The Arranged Wife He Never Wanted - Until She left

Chapter Two: Face Off

Maya POV

Of course. That's why Adrian wanted me gone so fast. He had another woman lined up and ready to move right in. God, how could I have been so blind? How could I have let that man mess with my emotions for four whole years? I wanted to slap my past self for being such an i***t.

Briar walked up to me with this smug, satisfied smirk on her face.

"So you're Maya Daniel, huh? What are you still doing here? Didn't Adrian already kick you out? Get moving! Have you no shame at all?"

I kept packing my stuff at my own pace, refusing to let her rattle me. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

"Hey, are you deaf? I'm talking to you!"

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that," I said, meeting her eyes with the calmest expression I could manage.

"All I heard was some crazy woman barking!"

Briar's face went bright red. "How dare you call me a crazy woman?!"

"I didn't," I replied smoothly, standing up with my bag in hand. I tilted my head at her, looking her up and down. "Sounds like you went ahead and got offended all by yourself though."

I stepped forward, and she was literally blocking my path now.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," I said, my voice dripping with fake politeness. "Well-behaved dogs should really know how to stay out of the way."

"How DARE you!" Briar's face turned an even deeper shade of red, and she actually stomped her foot like a child throwing a tantrum.

I almost laughed. Wasn't she supposed to be some kind of sophisticated society lady? When did she learn to throw fits like this?

The housekeeper quickly rushed over, trying to calm Briar down with shameless flattery.

"Please calm down, Ms. Whitmore. You really shouldn't let someone like her upset you."

"You'll be the lady of this house very soon. That pathetic nobody is completely insignificant compared to you."

"We've also prepared a room for you, just like Mr. Blake requested. Please, let me show you the way!"

Briar's mood immediately improved with all the sucking up. She shot me one last triumphant look before turning and following the housekeeper into the house, my house, well, Adrian's house, like she already owned the place.

I stood there alone on the lawn again, surrounded by my scattered belongings. A mix of emotions crashed over me as I stared up at the massive house I'd lived in for four years. It felt surreal that I was about to walk away from this place and never come back. Four years of my life, just... gone.

"Goodbye, Adrian," I whispered into the cold night air. Then I took a deep breath, picked up the last of my things, and walked away.

---

I moved into a tiny one-bedroom apartment downtown that same night. It was small, barely furnished, nothing like the luxury I'd been living in. But you know what? The moment I closed that door behind me, I felt something I hadn't felt in years: free.

I was liberated. I'd finally lost that title of Mrs. Blake, the role I'd been desperately clinging to. Now I could do whatever I wanted. I wasn't some caged bird anymore, constantly trying to please a man who would never love me back. I could actually live my life.

The first thing I did was pull out my phone and scroll to a number I'd blocked four years ago. My finger hovered over it for a second before I unblocked it and hit call.

It rang once. Twice. Then…

"Maya? Is that really you?"

The voice on the other end sounded shocked, almost disbelieving. Warm and familiar in a way that made my chest ache.

"Hey, Lucas," I said softly. "Yeah, it's me.”

"Boss! You've finally remembered that I exist! It's been four whole years, you know!" The voice on the other end was practically bursting with excitement.

This was Lucas Kane, also known as one of the Four Princes of Harbor City. Despite his rebellious reputation and completely unpredictable nature, he always made himself sound like a loyal puppy when he talked to me.

"I heard about your divorce, by the way. Congratulations! Seriously, you should've ditched that jerk ages ago! I'm not sure if you know this, but while you were playing the perfect little Mrs. Blake, rumors about you started spreading like wildfire! If those old fools in the business world knew that you're actually the legendary boss they've been trying to track down all this time, they'd lose their minds! So? Are we finally doing something big? I can…"

"Hold that thought!" I cut him off, already annoyed by his constant rambling. I was seriously considering blocking him again.

"I made a promise to Grandpa that I wouldn't go back to that life. If you really think of me as your boss, then you better keep this a secret."

Apparently, my past was pretty interesting. But honestly, I wasn't in the mood to think about it or talk about it right now.

"I'm calling because I need you to help me investigate something."

After talking with Lucas for a bit longer and giving him the details of what I needed, I hung up the phone. Almost immediately, a text message came through from Adrian.

My heart started racing, and I hated myself for it. I tapped the screen with trembling fingers to open the message.

[Harbor City Courthouse, 9 am tomorrow.]

That was it. Short and simple. Cold and businesslike, as if I didn't deserve anything more than basic instructions.

Whatever stupid butterflies had been fluttering in my stomach died instantly. I felt like such an i***t for even hoping he might say something, anything that showed he cared even a little bit.

[Ok.] I typed back, matching his energy.

I tossed my phone onto the couch and stared at the ceiling of my tiny apartment. Tomorrow morning, Adrian Blake and I will officially stop being husband and wife. Four years of one-sided love, four years of trying so hard to be enough for someone who never wanted me in the first place, it would all be over.

Part of me felt relieved. Another part felt like crying. But mostly, I just felt tired. So incredibly tired of loving someone who would never love me back.

I pulled a blanket over myself and closed my eyes, trying not to think about how empty the bed felt, how quiet the apartment was, how different my life was going to be starting tomorrow.

"It's for the best," I whispered to myself in the darkness. "This is for the best."

But saying it didn't make it hurt any less.