Chapter 4

The next afternoon, I showed up at the café five minutes early.

I grabbed a window seat, letting the sunlight spill across the table.

At exactly three o'clock, a black Bentley rolled up outside. The door swung open, and Edward stepped out.

He was in a sharp black suit, tall and striking as ever, but there was a brooding darkness in his eyes that wouldn't fade.

He walked in, and his gaze zeroed in on me instantly.

Then his eyes locked onto the person sitting across from me.

Julian.

I'd arranged to meet Julian here to finalize the studio's design plans, and as luck would have it, the timing overlapped perfectly with Edward's arrival.

Edward's expression turned stormy in an instant.

He strode over, his gaze sharp as daggers at Julian. "Who is he?"

Julian was overwhelmed by Edward's aura and instinctively stood up, awkward and unsure what to do.

I looked up at Edward, my tone as calm as if we were discussing the weather. "My partner. Mr. Sterling, you're three minutes late."

Edward's gaze shifted to me, his eyes simmering with barely contained anger. "Isabelle, come with me."

It wasn't a request; it was an order.

That was him. Always on his high horse, always expecting me to submit to him.

I picked up my coffee and took a slow sip. "Mr. Sterling, my lawyer has already made things clear. Divorce is the only thing left to discuss between us."

"Is it because of Chloe?" he asked, taking a deep breath, clearly struggling to keep his emotions in check. "If you come home, I'll end things with her."

I almost laughed out loud.

'Does he really think this is some childish game? Like he can swap out one toy for another and expect me to be happy?' I thought.

"Edward, you're missing the point," I said, setting down my coffee cup and meeting his gaze head-on. "I'm not leaving you because of Chloe, or anyone else. I'm leaving because I don't love you anymore."

"I don't love you anymore," I said it calmly, the words landing like a final verdict.

Those five words hit Edward like an invisible sword, shattering every bit of his composure in an instant.

His face turned deathly pale, and he staggered, as if he'd been punched right in the gut.

"You... what did you say?" Edward stammered, barely able to get the words out.

"I said, I don't love you anymore," I repeated, slow and clear. "I don't love you, I don't hate you... I'm tired of you."

I watched as the anger drained from Edward's eyes, replaced by a fractured shock and raw panic.

He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out; his lips moved in silence.

Suddenly, he lunged forward, reaching for my wrist.

I instinctively shrank back, my body going rigid with disgust.

The movement was subtle, but it was pure, physical resistance.

Edward's hand froze in mid-air.

The air felt frozen.

He looked hurt and vulnerable. I'd never seen that expression on him before.

'Seriously? That's all it takes to break you? The real drama hasn't even started yet,' I thought to myself.

I stood up and turned to Julian, who was still frozen in shock. "Let's go. The air in here is suffocating."

Julian nodded quickly, grabbed the files, and followed right behind me.

We walked right past Edward, and I didn't spare him a single glance.

As we passed each other, I heard him speak in a voice so broken it was barely above a whisper.

"Isabelle, after eight years together, are you really going to walk away like it never meant anything?"

I didn't stop. I left him with nothing but my cold, unyielding back.

'Eight years together?' Isabelle thought, her heart cold.

He'd drained it all away himself, the day he started seeing me as nothing more than an afterthought.