It was early morning and Nora Bishop had just woken up to find her husband watering the plants in the sunroom.
Damien Penn, with his sensitive allergies, had always hated the flowers she kept around. He used to say that no matter how much money she had, she was still born to be tending to plants.
Back when they first moved in together, he once lost his temper after a failed business call and dumped all her potted plants in the trash, cursing them as “bad luck.”
Later on, when Hadley remarked that beautiful women deserved beautiful flowers, Damien signed up for a floral design course. Every holiday, he personally arranged flower bouquets just for her.
Today, he set the watering can aside and walked toward Nora, his long legs moving with ease.
“You slept in today,” he said lightly. “I already watered the flowers for you.”
Then, smiling, he revealed a single tulip he had broken off and held it out to her. “Here. Your favorite.”
Even in plain loungewear, Damien looked effortlessly handsome as he leaned closer.
Nora took the tulip with a calm expression. “Thanks,” she said simply.
The truth was—Hadley was the one who liked tulips.
Nora had told Damien countless times that flowers could be appreciated while they were still rooted in the soil. But he never listened. Instead, he insisted on cutting them, wrapping them in expensive paper and delivering them to Hadley.
Even though she had already made up her mind, Nora still felt the twist of pain in her chest. She held the divorce papers tightly and forced herself to stay composed.
“There’s an urgent contract I need you to sign,” she said.
Damien frowned slightly, clearly unimpressed by her reaction. She was, as always, emotionless. A workaholic.
“How many times have I told you not to bring work home?” he said.
Nora’s fingers tightened around the flower stem.
“Only one. I promise,” she said quietly.
And it would be the last.
Damien sighed, took the folder and flipped it open. But before he could scan the details, Nora casually turned to the last page and covered the content with her hand.
“I’ve reviewed it already,” she said. “There’s no problem. Just sign.”
He didn’t question it. Nora had always been meticulous when it came to business. Besides, she looked like her usual self—cold, efficient, uninterested in anything but results. Annoyed, he grabbed a pen and signed without another word.
“Nora, seriously—you’ve got to stop living like this,” Damien said. “You need to learn to relax, go out, take care of yourself. Be more lively…like Hadley.”
“You won’t have to worry about any of that soon,” she reply quietly.
Soon, there wouldn’t be a Nora Bishop to worry about.
Normally, she would’ve argued—maybe said something about the company being in a critical phase, that she had responsibilities.
But not today.
Damien softened, misreading her silence. “Good. You’re both daughters of the Bishop Family. You shouldn’t have let Hadley outshine you.”
Then, almost like an afterthought, he added, “By the way, my birthday party this year’s will be on the new yacht. Don’t make scene.”
Nora was dumfounded. She’d nearly drowned once. Since then, she’d always been seasick, always afraid of water. But to Damien, that fear was nothing more than her ‘making a scene’.
Hadley, on the other hand, constantly posted bikini-clad beach photos online. Her dream, she’d said once, was to have her prince charming pick her up on a yacht.
Nora gave a faint, bitter smile.
She’d loved this man for eight years. But now, the goodbye felt long overdue.
Damien’s phone rang. Instantly, his expression softened—sickeningly sweet. He walked out onto the balcony to answer, lowering his voice as if that might hide the affection in it.
Still, Nora heard him.
“Hey, Hadley… no, I’m not going into the office today. I’m spending the day with you…”
Nora turned and walked upstairs. She wasn’t watching her step and hit the corner of the coffee table hard. A sharp pain shot up her foot.
She bit down on her lip. Her mouth filled with the taste of blood, but she kept walking.
By the time she reached the bedroom, she was soaked in sweat. Her toe was swollen and purple. In the mirror, her face looked pale, almost ghostlike.
She forced a crooked smile.
On the desk lay her notebook, the one she carried everywhere. Inside, she’d recorded 99 times Damien had hurt her—emotionally, silently, without ever raising a hand.
She picked up her pen and added the last line.
[100th. Divorce.]
Then she set the pen down and wiped her tears away.
This was the last time she shed tears for Damien Penn.
Among the hundred heartbreaks, Hadley’s name showed up the most.
Hadley Bishop—Nora’s younger sister. The adopted daughter of the Bishop Family. And the only person Nora had ever truly loved with her whole heart.
Nora and Damien had met back in college. At the time, Damien’s startup was tanking fast and Nora had just found out the truth: she was the Bishop Family’s biological daughter. Not Hadley.
Her birth parents had said all the right things—how sorry they were, how they wished they’d found her sooner. But in the same breath, they made excuses for Hadley.
“Nora, you grew up tough. You’re used to hardship. But Hadley… she wouldn’t survive a day in the life you lived.”
“You’ll both be our daughters from now on, but Hadley’s been sheltered her whole life. Let's keep the whole identity switch just between us, okay?”
So even though Nora was the real daughter, she was never acknowledged publicly. No grand homecoming, no family photos, no warm welcome. She might as well have been a secret lovechild.
Still, she agreed to it. Swallowed her pride and even begged her parents to invest in Damien’s business.
Her mother sighed, clearly annoyed. “You just got back and already asking for money? Who is this guy to us anyway?”
Then, after a moment’s pause, her tone shifted. “Well… you’re old enough now. If you like him that much, maybe just marry him.”
Damien’s jaw clenched, the veins in his forehead bulging. His voice was unreadable. “Fine,” he said. “Let’s get married.”
It wasn’t until much later, when Nora accidentally saw the messages between him and Hadley, that she realized the truth.
Damien had always been in love with Hadley.
But Hadley had bigger dreams back then. She was chasing someone with more power, more money—some rich heir with a yacht and a penthouse view. She didn’t even glance at Damien.
While Damien had his own agenda. He needed an investor. A way to get him to a new world. And she was his way out. She was nothing for him but a tool.
Back then, Nora didn’t want to understand what desperation looked like on a man like Damien.
But this time? She would be the one making the choice.
She slipped off her wedding ring—the plain silver band she’d worn for five years. It still bore both their surnames engraved inside.
She placed it in a gift box, along with the divorce papers and the notebook—scheduled to be delivered on Damien’s birthday.
She was sure he’d be surprised.
Then, with trembling fingers, Nora dialed a number she’d buried long ago.
It rang once. Twice. Then someone picked up.
A familiar voice.
She closed her eyes and whispered, voice hoarse, “Kane… in ten days, there will be no more Nora Bishop. You once said you’d take me away. Does that offer still stand?”
