Divorce Never! Love Again?

Episode 2

And there he was. My ridiculously handsome soon-to-be ex-husband, the one who could make women swoon from miles away.

As always, his face was a mask of indifference, like an impenetrable wall. His suit was impeccably tailored and clearly expensive, his cologne subtle but captivating. I hadn’t expected to find him in the lobby. Normally, at this hour, he’d still be buried in his office or locked in a meeting. It seemed like the universe had deliberately placed him in my path.

When he saw me, he paused, and as I walked toward him, his eyes followed me intently. Usually, he wouldn’t even notice me passing by. To him, I was nothing more than a ghost.

"Adeline, what are you doing here at this hour? I thought you’d gone home."

His deep green eyes scanned me quickly. I even hated his velvety voice. He had this barely noticeable frown when he was confused. Knowing so much about him despite barely knowing him made me hate him countless times over. From now on, I would despise Lucian even if he simply breathed.

I hid my feelings behind a practiced, fake smile.

I looked into his deep green eyes with feigned confidence.

"I didn’t bring my car today because I had plans and thought I could manage without it. But they got canceled."

Even I was starting to believe the lie I had made up. I couldn’t tell him that I left the house with only my own belongings because I thought my family would protect me from his mistakes and take me under their wing, disregarding our fake marriage. I knew there was no one by my side. I now saw that there was no one to lean on, but I would never let Lucian see that. He nodded, seemingly understanding.

Lucian was the CEO of the company, while I only worked in the marketing department. Not law, but the marketing department, because just as my father said, I couldn't get into the university Elisabeth attended. And out of sheer stubbornness, I didn't study law. My father hadn’t given up his law firm and had also started providing legal consultancy to Lucian’s family business. So, the three of us were often in the same building, but we rarely saw each other. We worked on different floors and in different offices. My father spent most of the week at his law firm, and Lucian was always in meetings.

"I was just leaving. Should we go home together?" he asked in a somewhat hesitant tone. In the entire year we had been married, we had never gone home together. We were like two strangers entangled in each other’s lives. Aside from our short car rides on Saturdays, Lucian and I hardly ever saw each other. He seemed sure I would refuse but asked out of politeness. But I had bad news for Lucian and everyone else—I was no longer going to be predictable.

I knew Lucian wasn’t responsible for my loneliness. I didn’t resent him for having a relationship with a woman he truly loved or was in love with within this sham of a marriage. It was just that his getting caught by the press and the revelation of this relationship had brought all the painful truths in my life to light. And those truths hurt so much that I wanted his life to be as painful as mine.

"Of course," I said, plastering on another fake smile.

My inner voice laughed ironically.

"Of course, Lucian. You think I'm done with you, but I'm just getting started. I won't leave your life until I've ruined it. You will never be able to forget me, no matter how much you want to..."

When we reached Lucian's latest model car in the parking lot, a bitter smile tugged at my lips.

It was the second, maybe third time I was getting into his real car. We had an agreement for Saturdays, which involved us going somewhere together by car. However, to avoid attracting attention from the tabloids, we used a modest, inconspicuous car instead of Lucian's actual one.

What was the purpose of this ridiculous fake marriage? How had they turned me into such a victim of pressure and ambition that I accepted it?

The anger inside me was growing like a storm.

I slid into the car, struggling to maintain my fake smile. Just being near Lucian had started making me hate him fiercely. What he had caused had shattered all my dreams and destroyed everything I had fought for.

Even if I sacrificed myself, I had always lost in the eyes of my family. And that id**t Lucian had made this ugly truth slap me in the face like a stinging blow.

We hadn’t spoken since we set off. I only noticed him glancing at me surreptitiously when we stopped at a red light. Maybe he was annoyed because the water dripping from my hair was soaking his car.

When we stopped at the red light, he took off his jacket and threw it onto the back seat, then turned the car’s heater up to the maximum. He must have decided it was time to stop the water from dripping from my hair.

Unlike his usual style he was driving so slowly that I was about to fall asleep.

“Even your grandfather probably would drive faster than you,” I finally said, unable to hold back.

Lucian rarely smiled. The corners of his lips curved into something resembling a smile. I turned towards him, waiting for a response. It had been a long time since I’d sat this close to him. Watching him, I even hated his perfectly arrogant nose.

“My grandfather was an adrenaline junkie. He died trying to skydive secretly even though it was forbidden. And he won numerous street races.”

I responded with a smirk.

I took a deep breath and looked out the window. The rain had started again. With the music playing on the radio, the atmosphere was almost romantic, which I, of course, absolutely hated.

“I wish he was driving instead of you then,” I said, almost to myself. I thought that making snide remarks would ease my anger, but I was completely wrong. I was angry at myself because I knew the truth. This anger was a kind of disappointment, blended with unhappiness and a touch of sadness, consuming my entire being.

As we approached home, Lucian cleared his throat as if to draw my attention.

“I’m really sorry that our agreement fell apart like this. I’ll do everything I can to make sure your father doesn’t suffer any losses. He won’t face any financial damage.”

I watched silently as the iron gates of the house opened. I was returning to my lonely palace, from which I thought I’d never come back. It looked like a palace, yes, but it was a place where I talked to the walls, felt unloved, and where its vastness consumed me. It had never felt like home.

“I’ll also pay you a settlement amount, even more than you’d want. We can finalize everything with the lawyer this week.”

With each word, the anger inside me was growing. I didn’t even know why. He wasn’t saying anything wrong. He was just trying to make amends. I took a deep breath and sighed in response. Lucian could promise me the world, and it wouldn’t matter. Besides, I didn’t want his money anyway.

Lucian’s house consisted of two main blocks connected by long corridors and a spacious kitchen in the middle. Between the two large blocks was a big pool and garden. We each stayed in separate buildings. These two blocks had a common area only because of the kitchen and corridors in between.

Lucian didn’t turn off the engine, even though we had parked, as I hadn’t responded to him.

“There’s no need for a settlement. Just let me stay at the company until I find a new job. That’s all I need,” I said, stepping out of the car and closing the door behind me absentmindedly. If I was going to ruin Lucian's life, I needed to stay close to him a little longer. By pretending to look for a new job, I could stay at the company and sabotage his perfectly fine life.

Lucian’s expression was peculiar at that moment. Maybe it was the color of his eyes, but his gaze was so deep. It was as if he could see the truths I didn’t want to admit, and I hated him for that. Again.

I started walking towards my residence.

“Maybe I didn’t win, but I can make the situation less pitiful,” I muttered to myself as I opened the door to my house. I walked through the darkness into the living room and turned on the light. My pristine white living room, with its huge cream-colored couch, lit up.

Thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows, I could see into Lucian’s living room when he turned on his lights. I started watching Lucian from the window. Even as I watched him, I could feel my plans forming in my mind.

“The last week of our marriage is going to be very entertaining, my dear husband,” I said just as our gazes met across the distance. He would curse the day he married me for the rest of his life.