Chapter 4 FALLING APART

The unnerving silence welcomed my ears the moment I reached my room. It was cold inside. The wide-open windows allowed the wind to get in.

Just like it always felt whenever I was alone inside my room, loneliness hit me. A mountain of thoughts flooded my head. Then a sudden surge of melancholy burst inside me as my gaze landed on the picture frame standing on top of the old mahogany table.

It was the picture of my one-year-old son, Dylan, with an adorable smile on his lips. I stood behind him, with arms wrapped around his shoulders, with the same bright smile that mirrored his own. There was also Grey, standing behind me, arms possessively wrapped around my waist.

I clearly recall that moment. That day was the last memory I had of Dylan. Weeks later, a car accident instantly took him away from me, forever.

It's been two years since that incident, but I still blamed myself for his death. It should have been me who died and not him. If only I could turn back the time, I will shield my body to protect him. He deserved to live better than I do.

My chest grew heavy, and I pushed the ugly memories away before I finally burst into tears. My gaze departed from the picture frame and made my way towards the bed after closing the window.

I removed my heeled shoes, then changed into my pajamas. When I’m done changing, I sprawled on the bed. I have been lying there for half an hour, tossing and turning, but sleep refuses to come. The scene in the restaurant continues to bother my thoughts, even after trying to clear it off in my mind.

I still couldn’t believe my husband asked for a divorce! The nerve! He asked for it on the night of our wedding anniversary.

A heavy sigh escaped from my lips. A lingering pain and sadness hit me while staring blankly at the ceiling.

Though it has always been a one-sided love between me and Grey, he has no right to hurt me. I didn’t deserve an ounce of pain after loving him all these years. To think that, I assumed, he will learn to love me too, makes me so ashamed of myself. When he told me about divorce, my heart shattered into a million pieces and my illusion crumbled to the floor. I realized he could never give his heart to me because he already gave it to another woman.

That woman is Natalia.

No matter what I do, I will never replace her in his heart. He had his eyes only on one woman, despite her leaving him for her career.

I just hope that Grey won’t regret his decisions one day. Natalia left him when he had nothing. But now he has everything she returned to claim him back. But would she stay once she’s done sucking everything from him, then go to her next prey?

Time could only tell.

With a ton of questions running through my thoughts, I finally fell asleep.

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I woke up from the piercing sound of my alarm clock. A grumpy sigh escaped from my lips as I reached the top of the night table and turned the alarm clock off before burying my head under the pillow. I haven’t been in that position for long when a knock sounded on the door.

Despite my inner protests, I got up from the bed and padded across the carpeted floor with my bare feet. It must be urgent, I thought to myself, forcing my sleepy eyelids to open. The room next to mine is my mother’s room. She’s the only person I know who would knock on my room at this hour. Perhaps she needed to go to the bathroom and required my help.

The last sign of sleepiness escaped my body when I unlocked the door and saw the women waiting outside.

Celine stood in the doorway in her usual white scrub uniform. A beautiful smile lit her face as she held my favorite black forest cake in both hands. Mom was beside her. Seated in her wheelchair. A smile stretched on her lips as she looked at me. Mom’s face was thin and pale,

but it couldn’t conceal the genuine happiness that shone in her eyes.

“Happy twenty-fourth birthday, Lily!” They greeted me in unison just as I was about to ask them about the occasion.