DIVORCE PAPERS
881 Words
Celeste's POV
Today... I finally let him go.
The words echoed silently in my mind as I stared at the document lying on the coffee table.
Divorce Agreement.
A single signature.
That was all it took to erase three years of marriage.
For a long moment, I simply sat there with the pen resting between my fingers, unable to bring myself to write the name I had once been so proud to carry.
Then, almost before I realized it, the tip of the pen touched the paper.
Celeste Monroe Ashford.
The ink settled across the page, neat and final.
A faint smile tugged at my lips.
How strange.
Three years ago, signing my marriage certificate had felt like the beginning of forever.
Today, another signature quietly brought that forever to an end.
I placed the pen down and allowed myself one slow breath before rising from the sofa.
The living room was exactly as it had always been—beautifully furnished, impossibly quiet, and far too large for two people who had spent three years living separate lives beneath the same roof.
Three suitcases waited beside the staircase.
Everything I truly wanted to keep was already packed.
The designer dresses hanging in the wardrobe, the expensive jewelry my father insisted I wear, and every luxury this mansion offered would remain exactly where they belonged.
None of those things had ever felt like home.
I picked up the divorce papers and made my way upstairs.
There was only one place I wanted to leave them.
Adrian's bedroom.
Standing outside the door, I hesitated.
A bitter smile crossed my face.
After three years of marriage...
This was the first time I had ever stepped inside my husband's room.
The thought alone was enough to tell the story our marriage never could.
I slowly pushed the door open.
The room was immaculate.
The curtains had been drawn halfway, allowing soft afternoon light to spill across dark wooden floors. Everything sat precisely where it belonged, from the neatly arranged books on the shelf to the wristwatch resting beside a stack of business files.
Nothing was out of place.
Nothing suggested another person had ever belonged there.
My eyes lingered on the watch for a moment.
He had worn it on our wedding day.
Back then, I had stood beside him believing that love could be patient enough to bloom with time.
Perhaps I had only been in love with hope.
I walked to the bedside table and carefully placed the divorce papers where he couldn't possibly overlook them.
No letter.
No explanation.
Silence had lived between us for far too long.
Words would change nothing now.
As I turned to leave, my hand rested briefly against the doorknob.
Three years ago, I had dreamed of walking into this room as his wife.
Today...
I was leaving it as a stranger.
Without looking back, I quietly closed the door.
The wheels of my suitcase rolled softly across the polished floor as I headed toward the entrance.
The elderly butler looked up from the foyer, his expression changing the moment he noticed the luggage.
"Madam..."
His eyes moved from the suitcases to my face.
"...Should I inform Young Master Adrian?"
I offered him a small smile.
"No."
The word came gently.
"There's nothing left to tell him."
Sadness flickered across the old man's face, but he simply lowered his head.
"As you wish, Madam."
A few minutes later, the driver pulled the car to the front entrance before hurrying out to load my luggage into the trunk.
He had served the Ashford family for years.
If he found my sudden departure unusual, he was far too professional to ask.
Once everything was packed, he opened the rear door for me.
"The airport, Madam?"
"Yes."
The gates slowly opened.
As the car rolled away from Ashford Manor, I watched the mansion grow smaller through the window until it disappeared behind a row of towering trees.
I waited for my heart to ache.
Instead...
A strange calm settled over me.
Perhaps grief had visited me so often that it no longer needed permission to stay.
The journey passed in comfortable silence.
The driver glanced at me through the mirror once or twice, as though debating whether to speak, but thought better of it each time.
By the time we arrived at the airport, the sun had already begun its slow descent across the sky.
"We're here, Madam."
I thanked him with a quiet smile before stepping out of the car.
The breeze carried the distant sound of aircraft engines preparing for departure.
People hurried past with passports in hand, chasing flights, embracing loved ones, beginning new journeys.
For the first time in years...
I allowed myself to believe I was doing the same.
Freedom.
The thought had barely crossed my mind when a sharp wave of dizziness swept through me without warning.
My vision blurred.
The ground seemed to shift beneath my feet.
I reached for the car door, but my fingers closed around empty air instead.
My suitcase slipped from my grasp.
"Madam!"
The driver's voice sounded frighteningly distant.
He rushed toward me, but the world had already begun fading into darkness.
The last thing I saw was the airport terminal spinning before my eyes.
Then...
Everything disappeared.
- Writer
