My heart lurched. Duncan might not let me go—not because he wanted me, but because that was who he was.
Stubborn enough to hold on to something even after he'd stopped caring about it. Once it had been his, he'd keep it clenched in his fist.
Before the refusal could even leave my mouth, HR had already dialed the call.
Two rings, then his lazy drawl filled the line.
“What is it?”
My heart shot straight to my throat.
“Mr. Delgado, Ms. Pruitt is requesting to resign. Did you authorize this?”
On the other end, a crowd was cheering. Lorna's wheedling voice curled through the noise.
“Duncan, it's our birthday. Stop dealing with nobodies, okay~”
He agreed without a second thought and tossed out a single line：
“What does she want? Whatever, I don't want to know. Tell her if she keeps throwing tantrums she'll see what happens. Stop bothering me with this.”
He hadn't heard clearly. And thank God he hadn't.
HR had no choice but to let me go.
The moment I held the signed separation notice, I didn't know what I felt. But more than anything, it was relief.
Three days later, Mom sent me a spread of wedding dress options and told me to pick a few I liked.
I scrolled through them with no real purpose until one stopped me cold.
A satin mermaid gown. Identical to the one Duncan and I had seen in a shop window on a trip together.
I'd stood in front of that glass imagining how it would feel to wear it, and he'd stood right beside me, imagining the same thing.
Back then he'd told me he would give me a grand wedding, the most beautiful dress.
Now someone else was giving me the wedding. Someone else was giving me the dress.
I went back and forth, but in the end I listened to my own heart and chose the satin mermaid gown.
When I forwarded it to Mom, I accidentally sent it to Duncan instead.
Duncan, who had been silent for an entire week, replied in under a second.
【?】
【Trying to force a wedding? I'll give you one when I decide to. You don't get to ask. I can't stand women who hand themselves over for free.】
I didn't explain. I just typed "you misunderstood," then forwarded the photo to Mom.
By the time he rushed over in a frenzy, I was already packed and heading downstairs to wait for the car that was coming for me.
He saw me and, chin lifted, told me to clear out the bedroom.
“Lorna had too much to drink. You'll sleep somewhere else tonight. She can only fall asleep in that bed—she's used to it. Don't be difficult.”
Before, I would have torn the place apart. I would have said anything, done anything to throw Lorna out.
Guarding that laughable thing I called faithfulness in love.
But now I just nodded, numb. When Duncan turned to look,
the room was spotless. Emptied clean.
Something was missing, but he couldn't place what.
Maybe he figured I'd finally come to my senses, finally learned to behave, because a look of satisfaction crossed his face as he reached for my hand.
“Bina, now that's more like it.”
“About the wedding, we can start talking about……”
I didn't have the patience to hear the rest. I stepped away from his reach.
A small, expressionless nod, and I turned to leave.
Something seemed to register. He called my name.
“What's wrong with you?”
His gaze landed on me for less than a second. Then a call from Lorna pulled him away entirely.
I let out a bitter laugh, got into the car that had been waiting outside for me, and closed the door.
I would never see Duncan Delgado again.
……
The man who knew nothing woke in a cold sweat after a night wrapped around someone else.
He'd had a nightmare. The woman whose whole world had been him vanished without a trace.
Duncan shot upright in bed, eyes wide and unseeing, drenched in sweat.
He called my name on instinct, but no one answered. Not anymore.
He burst out of the bedroom in a panic, only to find the living room empty. Every number, every account—blocked.
Only then did Duncan Delgado realize what had happened.
I had vanished from his world completely.
