CHAPTER 8N
Alexander drove back to the penthouse as the sun climbed higher in the sky. The divorce papers might be torn to pieces, but the words still echoed in his head.
This marriage is irretrievably broken.
He pulled into the underground garage and sat in the car for several minutes, staring at the elevator that would take him up to what used to be our home. Our home. The thought felt strange now N
When he finally stepped into the penthouse, the silence hit him immediately.N
It wasn’t the usual quiet of early morning. This was different. This was the kind of silence that screamed absence.
“Lauren?” he called out, his voice echoing off the walls.N
No answer
He walked through the living room, noticing things that should have been there but weren’t. The throw pillow I always hugged while watching movies. The book I’d been reading for weeks, always left open on the coffee table. The small potted plant I’d bought last month, claiming it would “brighten up the space.“N
All gone
But Alexander was still Alexander Blackwood. He refused to believe I was truly gone.N
“Lauren, stop this childish game,” he said louder, heading toward the kitchen.N
The counter was spotless. Too spotless. My favorite mug–the one with the chip on the handle that I refused to throw away–was missing. The coffee 6maker sat cold and unused. Even the little magnetic notepad where I wrote grocery lists had been removed from the refrigerator.N
Alexander’s phone buzzed. Victoria again.N
[Where are you? The doctor wants to discuss your father’s condition.]*N
He ignored it and climbed the stairs to our bedroom.
The first thing he noticed was the closet door, hanging wide open. He approached it slowly, as if it might contain some terrible secret.
It was empty.N
Not just empty–stripped clean. My side of the closet looked like it had been professionally cleaned. Every dress, every pair of shoes, every piece of jewelry. Gone.N
He moved to the vanity where I used to sit every morning, applying makeup and humming softly to myself. The surface was bare. My perfume bottles, my skincare products, even the small mirror I’d bought because the lighting was better–all vanished.
Alexander sank onto the edge of the bed and pulled out his phone. His fingers shook slightly as he dialed my number.
“The subscriber you have dialed is not available…“N
He tried again. Same message.N
Again. And again.N
Finally, he opened our text messages and typed: *Lauren, come home. We need to talk.*N
The message showed as sent, but then a new notification appeared: *Message rejected by recipient.*
I had blocked him. Blocked him completely.N
For the first time in six years, Alexander Green couldn’t reach me.”
“Like she always does when she doesn’t get her way. She’ll be back in a few days, demanding an apology and expecting me to fix whatever imaginary problem she’s created in her head.“N
But even as he said the words, Alexander knew they felt wrong. This wasn’t like my usual arguments. Those had always been loud, emotional affairs with tears and accusations. This was something else entirely.
This was calculated.”
Planned.
But as the hours passed, Alexander found himself unable to concentrate on anything else. He tried to work, but kept checking his phone. He tried to eat, but the food tasted like nothing. He tried to sleep, but the bed felt too large, too empty.
It wasn’t until five days later that he finally learned the truth.
His private investigator called with a report that made Alexander’s blood run cold.
“Sir, I’ve located Mrs. Lauren’s whereabouts.“”
“Where is she?” Alexander demanded.
She left the country, sir. Flew to Switzerland three days ago. She’s… she’s not coming back.”
The phone nearly slipped from Alexander’s hand. “What do you mean she’s not coming back?”
“She sold her mother’s jewelry collection–the pieces you couldn’t legally touch. Used the money to purchase a one–way ticket and rent a small apartment in Geneva. She also… she also withdrew her trust fund. All of it.”
Alexander felt the world tilt around him. “That’s impossible. I control her accounts.”
‘Not the trust fund, sir. That was set up by her parents before your marriage. She never touched it in six years, but last week she liquidated everything ”
Sit wears I had access to millions of dollars for six years and never used a nenny Recause I’d been trying to be the nerfect wife The wife
826 PM dd
Six years. I had access to millions of dollars for six years and never used a penny. Because I’d been trying to be the perfect wife. The wife who didn’t need anything, except him.&
‘Sir?” the investigator continued. “There’s something else. She filed the divorce papers internationally. Under Swiss law, she doesn’t need your consent if she can prove… certain conditions.”
Alexander knew what those conditions were. The medical reports. The evidence of repeated harm.
He hung up the phone and stared out the window of his office. Switzerland. I had gone to Switzerland, of all places. A country known for protecting people who wanted to disappear.
Why 7
Just to avoid seeing him?
He clenched his fists. It wasn’t like he had done anything truly unforgivable. He had only made the kind of mistakes men everywhere made. He’d been distracted, focused on work, maybe too harsh sometimes. But that was normal, wasn’t it?}
So why did I get to walk away so easily? Just disappear and divorce him like our six years of marriage meant nothing?
No&
He wouldn’t allow it.
He used to accept it!
Alexander immediately called his travel agent and booked the earliest flight to Geneva. He didn’t go home to pack. He didn’t call Victoria to expla le left his office and went straight to the airport.
His assistant tried calling him twice, but Alexander ignored the calls. Nothing mattered except finding me and bringing me home where I belonged.
Just as he was about to check in for his flight, a familiar voice called out behind him.
“Alexander, are you abandoning me and the baby?“N
He turned to see Victoria standing there, tears streaming down her face, one hand protectively covering her slightly rounded belly.”
Alexander stared at her for a long moment, seeing her clearly for perhaps the first time in months.}
He reached out and gently touched her shoulder.N
“I’ve asked Thompson to arrange a new apartment for you,” he said quietly. “Move in today.”
The moment she heard those words, Victoria’s tears came pouring out faster.
But Alexander had already turned away, boarding pass in hand, walking toward the gate that would take him to me.”
8:26 PM
