The CEO’s Hidden Bride: Leaving After 2555 Days - Chapter 1: Chapter 1

In the quiet café, Evelyn Winslow set down her fork and met her best friend Natalie Vaughn’s wide-eyed stare across the table.
"Natalie, are you seriously leaving Lucas behind and moving overseas?"
"I’m already divorced from him," Evelyn said, her voice steady.
"Divorced?" Natalie gasped, clearly caught off guard.
A moment later, shock melted into indignation on Evelyn’s behalf. "And Lucas just let it happen? Anyone else would’ve fought for you by now. Does he really feel nothing?"
"You’ve been nothing but devoted to him these past three years."
Evelyn smiled faintly, a flicker of emotion crossing her gaze. The truth was, she didn’t know if Lucas had even processed the divorce.
Two weeks ago, she’d handed him the papers. He’d signed them mid-phone call—barely glancing at her—before walking out. He hadn’t mentioned it since.
Now, with only days left, she’d finally receive the decree and be free.
Evelyn was about to speak when a deep voice cut in from behind them. "Finished talking?"
Both women turned to see Lucas Sinclair approaching, his black overcoat draped over his broad frame.
Natalie, still fired up, opened her mouth to confront him. "Lucas, Evelyn just said she’s—"
"What brings you here?" Evelyn smoothly interrupted, giving Natalie’s hand a subtle squeeze to silence her.
"Saw the forecast. Rain’s coming," Lucas said, his tone indifferent. "Thought I’d pick you up."
With a polite smile, Evelyn bid Natalie goodbye, then followed Lucas out.
Raindrops pattered against the car windows, filling the tense silence inside.
Seated beside the wife he’d married on a whim years ago, Lucas hesitated, lips parting as if to speak—then stopped, likely remembering he hadn’t been home in weeks.
After a long pause, he finally asked, "Evelyn, that document you had me sign… what was it?"
It had taken him this long to ask. Then again, he’d been preoccupied with Isabella Prescott. Why would he care about something so trivial?
Evelyn’s lips curved into a bitter smile. Before she could answer, his phone rang.
"Lucas, I drank too much. My head is killing me. Can you come get me?"
The honeyed voice on the other end made Lucas’s grip tighten on the wheel, his knuckles whitening.
A shadow crossed his face. "Isabella, I’ve told you—I’m married."
"So?" Isabella’s laugh was light, careless. "I was supposed to be your bride that day anyway."
Her tone ignited something in him.
In three years of marriage, Evelyn had never seen him lose composure like this. He slammed the brakes, tires screeching.
"Did you call just to provoke me?" Lucas demanded.
Isabella fell silent. Then, her voice trembled with faux tears. "I’m sorry. I won’t bother you again."
The call ended abruptly, leaving Lucas even more agitated. He exhaled sharply and typed a quick reply.
Send me the address.
When the location popped up, he glanced at Evelyn, guilt flickering in his eyes.
She already knew. "Go ahead. I’ll take a cab."
Pushing the door open, she raised her umbrella. Lucas hesitated.
"I’ll come back as soon as I can," he muttered.
Evelyn nodded, watching his car vanish into the rain, her chest tight with emotions she couldn’t name.
This was her seventh year loving Lucas.
She still remembered the first time she saw him—on the basketball court, his jersey damp with sweat, effortlessly sinking shot after shot, carrying his team to victory. The crowd had erupted around her, girls whispering his name, sharing how Lucas Sinclair, the star of Acloria College’s Computer Science Department, was heir to the Sinclair fortune in Jeston.
But the campus heartthrob had eyes only for one person: his childhood sweetheart, Isabella.
He’d once rented an entire amusement park for her birthday.
He’d begged on his knees in front of the whole school when she blocked him over a jealous fit.
He’d waited in the snow for hours, hands frostbitten, because she’d canceled their date for a manicure.
For four years, Evelyn had heard every story of their epic romance, believing herself a mere spectator to their fairy tale.
Then, two years ago, Lucas had rushed to marry Isabella after graduation. Evelyn hadn’t been invited, but she went anyway, just another face in the crowd at the "wedding of the century."
Except Isabella never showed.
Panic set in as Lucas kept calling, only to receive a text: I’m not ready for marriage. I’m leaving the country.
That was the day his patience shattered.
He grabbed the microphone and declared, "Today, I, Lucas Sinclair, will marry someone else. Any single woman here interested?"
Evelyn, usually invisible, felt her heart hammering. Before she could think, she stood.
That day, she’d worn a borrowed wedding dress and married a man who barely knew her name.
For three years, they lived as polite strangers—until Isabella returned a month ago.
Watching Lucas push her away one moment and get pulled back the next, Evelyn knew her dream was over.
It was time to let go of "Mrs. Sinclair."
Standing in the rain, she pulled out her phone and texted Lucas.
The document you asked about is in the glove compartment. Open it if you’re curious.