Chapter 5 Goodbye Adrian
910 Words
Elena
I carefully opened the letter. Cream-colored cardstock with the Blake family crest. Dear Elena, I hope you can spare an afternoon for an old woman who has always considered you a daughter. Victoria.
Lying in the hospital bed, I broke into a cold sweat. Is she going to blame me for canceling the wedding? What if I lose Victoria too—the woman who treated me like a mother?
After I was discharged, I went to meet Victoria. My mind was racing the whole way.
The Blake mansion hadn't changed. Same marble foyer. Same portraits. I still felt like I didn't belong here.
Victoria waited in the parlor, elegant as always. Her eyes looked tired.
"Elena." She embraced me gently. "You look pale, dear. How are you feeling?"
"Better, thank you." I sat in the familiar armchair.
"Elena, I want to apologize for Adrian's behavior. I'm ashamed of what my son has done. I'm hoping... could you give him another chance?"
She's apologizing? The apology should come from Adrian, not his mother.
"Mrs. Blake, I've always been grateful for everything you've done for me. You've always supported me." I meant every word.
"But this time, I don't want to get involved anymore. I need to move on."
Victoria sighed, genuinely disappointed. She reached for her checkbook. "Perhaps this could help you start fresh..."
"Thank you, but you've already helped me enough." I shook my head with a smile.
She put the checkbook away, her eyes softening as she looked at me. "You're stronger than I thought, Elena. I hope you find someone who appreciates that."
—
Goldman Sachs felt different now. Thirty-seven floors of ambition, and I'd never felt more out of place.
I started packing my things into a cardboard box. Then I saw it—that photo from the Christmas party. In it, I was smiling at the camera, eyes bright with hope. Adrian was looking somewhere else entirely.
"Are you sure about this?" Grace appeared at my desk.
"I believe my qualifications can get me a job anywhere." I folded some papers. "Besides, I don't want you and my mom to worry anymore."
Grace blinked her big eyes, trying hard to squeeze out tears. "Oh, my sweetie Elena~ I'll always backup you~" Despite everything, she made me laugh.
The break room erupted with cruel laughter just then.
"Did you hear? Adrian and Elena's wedding totally fell apart!"
"I knew it! Elena was always just a substitute. She's so plain and boring—Adrian must have been suffering for three years!"
"Finally he can be with someone who actually fits his world!"
Grace's face turned red with fury. She clenched her fists, ready to march over there.
"Don't." I grabbed her arm. "It's not worth it."
"Elena." The voice made me freeze. Adrian stood in the hallway, that perfectly tailored suit, that flawless hair—everything about him screaming control and composure.
"We need to talk." He grabbed my wrist as if I were one of his possessions.
"Let go of me."
"Not until we sort this out."
He dragged me to his office and slammed the door. Then he cornered me against the wall, hands on either side of my head.
He leaned down, his face inches from mine, staring at me with such possessive intensity. I found myself looking at his sharp nose, and damn it, even now I still felt my heart skip. You're pathetic, Elena.
"Why are you making such a scene? Resigning, avoiding my calls—what's the point?"
"The point? You want to know the point? You've never even said you're sorry!"
Adrian's jaw tightened. For a moment, I saw something crack in his perfect facade—shame, maybe even guilt. He looked away, then back at me with obvious reluctance. "I'm sorry... for that night."
"Just that one night with Nina? Haven't you been seeking comfort from me for three years?"
His face went pale. He tugged at his tie, loosening it as if he couldn't breathe properly. "Nina won't be a threat to our relationship. My mother supports you. You'll be my wife. Isn't that what matters?"
"You still don't get it." Tears fell. "I don't want to be your wife because your mother chose me. I want to be your wife because you love me."
Adrian's mouth opened, then closed. His composed facade finally shattered. He stood there like a broken statue, beautiful but hollow, unable to give me the one thing I needed.
"Say it. Say you love me." My voice broke into a whisper. Please. Just lie to me if you have to. Give me something.
"You can't even say it." Something inside me died in that moment. Three years of my life, and he can't even pretend.
His voice cracked slightly, desperate to make me understand something he didn't even believe himself. "Love isn't everything, Elena. We have compatibility..."
Rage exploded through me like a dam bursting. I shoved him hard, my hands hitting his chest with all the force of three years of suppressed pain. "Don't you dare pity me!"
This is it. This is the answer I've been afraid to face. He never loved me. Not even close.
My resignation letter felt light as air as I hurled it at him. Papers exploded everywhere like my shattered dreams.
"Goodbye, Adrian."
The door slammed behind me.
Finally free.
Grace waited by the elevator with my box and a fierce smile.
"Ready?"
"More than ready."
- Writer
