Kristina spoke in an even, measured tone. Her words were short and steady, yet the meaning behind them landed like a thunderclap.
The line fell silent for a few seconds. Then Mabel exploded in a furious stream of insults.
"Matthew is a shameless bastard. Doesn't he have even a shred of conscience? You gave up everything and spent three whole years looking after him, and the moment he's finally able to stand again, he runs straight back to some other woman? Honestly, if it hadn't been for you, there's no way he would've recovered that quickly."
The more Mabel talked, the angrier she became, her voice rising until it sharpened into a near screech.
"Alright, that's enough. Quit your ranting and get moving," Kristina urged.
Only then did Mabel finally stop talking, though the silence came with clear reluctance. A second later, warmth returned to her voice. "Okay, okay. I'll drive over and pick you up right now!" she said with a cheerful laugh.
Once the call ended, Kristina remained still for a moment.
The grief she had been pressing down kept creeping back up, and every so often, it threatened to drown her entirely.
After packing her belongings, she cast one last look around the room. Her eyes eventually settled on the photograph resting on the nightstand, the one she had cleaned so many times.
It showed Matthew from behind. He stood facing the light, his tall frame rigid and unbending.
That particular business deal had turned far more perilous than expected. She had been hurt, and when death was within reach, Matthew had pulled her back from the brink.
Later, once she had wrapped up her own affairs and decided to repay that life-saving debt, she discovered that he had been involved in a car crash that left him unable to walk.
Afterward, under the firm insistence of his grandmother, she agreed to marry him and remained by his side, tending to him day and night.
More than a thousand days had passed. What she felt by then was no longer simple gratitude; affection had quietly taken root as well. Otherwise, the pain wouldn't cut this deeply now.
Before long, the powerful rumble of a luxury SUV echoed from downstairs.
"Kristina, I'm here to get you."
Mabel had arrived with remarkable speed.
Kristina forced down the lingering sorrow in her eyes, lifted her suitcase, and hurried downstairs before climbing into the car.
With a clean turn of the wheel, Mabel swung the vehicle around and sped away smoothly, leaving the mansion far behind.
Yet the ache in Kristina's chest refused to settle.
"Oh, wait. Take me to the Cooper estate first," she said.
Back then, while Matthew had been in fragile health, his mother, Kacie Cooper, had taken Kristina's identification documents and handled the process of registering their marriage. The certificate had been locked inside the family safe ever since.
Now Kristina had to retrieve it so she could complete the divorce with Matthew and finally end this marriage that existed only on paper.
It was already deep into the night. Instead of entering through the front door, she climbed through a window and slipped quietly into Kacie's room.
The bedroom was dark. Kacie lay asleep on the bed, her breathing slow and steady.
Kristina silently opened the safe. Inside were property documents and share certificates, and at the very bottom rested the marriage certificate bearing her name and Matthew's.
Everything went smoothly. She took the document and slipped back out to the car without disturbing a single person.
Sitting in the vehicle, she lifted the certificate resting on her lap and glanced down at it. Suddenly, she went still.
The husband's name printed on the certificate wasn't Matthew at all. It was Braeden Cooper, Matthew's uncle.
