The CEO’s Hidden Bride: Leaving After 2555 Days - Chapter 17: Chapter 17

The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the restaurant patio as Lucas, Evelyn, and Vivian lingered over lunch. Vivian, ever the diplomat, kept the conversation flowing between the estranged couple, though the air between them crackled with unspoken tension.
Lucas studied Evelyn as she meticulously cut into her salmon, her movements precise. He bit back the questions burning on his tongue, his fingers tightening around his water glass.
Midway through the meal, Vivian’s phone buzzed with an urgent work call. With an apologetic smile, she excused herself, leaving Lucas and Evelyn alone.
What had begun as a polite reunion between a professor and former students now felt like a battlefield. The silence between them was deafening.
When Evelyn set her fork down, Lucas reached for a napkin, offering it to her. She ignored his gesture, standing to retrieve a fresh one from the adjacent table.
Her voice was steady, but her words cut like steel. "If you have something to say, say it now."
Lucas’s hand stilled midair. It had only been a day since he last saw her, yet the woman before him was unrecognizable—no longer the patient, yielding wife he remembered.
Had she changed? Or had he simply never truly seen her?
Reflecting on their three years of marriage, he realized with a pang that beyond their shared intimacy, he’d scarcely paid attention to her thoughts, her desires. Evelyn had been like a tranquil pond—always present, always waiting. He’d grown so accustomed to her stillness that he never questioned why she stayed.
But now, she was slipping away, racing toward a future he couldn’t reach.
The realization struck him like a blow. Evelyn had never been as passive as he’d assumed. She wasn’t someone who would remain stagnant, bending to his will indefinitely.
Everything he’d believed was an illusion.
Still, Lucas refused to accept that she’d walk away without reason. So he began with the only thing he could—an apology.
"I’m sorry, Evelyn." His voice was rough with sincerity. "For three years, I failed you. I never gave you a home. I took you for granted."
Evelyn knew he meant it. But it didn’t matter anymore. His remorse couldn’t undo the past. She saw the truth now—they had never been right for each other. Their marriage had been doomed from the start.
How could a man who never loved her promise forever? Especially when Lucas had never truly let go of Isabella.
She wasn’t divorcing him out of spite or to punish him. She just wanted to correct a mistake—one made by a younger, more foolish version of herself.
So she replied coolly, "I don’t need your apology. Just sign the papers and send the decree when it’s finalized. A courier will do."
Lucas stiffened. On the flight here, he’d convinced himself there was still a chance. He’d spent the night rehearsing apologies, plotting ways to win her back.
But now, faced with her resolve, desperation clawed at him. His voice tightened. "Is there really no other way? Why?"
Evelyn met his gaze, her words final.
"I married you because I loved you. I’m leaving because I don’t anymore. That’s all."