Amelia couldn't sleep the entire night.
At dawn, she got up and made breakfast. This time, it was only for herself. She no longer prepared anything for Damien like before.
When Damien came out of the bedroom, he instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist and lowered his head to kiss her forehead.
Amelia turned her head slightly, avoiding his touch.
"What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?" Damien asked, noticing her change right away.
Amelia lowered her head, feeling a lump in her throat. She almost couldn’t hold back her tears. She clenched her teeth and forced herself to stay calm.
"I'm just hungry," she said.
Damien didn’t ask any further. He never cared much about the morning kiss anyway. It was always Amelia who wanted it, not him.
He sat down, picked up a piece of toast and took a bite.
"By the way, which company did you work with for yesterday’s deal? I don’t think I asked."
Amelia remained calm. "It was the Weston Corporation. Do you want to see the contract?"
Damien paused for a moment. Just when Amelia’s palms started to sweat, he suddenly smiled and ruffled her hair.
"I trust you," he said casually.
Amelia lowered her gaze, feeling an ache in her chest.
For a long time, she had wished that Damien would care about her work, that he would take the time to guide her, ask about the risks, or offer advice. But that was only a dream.
After breakfast, as they got into the car, Damien’s phone rang. It was Victoria.
On the other end, her voice trembled as she sobbed, "Damien, my husband’s family is blocking the hotel entrance. They’re on their knees, refusing to let me divorce him. I… I don’t know what to do…"
Damien’s expression darkened immediately. He pressed down on the accelerator, making the car lurch forward.
"Don’t be scared. Stay in your room and don’t come out. I’m on my way," he reassured her.
Amelia tightened her grip on her seatbelt, her face turning pale.
"Damien, slow down! It’s too dangerous!"
Damien seemed to remember she was there. He slammed the brakes and turned to her.
"Take a taxi to the company by yourself. I have to go."
Before Amelia could respond, he sped off again, running a red light in his rush to get to Victoria. Amelia stood by the side of the road, feeling like a discarded doll. She took a deep breath, flagged down a taxi and headed to the office.
The entire day, she stayed busy.
Amelia worked as usual, but at the same time, she slowly started letting go of her responsibilities, of her attachment to Damien and of the life she had clung to for five years.
By the time it was nearly evening, Damien returned to the office. He seemed happy, as if all his worries had vanished. Meanwhile, Amelia entered his office to report work. As she stepped closer, she caught the faint scent of Victoria’s perfume on him.
While flipping through the documents, Damien suddenly glanced at her empty ring finger and asked, "Why did you take off your ring?"
Amelia remained calm as she answered his question, "Didn’t you ask me not to wear it? You didn’t want anyone to find out. And you never wore yours."
"Really?" Damien responded in turn and then nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.
If Damien had thought about it carefully, he would have realized how unusual it was for Amelia who always wanted people to know they were married—to take off her ring.
But he didn’t think much of it. Instead, he simply smiled, his mind clearly elsewhere. His mind might be still lingering on his time with Victoria.
Amelia chuckled to herself, left his office and took out her phone. Victoria had just posted a vlog on her social account. In one clip, Damien stood in the kitchen, wearing an apron, cooking with a focused expression.
Damien never liked to cook. Amelia had been the one to learn, putting in effort to make his meals just right. Now, she realized the truth. The truth was that Damien wasn’t unwilling to cook. It was because he just didn’t want to cook for her.
After that, Amelia walked to the lake behind the company. The water sparkled under the fading sunlight, but she only felt cold. She then pulled the ring from her pocket, holding it in her palm, feeling the last remnants of its warmth.
"Goodbye," she whispered.
With all her strength, she threw the ring into the lake. It arced through the air before sinking into the water, disappearing forever.
Taking a deep breath, Amelia turned away. Her heels clicked against the pavement as she walked forward, her head held high. She was done looking back.
