Chapter 2
2
The next morning, I packed my bags and moved out.
As I passed the guest room, I instinctively glanced inside. The door was ajar. Ethan wasn't there.
The sounds I heard last night hadn't been a dream.
"Scared? I know, I'm coming."
The house had been dead silent, and his voice had carried straight into the master bedroom. Then came the rushed footsteps down the hall.
He had paused outside my door for a long time before finally walking away.
It was as if he was hesitating to tell me he was leaving.
But in three years of marriage, he had never lost his composure over me.
Once, at a corporate gala, a man slid his hand down to my waist. I grabbed his wrist, shoved him away, and locked myself in the restroom. I immediately called Ethan for help.
His voice on the phone had been ice-cold.
"Claire, grow up. You're perfectly capable of handling this yourself. My time is valuable. Don't call me over trivial things again."
Last night, I tried to convince myself it was just a nightmare.
But staring at the empty guest room, I couldn't lie to myself anymore.
I swallowed my grief and moved my things back into the small West Hollywood apartment I had rented before we got married.
At 9:00 a.m. on Monday, I walked into the Los Angeles Superior Court with my lawyer.
I filed the divorce papers and had them officially served to Ethan.
But to my surprise, he didn't show up, nor did he send his lawyer to respond.
Afterward, I called him.
No answer.
I refused to give up, dialing again and again.
Finally, the line connected.
"Why haven't you responded to the divorce papers?"
But it wasn't Ethan's voice. It was a woman's.
"Looking for Ethan? He's in a meeting. I can have him call you back."
The second she spoke, I knew exactly who it was. The woman from the concert.
I would never forget the sound of her voice answering him that night.
I couldn't believe he had brought her into his company.
"Who is this?" The question slipped out before I could stop it.
"I'm Ethan's Executive Assistant."
Executive Assistant?
A self-deprecating smile tugged at my lips.
In the past, I had begged Ethan to let me work at his company. Even an entry-level job would have been fine. I just loved him so much and wanted to see him every day.
He had rejected me without a second thought.
"I'm the CEO, Claire. I can't just hand you a job. Think about how that looks. Don't put me in that position."
To protect his reputation, I never brought it up again.
And now, he had hired Vanessa. As his Executive Assistant.
That was the last straw.
I hung up and drove straight to the Cole Enterprises headquarters.
I had attended company dinners with Ethan before, so most of the staff recognized me.
As they greeted me, their expressions were strange. Pitying.
I pretended not to notice and walked straight to Ethan's office.
The moment I stepped inside, I understood those looks.
Ethan's office, once strictly black and white, was now cluttered with cute, tacky decorations that completely clashed with his taste.
And right next to his desk was a second desk.
Fighting the sharp ache in my chest, I walked over. Lying on the desk was an ID badge.
The name was printed clearly.
Vanessa Hart.
The woman who had watched the concert with him.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't hold back the emotion anymore.
"Who let you in?"
Ethan's voice suddenly cut through the room from the doorway.