Five Years, Then Goodbye

Chapter 4

ADRIAN

The road leading back to the house is unusually quiet.

I loosen my tie as I drive, my mind still caught up in the events of last night. I barely slept after leaving the house. Vivian had worn me out, but I don’t mind. I like being with her.

I am halfway through the private road when three black cars suddenly speed past me.

I instinctively slow down and glance into the rearview mirror.

The cars are identical, all three moving quickly toward the main road. Their tinted windows make it impossible to see who is inside.

For a second, I wonder who they belong to, but I dismiss it quickly. There are several large houses along this road. The cars probably belong to one of the families living nearby.

I turn my attention back to the road and continue driving.

When I arrive home, the first thing I notice is the silence.

It is strange.

Usually, by this time, Elena is already awake.

I can hear her moving around downstairs, preparing breakfast or reminding Noah to hurry because he'll be late for school. Sometimes she comes into the bedroom to wake me, even though I have told her countless times that I can manage that myself.

Today, there is nothing.

No footsteps. No voices. No sound of dishes coming from the kitchen.

I close the front door behind me.

"Elena?"

Nothing.

I frown.

Maybe she's upstairs.

I walk toward the staircase and call her name again.

Still nothing.

When I reach our bedroom, I push the door open.

Empty.

I stop in the doorway. The bed is untouched and the curtains are open. The room looks almost exactly as it did when I left last night, except for one thing.

Elena isn't here.

I look toward the dressing room.

The door is open.

I walk inside.

Then I stop.

For several seconds, I simply stare.

The shelves that are usually filled with Elena's clothes are nearly empty. Her shoes are gone. Her handbags are gone. The jewelry boxes she keeps arranged so carefully are gone too.

Only my things remain.

I let out a short, humorless laugh.

This can't be right.

Maybe she's moved some things somewhere else.

Maybe the housekeeper did it, but Elena sent her home for the weekend so it can’t be her.

I walk back into the bedroom and look around again.

"Elena?"

My voice sounds strange in the empty room.

I take another step, but I stop when my gaze lands on the nightstand.

A folded sheet of paper is sitting right beside the lamp.

My name is written across the front.

Adrian.

I pick it up.

For some reason, my fingers tighten around the paper before I even open it.

I unfold it and begin to read.

Adrian,

By the time you read this, I will already be gone.

I stare at the sentence.

My eyes move to the next one.

I have spent five years trying to make this marriage work. I have spent five years giving everything I could to a man who never wanted the same things I did.

I kept convincing myself that if I waited long enough, loved you enough and became the wife you wanted, you would eventually love me the way I loved you.

I was wrong.

My jaw tightens.

I shake my head slowly.

No.

I continue reading.

I am tired of begging for a place in my own marriage. I am tired of feeling like a stranger in the life I built with you. So I am letting go.

I am divorcing you.

My eyes stop on those words.

Divorcing me.

I read them again.

Then again.

The rest of the letter becomes harder to process.

She says she's taking Noah.

She says she has already made arrangements.

She says she isn't asking for permission.

She's leaving.

I stare at the paper, my grip tightening until it crumples slightly beneath my fingers.

This isn't real.

Elena wouldn't do this.

She couldn't.

I shake my head.

"This is ridiculous."

She is angry.

That's all.

Last night was an argument, nothing more.

Elena has always been emotional. She takes everything seriously, especially when it comes to our marriage.

She'll calm down.

She'll come back.

She always does.

I drop the letter onto the bed and walk quickly toward Noah's room.

The door is open.

I push it wider.

Empty.

I stop.

Noah's bed is neatly made.

His toys are gone.

His clothes are gone.

Even the stupid stuffed bear he refuses to sleep without is missing.

My chest tightens.

For the first time, the certainty inside me starts to crack.

I walk into the room slowly.

She actually left.

She took Noah.

I look around as if they might suddenly appear if I look hard enough.

Why would she do this?

Because of last night?

Did she really take our argument that seriously?

She always did.

Everything was serious to Elena.

I had cared for her, given her a home, clothed her, made sure she never needed anything. And this is how she repays me?

I run a hand through my hair, frustration building in my chest.

She has nowhere to go.

Where would she even go?

Elena is an orphan.

She has no one.

She has depended on me for everything since we got married.

She will come back.

She has to.

This isn't the first time she has threatened to leave. There have been arguments before.

Sometimes she disappeared for a day. Once, she stayed away for almost two days. But she always came back.

Always.

This will be the same.

I take out my phone and scroll through my contacts until I find my father's number.

He answers after a few rings.

"Adrian?"

"Is Elena with you?"

There is a pause.

"What?"

"Elena. Is she there?"

"Why would Elena be with me?"

His voice changes. "Did something happen?"

"No."

The answer comes too quickly.

My father is silent for a moment. "Did you two fight?"

"We're fine."

"Then why are you asking me if she's here?"

I glance toward Noah's empty room. "I just wanted to know."

"Adrian."

"What?"

"If you two had a fight, you better fix it."

My jaw tightens. "We didn't fight."

I end the call before he can say anything else.

I stare at my phone.

My father doesn't know anything.

Good.

There is no reason for him to know.

Elena will come back.

She doesn't have anywhere else to go.

I look down at the divorce letter still clutched in my hand.

My fist closes around it.

She has to come back.

She always does.

And this time won't be any different.