Elara dialed Andrew's number a couple of times. The monotone and robotic ring of the phone felt like a silent execution of her patience that was running thin. He picked after the third time, just like always.
"What is it?"
His impatient voice almost felt like shards of ice slapping her hard into the reality of her place in his life. It made the remaining hope shatter inside Elara's heart.
"Don't stay up too late. It will affect your health," Elara said, her voice devoid of her usual cheery sweetness, and ended the call.
The silence that followed was deafening. She looked at her own battered, helpless expression in the rearview mirror, her eyes dead of any hope that once used to beam with fierce life.
She had so much to say, so much to ask, and so much to yell about, but in that moment, it didn't matter anymore.
She still remembered it as clear as daylight. It was three and a half years ago that she went scuba diving alone. It was an adventure she really wanted to try, and since she didn't like crowded places, she chose a remote spot.
Her foot had gotten entangled in the thicket of moss. She tried freeing her leg recklessly until the moment she grew breathless, too tired to move.
Due to the lack of oxygen, she had started slipping out of consciousness, and at that time, the man who had jumped in to save her was Andrew Lloyd. He was like an angel who freed her from the moss and pulled her to the surface before she lost her life. He even gave her CPR to ensure she was safe.
That was the very moment when she decided nothing mattered anymore and that she must marry the man anyhow.
For that, she lost her identity, erasing her vibrant spirit, her past, and her connections, and became everything he ever wanted in a wife: a calm, submissive, sweet woman.
They got married after six months of constant pestering from her. She thought the man was initially cold and that after some time, he would open up to her, but even after three years, nothing of that sort happened.
For him, she was probably just a convenient person who met his basic needs. She was never anything, probably would never be either.
The blaring of horns from the cars jolted her back from her subconscious sadness, and she started the car to reach the villa.
She parked the car outside the villa and was about to enter when her phone pinged with an incoming message.
Her brows furrowed when she looked at the unknown number.
She clicked on the image the person sent. Her pupils dilated briefly.
It was a photo of her husband lying shirtless with Beatrice, and judging from the angle, there was no doubt that Beatrice had taken the picture.
Elara felt numb for a few seconds, her fingers trembling from all the suppressed anger and sadness she had been containing. The heat she felt in her heart in that moment was agonizing, beyond anything anyone would want to suffer.
She had once suspected them and even expressed her doubts, but the man had dismissed those thoughts.
A couple of months ago, she had gone to the office to give him a special dish she had prepared, as she wanted to visit his office, like all wives do. However, Andrew thought she was trying to stalk him and even bashed her, threatening her with a divorce.
The thought made Elara smile.
"Very well, Andrew Lloyd. You saved my life once, and you risked my life again, almost killing me multiple times because of your negligence. I should've left long ago, but I still felt the silver hope that you would see me for who I was." Elara chuckled through her tears as she looked at the empty villa.
I never allowed anyone to even raise their voice at me, and you dared to treat me this shabbily. But it's my fault too, because I allowed you to.
But not anymore. I take that privilege from you today. Elara wondered before she went straight to Andrew's office, a place she wasn't allowed to go to either.
Without thinking twice, she took out the divorce papers that had Andrew's signature already, the one he had threatened her with when she had said she would expose Beatrice as a homewrecker.
A mocking laugh left Elara's mouth, and she wiped her tears fiercely before writing her full name on the document for the first time.
"Elara Frost"
With that, she took off her one-carat diamond ring, a symbol of how minimal she meant to him, and placed it on the table before taking the documents to submit to the registrar's office tomorrow.
She packed her bag, realizing how her three years' worth of stuff couldn't fill even a single suitcase. It was a glaring truth of her pathetic life.
She took off the painting, the only proof of their wedding, and broke the glass just like it broke her heart. The sound of the glass shattering and pieces flying made her a little satisfied.
She lit the photo in the frame on fire with her python lighter, something she hadn't used for three years. She pulled out her phone, dialing that one number she had blocked three years ago when she married Andrew.
Elara waited for the person on the other end to pick up.
"Hello?" The gruff and casual voice resounded, and Elara took a deep breath.
"B-brother," Elara's lips trembled.
There was silence on the other end for some seconds, and Elara even wondered if they had ended the call.
Just as she was about to pull the phone away from her ears, the sound of something falling with a thud echoed from the other side.
"Elara? Elara, is that you? Yes, it's you. Elara! What the hell! Where are you?!" Her brother's panicked voice resounded, his frantic swearing almost the most comforting voice she heard in three years, and tears welled in her eyes.
"I am sorry, brother." She felt her heart ache with stuffiness.
"I'll listen to you later. First, tell me where the hell are you? And why do you sound like this? Send me your fucking location now!" The man on the other side wasn't her real brother but her named brother, Xylon Jefferson.
Hearing him swear like that made Elara feel like a heavy burden had been lifted off her chest, and she took a deep, shaky breath.
"No. Don't come."
"How can you fucking say that?! Do you even know how hard it had been—"
"Because I am coming now. I am returning, brother." Elara cut him off mid-sentence.
The man fell silent for a few seconds before exhaling loudly.
"Whatever that man did to you to make you sound so lifeless, I swear I'll make him pay with his organs," Xylon said, and Elara chuckled at his words through her tears.
She was happy that her brother was ready to avenge her tears despite knowing he couldn't afford to mess with Lloyd's group.
She ended the call after assuring him she was returning for real.
Once the photo burned to its very end, she looked at the villa one last time before hailing the taxi to leave for good.
On her way, she hired a cleaner to clean up the mess she had made early in the morning by paying double.
Once that was settled, she looked at the photo Beatrice sent her before sighing.
"Are you okay, miss?" The driver asked her when she chuckled through her tears.
Elara looked at the man and then smiled.
"My husband cheated on me with his secretary, and the entire nation is watching it, calling them a beautiful couple," she said.
The driver gave her a look of sympathy, not saying anything, nonetheless.
Elara had no intention of hiding and leaving in silence. She didn't want to have anything to do with Andrew anymore, but it didn't mean she didn't want him to realize his mistake.
Maybe it wouldn't matter to him, but it would give her satisfaction that she didn't leave like a coward.
She sent the image Beatrice sent her to her husband before writing a caption.
"Don't bother with your lousy explanation. Didn't expect anything better from you. A man who can't even keep it under his pants outside isn't any better than a manwhore. It was my fault for falling for one," Elara wrote before sending the message.
She knew Andrew would be furious after reading this, but it was worth it.
Once done, she switched off her phone and looked outside at the passing trees and at the beautiful moon, feeling sad but free.