Chapter Thirteen
1190 Words
Chapter Thirteen
(Nia’s POV)
I woke up feeling tired.
For a few seconds, I didn’t know where I was.
Then I heard the traffic outside and remembered.
The apartment.
Gwen had found it for me two days ago, after I left the Blackwood Estate with one suitcase and an ultrasound picture tucked between my clothes.
I lay still beneath the blanket, one hand resting over my stomach.
The room was small. The furniture wasn’t mine. The walls were plain. Nothing smelled like the vanilla candle I’d once used to convince myself Adrian’s house could become a home.
But it was quiet.
I should’ve felt devastated.
Instead, I felt empty.
The lawyer I’d hired had sent the divorce papers to Adrian yesterday. Gwen had handled most of it because the moment I saw the word divorce, my vision blurred.
Not because I regretted it.
Because a foolish part of me had still hoped Adrian would stop me before it became real.
He hadn’t.
A knock sounded before Gwen let herself in with the spare key.
“I brought coffee,” she said, holding up two cups. “Decaf for you.”
I sat up slowly. “Thank you.”
She walked in and sat beside me, studying my face.
“You look like you didn’t sleep.”
“Not much.”
She handed me the cup.
I wrapped both hands around it, letting the warmth sink into my fingers.
“Did he sign?” I asked.
Gwen’s silence answered before she did.
“No,” she said gently. “Not yet.”
A hollow laugh slipped from me. “Why not?”
“Nia.”
“I asked for nothing.” My voice stayed quiet, but my chest tightened. “Not a single cent. No property. No support. I didn’t ask him to acknowledge the twins. I just want him to let me go.”
Gwen’s expression softened. “Men like Adrian Blackwood don’t like losing control.”
“He already lost me.”
The words hurt more than I expected.
Gwen glanced at her phone. “There’s something else you need to see.”
My stomach turned. “What?”
She hesitated, then handed me the phone.
The screen showed a photo from a high society charity event. Crystal lights. Expensive suits. Women in gowns smiling like nothing ugly ever touched their world.
Adrian stood near the center.
Sienna was beside him.
His hand rested at the small of her back, a touch he’d rarely given me in public. She smiled up at him like she belonged there.
The caption beneath the post read, ‘Second time’s the charm’.
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
I told myself it didn’t matter.
Adrian could take anyone he wanted anywhere he wanted. Our marriage was already over in every way that mattered.
He’d made his choice first.
Still, the pain came sharp and humiliating.
Our divorce wasn’t final, and he was already showing the world Sienna on his arm.
Everything between us had meant nothing to him.
Deep down, I’d known that.
Seeing it made it real.
“He hated pictures,” I whispered.
Gwen frowned.
“That’s what he told me.” I gave a small, humorless smile. “Every charity event, every dinner, every ceremony, he’d step away before anyone could take a picture of us together.”
My gaze stayed on the screen.
“But he doesn’t hate pictures with her.”
Gwen took the phone back carefully. “I’m sorry.”
I stood. “Don’t be.”
“Nia.”
“I don’t care what he does.”
The lie sat between us.
Gwen didn’t challenge it.
By the time I reached Caldwell Group, I’d built a calm face out of nothing.
I walked into my office, opened my laptop, answered emails, and pretended my heart hadn’t cracked over a photograph on someone else’s phone.
Callum knocked once before entering.
He took one look at me and stopped.
“You didn’t sleep.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not.”
I looked up. “Callum.”
He didn’t argue. He only set a cup of ginger tea on my desk.
“Drink that.”
“I’m busy.”
“You also have slow down.”
My throat tightened.
He noticed, but he didn’t mention the tears I refused to shed. He placed a small container beside the tea.
“Toast. Crackers. Apple slices. Don’t hate me for caring about you.”
Despite myself, a weak smile touched my mouth.
“I could still hate you.”
“You could,” he said. “But you’d have to do it after breakfast.”
I looked down because kindness was harder to survive than cruelty today.
Callum sat across from me. “I adjusted your schedule.”
My head snapped up. “You did what?”
“You had six meetings. Now you have three.”
“You can’t just cancel half my day.”
“I postponed the ones that didn’t need you.” His voice stayed calm. “You’re not proving anything by running yourself into the ground.”
“I’m proving I can handle my life.”
“I know you can.” His eyes softened. “That doesn’t mean you have to handle every hour alone.”
The words settled somewhere fragile.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then his gaze flickered toward my phone.
“I saw the post.”
My chest closed.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay.”
That was all.
No questions. No pity. No anger on my behalf when I didn’t have enough strength to carry his too.
The day passed in pieces.
Emails.
Contracts.
Meetings where people spoke and I answered as if I understood every word. I moved through it all on autopilot, one hand occasionally drifting to my stomach beneath the desk.
By evening, I could barely keep my eyes open.
Callum appeared in my doorway with my coat over his arm.
“I’m taking you home.”
“I can call a car.” I argued weakly.
“You can. But I’m already here.”
I nodded and let him carry my bag.
Outside, the air was cool against my face as I looked around the quiet downtown streets.
That was when I saw the car across the street.
It sat by the curb, windows dark enough to hide most of the interior.
But not enough.
Daniel was behind the wheel.
His phone was raised in his hand.
For a second, I felt the need to step away from Callum.
Instead, I stayed still as he opened the car door for me.
Callum’s eyes moved across the street. He saw Daniel too.
“Nia,” he said quietly.
“I know.”
“You don’t have to do this. You can-”
“I know.” My hand tightened around the one he had outstretched.
But I got into the car anyway.
If Adrian wanted the world to see Sienna beside him, then maybe it was time he learned what it felt like to watch someone else stand beside me.
- Writer
