The Wife He Took for Granted

Chapter 8

Freshly returned from abroad, Elena headed straight for the law firm.

When she took the burgundy divorce papers in her hands, there was none of the heartbreak she'd expected—only the quiet relief of a settled matter.

Leaving the law office, she went to the Hale Corporation to resign.

With her month's notice served, she was free to go.

Mia, Ethan's other assistant, had been hovering by the door for ages before finally blurting out. "Elena, Ethan, he still doesn't know you're leaving. What'll happen... after you're gone?"

"Business as usual."

Elena placed the signed resignation form on Ethan's desk, her voice steady, as if discussing someone else's affairs. "Ethan will handle it."

When she returned to the villa once called "home," a maid hurried over. "Madam, welcome back! Will the master be joining you?"

"He's busy at the office." Elena walked straight upstairs.

Their walk-in closet was mostly filled with her belongings, yet when she opened the wardrobe, she reached only for a dusty old box tucked at the very bottom.

Inside were a few worn-out clothes, a backpack, and some faded orphanage snapshots—all remnants of a life before Ethan.

The rest? Custom gowns. Jewelry he'd lavished on her. She didn't touch a single piece.

Those trinkets stamped with his presence had once meant the world. Now, they just twisted the knife.

In the end, everything fit into that dusty, well-worn canvas backpack.

It was a gift from the orphanage matron the year she started college, who told her, "Carry this, and you'll always have home with you."

Over the years, she'd owned countless designer bags, but she'd always kept this well-loved keepsake.

She once believed this place would be her permanent sanctuary—the "home" the matron promised.

Yet in the end, all she could take with her were the things she started with... and a heart battered and bruised.

As she shouldered the bag and stepped out of the villa, Mrs. Bennett was still calling after her, "Will you and the master be back for dinner tonight?"

Elena didn't turn back. She slid into a taxi and said, "Airport, please."

At security, her phone suddenly vibrated, Ethan's name flashing across the screen.

She glanced at it, then pried out the SIM card. With a crisp c***k, she broke it in half and tossed the pieces into a nearby trash bin.

The plane climbed steadily, and Elena watched the city shrink beneath her.

All those knotted threads of love and resentment seemed to fray and fall away as the plane climbed higher, left to dissolve in the dwindling cityscape below.

As the plane leveled off, she knew this time, her destination held no Ethan. Only Elena, and the life that was finally, completely hers.