all this.
He clenched his fists. "Claire, are you losing your mind again?"
He just stood there in silence, refusing to take the papers.
I stepped forward, gently pulled his hand over, and placed the agreement in his palm.
I looked up, and a maple leaf drifted down.
Then I turned around and walked down the steps.
Pausing for a moment, I said, "I'm leaving. Do whatever you want with this place."
With that, I turned around and walked away with maple leaves swirling at my feet.
"Claire..." Ethan called after me.
I heard his call, but I turned a deaf ear to him.
*****
I was about to get my hair shaved off.
I really couldn't bear to part with my hair.
The next day, Bobby, the barber, had a family emergency, so he couldn't make it to the hospital.
That meant I still had time to really capture myself on camera one more time.
I set up a little table and took out all my little bottles and brushes from my bag.
"Are you putting on makeup?" the young nurse asked, frowning at me.
Another nurse came over and pulled her out of the room.
That day, as I did my makeup in the hospital room, a bunch of patients and their families gathered around to watch.
It wasn't strange looks they gave me, but supportive ones.
They said things like, "You look gorgeous! I've never seen such a beauty before."
I smiled. "Believe it or not, I used to be the campus belle."
They all nodded, totally believing me.
Eventually, I just couldn't keep doing my makeup. I hurriedly curled my eyelashes and took a quick selfie.
A bunch of other patients came over wanting photos, so I took group pictures with each of them.
In the end, I picked a solo shot and posted it on my social media. [Do I look good today?]
Suddenly, my notifications blew up with likes.
It turned out that some of the other patients were on social media, too, and they all teamed up to like my post.
[You're gorgeous. Seriously, like an absolute fairy!]
[So pretty! Especially those eyes. So big and round.]
[Honestly, your nose is so cute and perfectly shaped!]
[It's not just one feature. Your whole face is stunning. I'd call you the prettiest girl ever!]
I pressed my lips together.
Their kind comments really touched me.
Suddenly, a flagged comment popped up. [So ugly. You really think putting on some makeup will make my brother change his mind?]
It was from an account with a pink hoodie in the profile picture, only showing a side of the face. [You don't deserve him.]
It was Mia. She'd never liked me.
Some of the other patients told her to be kinder with her words, but she just took a pop right back at them.
After a moment of silence, I picked up my phone and replied to Mia. [I don't need his change of heart.]
At the same time, I deleted the post.
But that post still blew up online.
People soon figured out that Mia was the Ashton family's heiress and scolded her for her nasty attitude.
As for me, most people didn't even realize that I was Ethan's wife at first. They just thought I was some random skinny girl.
But in the end, they uncovered my identity, too.
The internet was in an uproar.
Rumors started flying that Ethan and I were already divorced.
People were saying I'd gotten so skinny that they could barely recognize me.
I bit my lip in silence.
That night, I slept in a haze, barely aware of anything.
There was nothing in my hospital room that showed up in the photo. There was just the upper half of my face and a blank white wall behind me.
Still, people online immediately guessed that I was in a hospital.
Some were absolutely convinced that I must be suffering from a really serious illness.
They figured only something that severe could break me down like that.
I bit my lip, not wanting anyone from the Ashton family or my friends to find out I was in the hospital.
Also, I didn't want the people around me to pity me.
Later, Mia even sent me a message [You're sick? Really?]
I ignored her and powered off my phone.