Chapter 2

It was late into the night, but Roxanne remained wide awake.

She buried her face in the pillow, her mind tangled with thoughts. Suddenly, an unruly hand slipped around her waist. Feeling the warm breath against her back, she instinctively shifted away, dodging the kiss that was about to land on her.

Her resistance caught Andre by surprise. After all, in the three years since their marriage, it had always been Roxanne who eagerly sought his embrace.

This rare moment of his own desire being met with rejection made it impossible for him not to ask, "Are you in a bad mood?"

"I'm on my period," Roxanne replied, making up an excuse on the spot.

Andre did not think much of it. He responded with a quiet hum and gently tucked the blanket around her. As was his habit before bed, he mentally reviewed the day's events. Suddenly, he recalled the property transfer agreement from earlier and asked about it.

"Where's the property transfer agreement? Let me check if there are any loopholes."

Roxanne's heart began to pound, but she fixed a steady gaze on him.

"Do you really want to see it?"

Noticing the tension in her expression, Andre frowned slightly and gave a small nod.

After a long moment of silence, Roxanne got out of bed and went to the study. She pulled out the document and was just about to hand it to him when an abrupt ringtone cut through the quiet.

Andre answered the phone.

"Andre! Gary is drunk again and yelling outside. Come quickly, I'm so scared!"

Thinking of Caitlin's ex-husband—someone known for his aggressiveness—Andre's expression changed. He threw on a coat and prepared to leave immediately.

Watching his hurried movements, Roxanne called out to him. "Is that your friend's sister who's getting divorced? Something happened again?"

Andre was about to confirm it but was worried that she might overthink things as it was already so late at night, so he decided to exaggerate the situation instead.

"Yes. Her ex-husband got drunk again and is waiting outside with a knife. I need to check on her. Otherwise, it might be dangerous—possibly life-threatening."

Roxanne did not try to stop him. She simply told him to be careful.

After Andre left, Roxanne remained awake for the rest of the night. Even as daylight filled the room, she never once closed her eyes.

She picked up her phone to check the time, only to notice that Caitlin—whom she had secretly followed on social media just a few days earlier—had posted a new video to her feed.

In the video, the sun slowly rose between the mountains, spilling its golden light across the sky. Excited gasps echoed from all directions. The camera panned, and Andre's figure flashed briefly across the frame.

"The darkness of yesterday is over. Everything will soon be reborn."

Staring at those final words frozen on the screen, Roxanne felt a sharp pain in her heart.

It seemed Caitlin had successfully ended her previous marriage.

Of course, she had. With Andre—the top lawyer in his field—by her side, and with how many years he had been in love with her, he would have poured everything he had into helping Caitlin the moment he heard she was getting a divorce.

Now that she was single again, it was only a matter of time before Andre asked for a divorce so that he could be with her.

Roxanne did not even need to imagine it in detail; she could already picture how it would happen.

A bitter smile crept onto her lips, her heart sinking into quiet despair. A divorce was imminent. All she did was bring it forward.

Rather than waiting passively to be discarded, choosing to leave on her own terms was the only way to preserve the last shred of her dignity, was it not?

Roxanne set the phone down, stood up, and began gathering all the matching items she had once bought for them. She threw them into a cardboard box and dragged it downstairs.

Just then, Andre returned and saw her struggling. He rushed over at once.

"Why are you throwing out so many things?"

Roxanne lowered her gaze. "They were never used. Better to throw them out before they take up more space."

Andre nodded in understanding and took the box from her hands. Watching his silhouette gradually fade into the distance, Roxanne's expression remained calm.

In truth, if he simply opened the box and looked inside, he would have realized that everything about to be thrown away was things she had once treasured dearly.

With his intelligence, he would surely recognize what her unusual actions meant—she wanted to leave.

There was still room for a turning point in their story, but Andre did nothing. He tossed the box directly into the trash bin, then turned away.

There was no hesitation in his moves.