The Divorce He’ll Regret

Chapter 2 — The Secret She Keeps

Morning arrived quietly at the Kensington residence, bringing pale sunlight through the tall windows and revealing the remains of a dinner that had never been eaten.

Anneliese woke before dawn.

For several seconds, she lay still beneath the covers, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling and listening to the silence around her. Then the memory of the previous evening returned with painful clarity.

The divorce papers.

Julian’s confession.

Katherine Hayes.

I never stopped.

Anneliese closed her eyes.

She had spent most of the night crying, though she had eventually forced herself to sleep. Her wedding ring remained on the bedside table beside the ultrasound photograph. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to put either away.

Today, however, she had to leave.

She sat up slowly, one hand resting against her stomach. There was still no visible sign that she was carrying a child, but knowing it was there had changed the way she looked at everything. Her future no longer belonged solely to her.

She glanced at the photograph.

“I’m going to take care of you,” she whispered.

The promise steadied her.

Anneliese showered, dressed, and began packing. She had expected the task to feel more difficult than it did. The Kensington residence was enormous, but her belongings occupied surprisingly little space. She had never been interested in expensive clothes or jewelry, and most of what she owned had been purchased before the marriage.

As she folded her sweaters into a suitcase, she found a photograph tucked between two books.

It was from their wedding day.

Julian stood beside her in a black tuxedo, his expression calm and unreadable. Anneliese remembered how nervous she had been that day. She had spent hours wondering whether he would ever look at her the way she looked at him.

He hadn’t.

She placed the photograph back inside the book.

There was no reason to take memories that no longer belonged to her.

A soft knock came at the door.

“Madam?”

Anneliese turned.

The housekeeper stood outside.

“Mr. Kensington asked whether you needed assistance.”

Anneliese shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m almost finished.”

The woman hesitated before asking, “Are you sure?”

Anneliese managed a smile.

“Yes.”

The housekeeper lowered her gaze. She had worked for the Kensington family for years and had watched Anneliese quietly become part of the household. Unlike most people who entered the Kensington mansion, Anneliese had never treated the staff as though they were invisible.

“I’ll miss you,” the woman said softly.

Anneliese’s smile trembled.

“I’ll miss you too.”

After the housekeeper left, Anneliese looked around the bedroom one final time.

There were no dramatic goodbyes. No confrontation.

She simply closed the suitcase.

By eight o’clock, she was ready.

Julian was already downstairs.

He had spent the night in his study rather than returning to their bedroom. He had barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Anneliese removing her wedding ring.

He didn’t understand why the image bothered him.

Their marriage was over.

That was what he wanted.

He had made the decision because Katherine had returned and because he believed neither he nor Anneliese should remain trapped in a marriage without love.

It was reasonable.

Logical.

Yet something about the previous evening had left him unsettled.

When Anneliese entered the foyer with her suitcase, Julian looked up from his phone.

His gaze immediately went to the luggage.

“You don’t have to leave today.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you?”

Anneliese adjusted her grip on the handle. “Because staying would make it harder.”

Julian had no answer to that.

He slipped his phone into his pocket.

“I can have someone drive you.”

“I’ve arranged transportation.”

“I can still arrange it.”

She shook her head. “It’s fine.”

Julian studied her face.

She looked tired, but there was something else there too. A quiet determination he hadn’t seen before.

“You don’t have to worry about money,” he said. “I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

Anneliese’s expression remained gentle.

“I know you will.”

“Then let me.”

“I don’t want you to feel responsible for me.”

“I am responsible for you.”

Her eyes lifted to his.

“Not anymore.”

The words were soft, but they stopped him completely.

Julian had no idea why that hurt.

Anneliese looked toward the door.

“I should go.”

He wanted to say something.

He wasn’t sure what.

Goodbye seemed too cold.

Stay seemed impossible.

I’m sorry seemed inadequate.

Finally, he said, “Take care of yourself.”

Anneliese nodded.

“You too.”

She walked out.

Julian stood in the foyer long after the door closed.

He told himself he was simply adjusting to the change.

After all, Anneliese had lived in the house for a year. Her absence would naturally feel strange.

It had nothing to do with love.

His heart still belonged to Katherine.

At least, that was what he believed.

Across the city, Anneliese sat quietly in the back seat of a hired car, watching the Kensington residence disappear behind her.

She had expected to feel free.

Instead, she felt as though she had left a piece of herself behind.

Her hand moved over her stomach.

She looked down.

The city passed beyond the window.

“I don’t know what our life will look like,” she whispered. “But we’ll be all right.”

Her phone vibrated.

A message from the clinic reminded her of her next appointment.

