Chapter 2

The scent of coffee and paper filled the office.

The employees buzzed around me, and first among them was my father's Beta, Joe. He handed me a thick stack of documents.

"I knew you wouldn't be trapped in a gilded cage forever."

I took the documents and said a sincere "thank you!"

In the three years I'd been married to Elias, I truly made him my entire world.

From taking care of every household chore to being his unwavering support, and finally giving up the most brilliant career of my life.

Thankfully, I finally realized that love couldn't be everything in life.

I finished processing the last email, and it was late when I got home.

The dim yellow light stretched Elias's desolate figure. I didn't pay attention to his expression, only seeing the mess in the living room.

He was drinking.

This was the first time in three years, outside of company dinners, that he was drinking alone at home.

I suppressed my shock and placed my briefcase in the entryway.

He rushed over and grabbed me.

"Where were you?"

I didn't speak, taking off my shoes.

"I asked where you were!"

His voice unconsciously rose. He saw the company documents still in my hand and suddenly looked enlightened.

"Clara, are you serious? So upset with me that you run away from home? You know how much I hate you meddling in company affairs, but you deliberately went to your Dad's just to spite me. When are you going to grow up?"

I stared at his pale face, speechless for a moment, finally dismissing all his questions with a cold scoff.

"What do you mean…" He grabbed me from behind. "It's not still about that lingerie, is it?"

"I already explained, it was for new product promotion, and besides, I bought you the same one. What more do you want?"

Dried coffee stains pricked under my fingernails. I coolly pulled my hand away.

"Yes, what more do I want?"

"Are you done talking? If so, I'm going to sleep."

He suddenly kicked over the shoe rack. Shoes clattered against the wall, dislodging plaster dust that mingled with the smell of paper and ink.

"Every time, you put on that deadpan face!"

"You're throwing away a perfectly good life, just to get involved with those disreputable people. Clara, what do you even consider our marriage to be?!"

His hysterical accusations were as grating as the howling winter wind outside.

But I still said nothing.

Before any black-and-white argument, I always believed silence could pierce through all stubborn rationalizations.

That night, the sharp pop of an aluminum can being opened sliced through the entire night sky.

I sat on the edge of the bed, studying my phone, and heard Elias's deliberately lowered voice from the living room.

"When will she ever be like you?"

The next day, I opened my bedroom door.

I saw Elias slumped in front of the empty cans, a pile of cigarette butts still askew in last night's spilled drink.

In the past, I would have silently cleaned up the mess and carefully found a way for us to reconcile.

Even if my heart ached with injustice, I would have used the gentlest smile and actions to gloss over the argument as a minor bump in life.

But now, I walked straight past the cans and out the door.

Before closing it, I heard Elias growl,

"If you're so capable, then never come back!"

That was exactly what I was planning.

Since resigning from the company three years ago, I hadn't touched those business documents again.

Now that I had the chance, I wouldn't squander this freedom.

Following Joe's arrangements, I signed up for the Alpha heir assessment at my father's company, three days from now.

"It's a long journey, and you might be gone for a year or more. Are you really not going to discuss it with him?"

Joe's voice crackled with static. I traced the unfinished "Company's Three-Year Plan" on my phone's screen.

It was a draft I'd worked on three years ago, when I was the executive director at my father's company, a path I'd stopped for Elias.

But now, "No need to discuss it. We're getting divorced soon."