Lahat ng Kabanata ng I Saw Him in Her Heart: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

I went to Natalie's office.In the elevator, I ran into Ryan first.He recognized me right away and held out his hand with a smile."Mr. Jensen, I'm Ryan Leach, Ms. Dillon's assistant."Calm. Confident. Way too comfortable.He hit the button for our floor, then stepped back beside me.Halfway up, he took a call."Natalie? She usually skips lunch. Just coffee. She's used to it."After he hung up, he smiled at me."Here to have lunch with Natalie?"The elevator doors opened.I didn't answer.Natalie was in her office, buried in paperwork.I set the lunch container on her desk."You don't eat lunch?""Sometimes I get too busy."Ryan knocked and walked in with a stack of documents.His eyes flicked to the lunch box, and he smiled."That's thoughtful. Natalie said she was craving baked ribs the other day, and you made them."My hand froze halfway to serving her one.Natalie kept her head down and ate.After Ryan left, it was just us."He knows you pretty well.""Who?"

I asked her to come with me to the hospital for my test results.She replied with one word.[Okay.]But at seven the next morning, another message came in.[Last-minute business trip. I'll be back the day after tomorrow. If you're not feeling well, have the driver take you. Love you, Natalie.]I called her.Her phone was off.So I called the company's front desk.The receptionist said Natalie wasn't scheduled to leave on any business trips that day.I took a cab to the hospital alone.In the hallway, one wife straightened her husband's scarf.Another helped her husband walk.And me?I was by myself.The doctor said there was a tumor in my stomach.They needed a biopsy as soon as possible."Is your family here?""I'll sign the paperwork myself."The doctor looked at me."Where's your wife?""On a business trip."She didn't ask anything else.While I waited for the results, I found one of Ryan's posts.A photo collage of an ocean sunset.The caption read:[Someon

While Natalie was away on a business trip, I went back to collect the rest of my things.I'd already found a new place, packed my boxes, and booked the movers.In three hours, six years were gone.My clothes from the walk-in closet.My books and magazines from the coffee table.The half-finished book from my nightstand.My water glass.My favorite pen.Our marriage license from the drawer.My plate and silverware from the kitchen.The jasmine plant I'd been growing on the balcony.Corey came to help.He stood in the middle of the living room and looked around."You're really leaving all this?""Yeah.""What about the massage chair? You spent months picking that thing out."I looked at it."Too big. Won't fit in the new place."Corey didn't say anything else.Finally, I opened the closet.Her side was still neat and full.Mine held nothing but empty hangers, swaying softly.I left the signed divorce papers on the coffee table.On top, I placed the old bracelet she

Natalie finally signed the divorce papers.With one condition.She wired me $500,000 and called it compensation for our twenty-one years together.I didn't take it.Then came another request.She wanted to wait three months before the divorce went through, so she could try to win me back.When Corey told me, his voice sounded off."She said she owes you a real courtship. You chased her from age seven to twenty-eight. Now she wants to chase you.""She can do whatever she wants."The flowers showed up the next day.A huge bouquet of red roses blocked the entrance to my studio.The card read:[Day One.]I told the receptionist to send them back.On the third day, another bouquet arrived. The receptionist said she'd already returned the first one, but Natalie had another delivered."What should I do?""Give them to the flower shop next door."The next day, the receptionist passed along a message from the flower shop owner."He said to thank Ms. Dillon. Business has been b

A year later, my solo design show opened.It was called 'Seven.'The collection came from a child's point of view.The curator called it quiet but powerful.A magazine interviewed me and asked about the recurring image of holding hands."It doesn't mean anything. Holding someone's hand is beautiful. But when you can't hold on anymore, you keep walking."After the interview came out, Corey told me Natalie bought a copy of the magazine and kept it on the nightstand—on my old side of the bed.Half her closet was still empty.All her clothes were crammed onto the other side.She refused to put anything where my things used to be.Her assistant said she often sat in her office, staring at her screen.The screen showed our wedding photo."How do you know all this?" I asked Corey."People at the company told me. Her friends are seriously worried. They said she's been a completely different person this whole year.""That's her business."***In November, I went to Southmere to