Anneliese stared at the screen.

She had initially planned to ask Julian to come with her.

Now she deleted the thought before it could take root.

There would be no more waiting for Julian.

No more hoping he would suddenly realize what she meant to him.

Her child deserved a mother who was present, and Anneliese would give everything she had to provide that.

The car stopped outside a modest apartment building in a quieter part of London.

It wasn’t comparable to the Kensington residence.

There was no marble foyer, no private garden, no staff waiting at the entrance.

Anneliese loved it immediately.

The apartment was small but bright, with tall windows overlooking a row of trees. There was a compact kitchen, a comfortable living room, and a second bedroom she could eventually turn into a nursery.

She stood in the empty room for several minutes.

Then she smiled through her tears.

“This can be your room.”

The words made everything feel real.

Her baby would have a room.

A home.

A future.

Perhaps it wasn’t the future she had imagined when she married Julian, but it could still be a good one.

That afternoon, Anneliese visited the clinic alone.

The doctor greeted her warmly and reviewed the results from her previous appointment.

“Everything looks good,” she said. “You should continue taking your prenatal vitamins and get plenty of rest.”

Anneliese nodded.

“Is there anything I should be concerned about?”

“Nothing at the moment.”

Relief washed over her.

The doctor smiled.

“Have you told the father?”

Anneliese’s fingers tightened around the edge of her chair.

“Not yet.”

“Does he know you’re pregnant?”

“No.”

The doctor looked at her for a moment but didn’t press.

Anneliese appreciated that.

When the appointment ended, she stepped outside with another ultrasound photograph tucked safely inside her bag.

She stopped on the pavement and looked at it again.

A tiny life.

A new beginning.

She touched the image gently.

“I’ll make sure you never feel unwanted.”

Her voice nearly broke.

“Even if your father isn’t part of our lives.”

Across London, Julian was preparing to meet Katherine.

The meeting had been arranged for lunch at a private restaurant overlooking the Thames. Julian arrived exactly on time.

Katherine was already waiting.

She rose when he approached.

For the first time in years, Julian saw the woman he had once believed he would spend his life with.

Katherine looked almost exactly as he remembered her, though there was a confidence in her that hadn’t existed when they were younger.

“Julian.”

He smiled faintly.

“Katherine.”

They sat across from each other.

For the first several minutes, they talked about work, mutual acquaintances, and the years they had spent apart. Katherine told him about her career, the projects she had completed, and the opportunities that had brought her back to London.

Julian listened attentively.

He should have felt the excitement he remembered.

Instead, an unexpected image appeared in his mind.

Anneliese standing in the foyer with a suitcase.

He frowned.

Katherine noticed.

“Something wrong?”

“No.”

“You seem distracted.”

Julian leaned back slightly.

“I didn’t sleep much.”

“Because of the divorce?”

He looked at her.

“Perhaps.”

Katherine studied him.

“Do you regret it?”

Julian was silent for a moment.

“No.”

The answer came automatically.

Katherine smiled.

“Then why do you look like you do?”

He didn’t know.

That was the problem.

Julian had always trusted his ability to understand people, situations, and himself.

But lately, Anneliese had become an equation he couldn’t solve.

He looked out toward the river.

“I suppose I’m just getting used to things changing.”

Katherine reached across the table and touched his hand.

“We have another chance now.”

Julian looked down at their joined hands.

Another chance.

Those words should have filled him with certainty.

Instead, he thought of Anneliese’s quiet voice.

Not anymore.

He withdrew his hand gently.

Katherine’s expression changed.

Julian immediately noticed.

“I’m sorry.”

She shook her head.

“It’s fine.”

But her eyes remained thoughtful.

Meanwhile, Anneliese returned to her new apartment and placed the ultrasound photograph inside a small wooden box.

She had decided that she would keep the pregnancy private for as long as possible.

Not because she wanted revenge.

Not because she wanted Julian to suffer.

She simply refused to make their child the reason he stayed.

Julian had chosen Katherine.

Anneliese would respect that choice, even if it broke her heart.

She closed the box and placed it safely inside the drawer.

Then she stood in the quiet nursery and looked around.

There was still nothing in the room except sunlight and empty walls.

For the first time since leaving the Kensington residence, Anneliese smiled.

She had lost her husband.

But she had not lost everything.

She had a child.

And she had a chance to begin again.

What Anneliese didn’t know was that Julian’s certainty had already begun to crack.

He had spent years believing Katherine was the woman he had been waiting for.

Yet after only one day without Anneliese, he had started noticing how much space she occupied in his thoughts.

He simply wasn’t ready to understand what that meant.

Not yet.