Chapter 1

“When she comes, we are getting a divorce, right away!”

Sarah froze.

The words sliced through the quiet hallway like a blade… sharp, merciless, unforgiving. For a second, she thought her mind was playing tricks on her. Maybe exhaustion had finally won. Maybe grief had begun to twist reality.

But no.

That voice… deep, familiar, once whispered against her skin in gentler days… belonged to her husband.

Frederick.

The basket of oranges trembled in her hands as she stood at the edge of the aisle, half-hidden behind a tall marble pillar that separated the hallway from the sitting room. Her heart pounded so loudly she was sure they could hear it.

Divorce?

She swallowed hard and leaned forward, her breath shallow.

“I was wrong before, Frederick,” another voice said… cool, firm, dripping with finality. “When she comes back, she must leave this house.”

That voice..

His mother.

Hannah.

Sarah’s knees nearly buckled.

So it was real. She hadn’t imagined it. Every word was deliberate. Planned. Discussed without her…like she was already a ghost.

“The marriage was a mistake from the beginning,” Hannah continued coldly. “For five years… five good years… and she has nothing to show for it. No child. Nothing.”

Sarah bit her lower lip until she tasted blood.

Five years.

Five years of devotion. Five years of waiting. Five years of shrinking herself to fit into a life that never truly wanted her.

Her mind drifted back… to where it all began.

She and Frederick had grown up together… childhood friends. Their mothers were inseparable, bound by laughter, secrets, and long afternoons spent planning futures that weren’t theirs to dictate. They had always wanted their children together, dreaming of becoming in-laws.

Frederick had always been close to her… protective, familiar, gentle. And somewhere between scraped knees and shared dreams, Sarah fell in love.

Deeply. Desperately.

She had always known that Frederick never wanted to marry her.

To him, she was a comfort. Familiarity. A friend.

Not love.

Then another voice joined the conversation.

Soft. Female.

Sarah stiffened.

She leaned forward….and saw her.

Margaret.

Frederick’s office secretary.

The woman he had truly loved. The woman he had wanted to marry. Sarah remembered the night he had confessed it, his eyes shining with a hope she had never inspired.

But Hannah had crushed it.

“No,” she had said then. “She’s not the one.”

Not because Margaret was unworthy…but because Hannah had already promised her son to Sarah, to Beatrice’s daughter.

“I always knew this day would come,” Margaret said lightly now. “Some people just refuse to accept when they’re not wanted.”

The basket slipped from Sarah’s hands.

The oranges scattered across the marble floor with a loud crash, rolling in every direction.

Silence slammed into the room.

Then they saw her.

“So,” Hannah said coolly, turning. “You were standing there all along?”

Sarah stepped forward slowly. Her face was pale, her eyes glassy…but proud.

For a moment, she couldn’t speak. The weight of everything she had just heard pressed painfully against her chest.

Then she forced the words out.

“I heard everything.”

Frederick turned to her, irritation flickering across his face…not guilt. Never guilt.

“That makes it easier,” he said flatly. “Then there’s no need to repeat it.”

Her breath hitched.

“No need to repeat?” she echoed. “After everything I’ve done for you?”

She laughed…a broken, hollow sound.

“I gave up my career for you, Frederick. I abandoned my dreams. I endured your silence. Your coldness. Five years…five years…you refused to touch me. And I still stayed.”

“And so?” Hannah snapped, rising to her feet.

She looked Sarah up and down with undisguised disdain.

“My son is done,” she declared. “It’s not by force to be loved. For five years, you have produced nothing. No child. Nothing.”

Sarah stiffened.

Hannah’s lips curled cruelly.

“A barren woman has no place in my son’s house.”

The word hit Sarah like a slap.

Barren.

Her ears rang. Her vision blurred.

She remembered the countless nights she cried herself to sleep, blaming her own body…while the truth was that her husband had refused to touch her for over three years. She remembered running to Hannah, kneeling before her, begging her to speak to her son.

Give him time, Hannah had said then

My son will love you. He will touch you. One day, he’ll be the one chasing after you.

And now…

Now she called her barren.

Sarah’s gaze shifted slowly… to Margaret.

The woman didn’t bother hiding her satisfaction. Her lips curved into a victorious smile, her eyes gleaming with mockery.

That look hurt more than all the words combined.

Sarah turned…and stopped short.

Her suitcases.

Neatly packed. Lined against the wall.

Prepared.

Her heart finally gave way.

Without another word, she walked into the bedroom. Her hands shook as she added the last of her belongings. Tears streamed freely now, soaking her blouse as she zipped the final bag.

She dragged the suitcase out, her shoulders straight despite the weight crushing her soul.

At the door, she paused.

“So this is it,” she said quietly, turning to Frederick. “After everything I did to earn your love.”

She wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“I hope one day you'll understand what you threw away.”

Frederick didn’t respond.

“Just go!” Hannah shouted.

Margaret laughed softly.

The door slammed shut behind her.

And just like that…

Sarah walked out of the house she once called home. Her sobs swallowed by the night, leaving behind the ashes of a love that never truly lived.