Chapter 5

Sophie said she would go out with me for drinks, but I was so down that I did not even feel like drinking.

I told her, “We can do that another day. I need to go home and get some sleep.”

“I don’t think you can sleep.” She leaned against my car door and looked at me.

“I can sleep just fine. I’ll fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.”

Sophie opened the car door and pulled me out. “I’ll drive you home. It’s dangerous for you to drive in this state.”

“What about your car?”

“I’ll get my driver to drive it back later.”

I did not argue and got into the back seat.

Sophie drove really fast. Even though I was not asleep, I kept my eyes shut.

While driving, she suddenly asked, “Have you slept with Zach?”

There was no point in asking that after everything that just happened.

I turned away and refused to answer.

“That jerk! He slept with you while he thought about his ex! I really want to shoot him!”

Sophie always walked the talk. If she had a gun, she would actually shoot him.

She dropped me off at my door. The garden gate still had wedding balloons, and the front door was decorated.

I asked if she wanted to come in, but she gritted her teeth and said, “No. It’ll only make me angry.”

“I’ll go inside, then.” As I opened the gate, Sophie ran over and grabbed my wrist. “Don’t agree to the divorce yet. Let me look into it first.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

I entered the house and lay on the bed. But I could not fall asleep despite feeling tired.

Sophie knew me well enough to know that I would not be able to sleep.

Just as I was about to doze off in the middle of the night, I heard some noises in the hallway. Was Zach back?

I quickly sat up, and Zach came in through the door.

He looked tired and seemed surprised to see me awake. He gave me a quick nod. “Still awake?”

“Yeah,” I said and got out of bed. “I’ll run a bath for you.”

Before we got married, my mom had given me a lecture on how to be a good wife. It was not who I was, but I was willing to change for Zach.

As I looked for some slippers, he stopped me. “No need. I’ll leave after I grab some stuff.”

He then opened the closet and pulled out a big suitcase. I saw it when we first moved over, and I asked him why he had bought such a big one.

It finally made sense. He had been planning to leave at a moment’s notice.

I checked the wall clock. It was 1:30 a.m.

I clenched my fists and took a deep breath to keep my voice steady. “Are you moving out?”

“You can keep the house.” He put the suitcase on the floor and entered the closet to pack his clothes.

I watched him quietly. His reason for wanting a divorce was so ridiculous that even a child would not believe it.

He soon finished packing and stood up. While he faced away, he asked in a flat tone, “Have you signed it?”

I knew that he meant the divorce agreement, but I pretended not to understand. “What?”

“The divorce agreement.”

I got a bit choked up. “We just got married two days ago. Everything in this room is still decorated for our wedding. Zach, even if you want to take care of Cecilia, you don’t have to divorce me.”

“How am I supposed to take care of her?” He looked at me as he held the suitcase. I could barely see his face in the dim light. “Do you think Cecilia would accept a married man taking care of her?”

“So, you’re giving up on me that easily?” I said, even though I knew it would not change anything.

After that, I felt even more discouraged because he did not look at me. He just picked up his suitcase and walked toward the door.

I put my pride aside and ran to block his way.

I was tired, and so was he. It was clear that we should not be arguing at a time like this.

However, I could not accept getting a divorce just three days into our marriage.

He frowned a little. He had always been impatient with me. “Cassia, move out of the way,” he said in a low voice.

“Do I really mean nothing to you?” My voice was hoarse. After hours without sleep, I felt like a zombie.

He finally looked at me, but his expression was cold, like the moonlight tonight.

He simply pulled me aside and walked out of the room with his suitcase.

I ran after him barefoot, but he moved fast, even with the big suitcase.

The wooden floor was too slippery. In my rush down the stairs, I twisted my ankle and cried out in pain.

He did not seem to hear me and kept going downstairs. I pushed through the pain and ran after him.

When I hugged him from behind, I could smell hospital disinfectant and Cecilia’s favorite perfume on him.

They covered his usual smell, a pleasant peppermint shampoo.

Over the past three years, we had worked closely for the company. Whenever he approached me to talk about work, I would smell this familiar scent in his hair.

I held onto him tightly, as though I was drowning in a vast sea and Zach was my only chance of survival.

I pressed my face against his back and kept pleading, “Zach, don’t go. Please don’t go.”

His hands that touched my wrists were warm as always.

Instead of holding my hands, he pried them away from his waist.

My ankle hurt badly, and I had to balance on one foot like a crane.

The living room lights were so bright that I could barely keep my eyes open. All I felt was his cold gaze.

“Cassia, why are you making things harder for yourself? When I agreed to marry you, I never said it was because I loved you.” He was barely holding his composure.

“You don’t love me?” I looked up at him. “Not even a little bit?”

He looked at me with such a straight face that it felt like he could stab me with a sword without even flinching.

I had never seen much emotion from Zach. The only time he showed warmth was when he was with Cecilia.

Suddenly, I felt defeated.

I thought I was starting to fill his heart, but I guess I was not.

I had been reaching for his sleeve, but my hand dropped down weakly.

Then, he said, “Cassia, I’ll never love you.”