Chapter One

“I want to get a divorce,” Leslie said tersely, her voice as cold as possible. Henry dropped the documents he was reading through and gave her a quizzical stare. “I didn’t know you were married…” Leslie smiled bitterly. Of course, not a lot of people knew she was married. Luke Stuart, her husband, had insisted that their marriage be kept under wraps and he’d made it very clear that he didn’t want ‘outsiders’ knowing about their union. Though unsurprising, it still hurt Leslie to know that Luke hadn't told even his best friend, Henry. She wondered how he kept it buried in his stomach for years without every letting it slip. On her part, she’d told a few people in confidence. It didn’t matter because it would help her with the request she’d come to ask of Henry. A divorce. That was the last thing Leslie would’ve thought of doing in her life. If she’d been told that after marrying her dream man, she’d be the one asking for a divorce, she’d have smacked that person forever uttering such rubbish. But here she was, seeking help. She exhaled. “I’m not married.” The words left her lips fluently. It was a practiced lie. “I’m inquiring for a friend who’s going through a toxic and loveless marriage and wants to end it. She’s… afraid that if her husband finds out she’s met with a divorce lawyer, he’d hurt her.” Henry looked at her hard and long before exhaling. “I’ll draft up a document but your friend needs to see a lawyer sooner or later. She should file a complaint against that brute of a man.” Leslie left Henry’s office a slightly happier woman than she’d gone there. Happy was a relative term because she’d never been so miserable in her life. It was two months ago that her husband, Dr. Luke Stuart, came home reeking of alcohol with a goofy smile on his face. Ever since they got married two years ago, she’d never seen him so happy and it had piqued her interest. Later that night, she’d borrowed his laptop to finish up some work for her museum because hers wasn’t working, but the shock of her life had greeted her. Text messages dating back years between Luke and this particular woman called Katie. She hadn't been snooping around but a pop-up text from the lady had gotten her interest and she’d checked. It turned out that her husband had gone out with her for a few drinks and that had gotten him smiling like a fool. This was Luke—one of the strictest doctors who would never drink on the job so it was surprising to see him break habit. Over the months, Luke’s behaviour had become more and more erratic. He came home late, hid in the toilet to take calls from Katie, ordered flowers for her. The flower part had been a little bit of an accident because she’d stumbled upon a delivery message on his phone that said the flowers had been delivered along with chocolate. Leslie, in her two years of being married to Luke—and over a year of being madly in love with him—had never gotten anything from him. Luke always said that gifts were a waste of time and though Leslie tried getting him some, she’d also gotten her heart broken when she found some of the items she bought him given away to random people online. At first, she didn’t make much of it. Luke was just Luke—detached, having difficulty to express his feelings, nonchalant. But the veil over her eyes tore apart the day she found his journal. For two years, she’d avoided snooping around his personal space but there was just something that got a woman suspicious when her man was behaving out of character. Going through the journal wrecked Leslie, leaving her trembling for hours. It turned out that the reason Luke had been cold to her and every other woman wasn’t because he wasn’t interested in women, but because he had been in love with one particular woman all his life and couldn’t get over her. Katie was Luke’s High School crush. He’d been in love with her for years and had confessed before prom night but she’d rejected him and gone after Bobby, the baseball captain. The journal was filled with entries of Luke talking about his feelings, how he planned to fulfil them and how many children he wanted to have. He talked about his hurt too. What shocked Leslie was the fact that Luke wanted to have children with Katie when he’d told her that he never wanted one. All his feelings for the woman had been rekindled when she showed up to work as an intern at his hospital two months ago. Leslie soon realized that she was fast becoming a third wheel. To save herself from the hurt, she decided to break things off and leave before she was thrown out like garbage. She was done enduring. After asking Henry to keep the request between them, she went home only to find Luke dressed in a hoodie, ready to go out. “Where did you go to?” he asked, frowning when she stepped into the house that evening. “I went to see a friend. I’m feeling a little sick.” “What’s wrong with you?” he asked, concerned. She waved him away dismissively and moved to the couch. “I’ll be fine. You seem to be heading out so I can’t ask you to stay back and take care of me.” Inwardly, Leslie was hoping that he’d catch on to what she was saying and stay with her. she knew well enough that he had a date with Katie and she didn’t even have the strength to think anymore. “Right,” he said, clearing his throat. “I’ll get you some hot soup on my way back. Stay cozy.” He shuffled out of the house, leaving Leslie with a sunken heart. Of course, he’d go after his classy, smart intern who was soon to become a doctor than stay behind with her, an art enthusiast working with a museum. “I’ve loved the wrong man all these years…” she whispered to herself as he pulled the car out of the shed. Well, soon, she’d get the divorce documents and walk away so Luke could be with the love of his life. He’d hurt her enough already.