Elena’s POV
One would say attending the Global tech summit as a tech fan might be the highlight of their life. But I agree to disagree.
I stood in the VIP room alone, trying not to feel too overwhelmed by the event. Then he walked in. It was Ethan Ross. My ex-husband.
My heart stopped for a moment.
“You can’t be here, leave!” I demanded.
Ethan barely reacted. Instead, an evil grin appeared on his face.
“Oh, calm down, sweetheart.” The name was familiar. “You do realize we’re still married, right?”
I stared at him. This has to be a joke. I signed those divorce papers. I had spent months convincing myself that chapter of my life was over.
I tried to speak but nothing came out of my mouth.
Just then, Adrian stepped inside.
“What’s going on here?” Adrian asked.
“You!” Ethan shouted. “You took everything from me.”
His eye twitched. Just then he pulled out a gun from his pocket and aimed it at Adrian. “I’m sorry it had to end like this.”
BANG!
“Adrian!”
I immediately rushed to where Adrian lay on the floor, blood coming out of his chest. I tried to stop the bleeding with my hands, but that didn’t help.
A few minutes later, the room was crowded with guests. Everyone looked at me. Blood was on my hands. Ethan was nowhere to be found.
That’s when it hit me. He framed me.
One year earlier…
I always thought anniversaries were supposed to mean something. At least five years should mean something. I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection.
I wore a black evening dress with a slit along my thigh and an open back, paired with black kitten heels. My hair was in a stylish updo with silver earrings to match. I don't usually dress up this much unless the occasion felt important.
Tonight felt important. My fifth anniversary.
I glanced at the clock. 9:20 p.m. Ethan was late, again.
I sighed and reached for the small diamond bracelet on the dresser. Ethan had bought it for me on our first anniversary. The bracelet was nowhere near as expensive as other gifts he bought for anyone else but it felt special to me. My initials were engraved on it.
“Happy anniversary to me,” I whispered.
The mansion was oddly quiet. Most of the staff had gone home for the weekend.
I had decorated the dining room with white roses, lit candles and red rose petals scattered across the floor. His favorite wagyu steak had been prepared exactly the way he liked it and I had even ordered the vanilla cake he’d once told me he liked.
I had spent the entire day making sure everything was perfect. Just like I had spent the last five years making sure my marriage was perfect. Or at least looked like it was.
To the public, I was the luckiest woman in New York City. I was always attending charity events, always smiling beside him during public gatherings. I never even questioned him about the women who constantly surrounded him at public events. I simply stayed quiet.
As I approached the door, my phone buzzed on the dresser. I reached for it almost immediately.
Ethan: I’ll be home soon.
That was all. No happy anniversary. No apology for being late. I stared at the message before forcing myself to put on a smile. Maybe he had something planned because he wanted to surprise me.
I wanted to believe that. I really did.
At 11:45 p.m., the front doors finally opened.
Ethan walked in. He was still dressed in his black business suit with his tie loosened around his neck. I stood up straightening my dress and putting on the welcoming smile I always wore.
He barely glanced at the decorations.
“You’re awake.” . I stood up straightening down my dress and putting on the welcoming smile I always wore.
“Yes, I am. And you’re late.”
No response. His eyes moved over me and then at the decorations, but with no expression on his face.
“You dressed up.” He said.
“It’s our anniversary.”
“I’m aware.” His voice was flat.
“I made dinner.”
“You know you didn’t have to, Elena. We have staff for a reason. Stop trying to play this perfect wife act, no one’s buying it.”
Those words stung. I had spent the entire day trying to make tonight special and that’s all he could say?
He walked toward the bar and poured himself a glass of bourbon. There was something different about the way he acted tonight. Something more distant than usual.
“Did something happen at work?”
“No.” He took a sip of his bourbon.
I nodded. The silence was deafening. In the past, I would try to bring up conversations to fill up the silence but tonight, I felt no need to.
“Sit down.” I frowned.
“Why?”
“I said sit down.”
Something about the tone of his voice made me feel uneasy. I slowly sat on the sofa while Ethan remained standing. He didn’t say anything for some time then reached into his briefcase.
I watched as he pulled out a folder. “What’s that?”
Ethan walked towards me and placed the folder on the coffee table.
I stared at the folder, then at him. “What’s this meant to be?”
“Open it.”
I reached for the folder and opened it gently.
The words on the first page my heart falter.
DIVORCE AGREEMENT AND DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE.
My eyes moved across the pages. I didn’t understand what I was seeing. Then I saw his signature.
“You’re divorcing me?”
“Yes.”
The word echoed in my head. I stared at Ethan, waiting for him to tell me this was all a joke. But he didn’t.
I looked at the papers again. My name next to his waiting to be signed. I was about to sign five years of my life away.
“Is this what you want?” I asked, picking up the pen.
Ethan’s expression remained cold. “Yes.”
“Fine.”
His eyes narrowed at me. “What?”
He probably expected to beg at his feet pleading for another chance, but I was done doing that.
“I said fine.” I grabbed a black ballpoint pen from the coffee table and flipped to the signature page. I signed without shedding a single tear. I wasn’t going to be vulnerable, not now.
I placed the pen back on the table and looked at the papers again. Everything had happened so quickly that my mind was still trying to process what had just happened.
Ethan picked up the folder, looked through them and said nothing.
I looked around the room. The white roses I had neatly arranged, the dinner still sat untouched in the dining room. The vanilla cake still sitting inside the box. I’d imagined us cutting it together.
I refused to cry in front of him, not tonight.
I walked upstairs to the bedroom to pack my things. I packed a few dresses and casual clothes, with my laptop and a few important documents.
When I got downstairs, Ethan was still in the living room.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m leaving.”
He put a hand to his temple. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
“I’m not.”
I walked toward the door. My hand rested on the handle for a moment then I looked back at him.
“I won’t ask for anything from you.” I said quietly. “But I want you to remember that you will spend the rest of your life regretting the day you let me go.”
I turned around to leave before he could respond.
I was done with this marriage. I’d spent five years pleasing everyone around me. That was going to change now.