Chapter 1
The day I was diagnosed with breast cancer, Julius didn't answer my call.
So I texted him instead. [Can you come home early tonight? I need to talk to you about something important.]
We'd been together for two years before getting married, and now we'd been married for ten.
Even after days of cold silence, at a moment like this, Julius was still the only person I could count on.
But the next second, I was slapped in the face.
Judith had just posted a new photo on her social media. It was a picture of Julius and a little girl, their heads touching as they blew out birthday candles.
The caption read: [I never thought he'd be so fond of Anna. Honestly, they're just like a real father and daughter.]
Suddenly, I just felt completely hollow inside. What was the point of it all?
*****
The gentle-faced doctor was still patiently reassuring me. He said, "Don't be too pessimistic.
"Breast cancer isn't a death sentence. If you keep your spirits up and stick to the treatment, there's a real hope for recovery..."
Breast cancer... How could this happen? Everything was fine earlier this year when I had my checkup.
I forced a smile, even though my heart wasn't in it, turned off my phone, and gave a firm nod. "Thank you, doctor. I will."
When I got home, I opened the safe and took out the divorce agreement Julius had handwritten six years ago.
I waited from sunrise to sunset, and then from sunset to sunrise again.
Julius never showed up, but Judith shared another post on her social media.
It was a dimly lit room, with a man and a woman locked in an embrace. Their faces were hidden in the shadows.
But I could clearly see the man's hand, wearing the same wedding ring as mine, resting on her waist, clad only in a silk nightgown.
Was he about to push her away, or was he about to hold her tighter? I couldn't tell.
My body reacted before my mind even caught up.
A wave of nausea hit my throat, my chest throbbed with pain, and my empty stomach was twisting itself into knots.
Once there was nothing left to throw up, I just laughed, tears streaming down my face.
Breast cancer? No, it was Julius who was really killing me. He was the one who pushed me to the brink.
After washing my face, I flipped to the last page of the divorce agreement.
Next to Julius's name, I signed my own, each stroke deliberate and final.
Then I sat down at my computer and put in my resignation.
While I was gathering my things, my phone buzzed with a call from Sophia.
"Isabella, why am I seeing your resignation request? Was that a mistake?" Sophia asked.
Sophia was the young woman I'd personally recruited into the firm. Now she was running the show as HR manager, totally in control.
Meanwhile, I'd been stuck in the same junior admin job for eight straight years. I never moved up, never getting anywhere.
"You saw it right. I put in my resignation. Just go ahead and process it," I said.
Sophia asked, "But Isabella, why? Is it because of Ms. Maddox or something?"Isabella
I stared at the empty spot on the wall across from me, momentarily stunned. "Ms. Maddox?" I echoed.
"It's Judith, you didn't know?" Sophia replied. "Oh, right, you've been on leave. Mr. Windsor brought her in himself this morning.
"She was parachuted in, just like that. Mr. Windsor said she's the new admin director."
"Really?" I said, my voice flat.
I gave a wry laugh. Wow, Julius, you couldn't even wait, could you?
Sophia replied, "Seriously! They didn't even dare put up an official notice on the company portal.
"The announcement's locked down, only managers and above can even see it.
"Just how much are they trying to hide this new director?"
This time, I actually laughed out loud.
Except for a couple of brand-new interns, I was the only one in the whole firm who wasn't even at manager level.
Who was Julius trying to hide this from? It couldn't be more obvious. But honestly, he was worrying way too much.
I didn't even want him anymore. Why would I care who he made admin director?
And Sophia was still totally clueless, getting all worked up for me.