Morning came without bringing any warmth.
Alya had been awake since five.
For the first time in their two years of marriage, she did not prepare breakfast for Adrian.
There was no coffee.
No toast.
No sound of her footsteps moving back and forth in the kitchen as they did every morning.
Alya simply sat at the dining table, staring at a cup of tea that was slowly growing cold.
A small suitcase sat in front of her.
All her important belongings had been packed.
Clothes.
Documents.
A few books.
And an old photograph that belonged to her mother.
That was all.
It turned out that after two years as a CEO's wife, she owned far fewer things than she had thought.
Footsteps sounded from upstairs.
Alya lifted her face.
Adrian came downstairs in a perfectly tailored black suit, as usual.
He walked past the dining room without realizing that anything was different.
Then he stopped.
His eyes fell on the table.
There was no breakfast.
Adrian frowned.
"Where's my coffee?"
Alya looked at him.
"I didn't make it."
Adrian turned toward her.
The answer seemed to surprise him.
"Are you sick?"
"No."
"Then why not?"
Alya gave him a faint smile.
"Because I'm learning not to keep taking care of someone who has never even acknowledged my existence."
Adrian's face hardened.
"Alya."
"I didn't mean to start a fight."
Alya stood.
She picked up the suitcase beside her chair.
Adrian's gaze immediately fixed on it.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"I don't know yet."
Adrian stared at her as though the woman in front of him had just said something absurd.
"What exactly are we talking about?"
"Divorce."
Silence.
For several seconds, the room was completely quiet.
Then Adrian let out a short laugh.
It wasn't a happy laugh.
It sounded more like someone who had just heard a bad joke.
"Are you serious?"
Alya nodded.
"Very serious."
"Because I went to Singapore?"
"No."
"Because I didn't come home last night?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Alya drew a deep breath.
"Because I'm tired."
Those three words erased Adrian's smile.
"I'm tired of waiting."
Alya's voice trembled, but she tried to remain calm.
"I'm tired of eating alone. I'm tired of sleeping alone. I'm tired of celebrating our wedding anniversary alone. I'm tired of constantly looking for excuses to justify the way you treat me."
Adrian said nothing.
"I always told myself that you were busy."
Alya let out a quiet laugh.
"I told myself that maybe one day you would change."
She looked into Adrian's eyes.
"But it turns out I'm the one who has to change."
Adrian stepped closer.
"You're leaving just because I don't love you?"
The question left Alya silent.
Her tears nearly fell.
But this time, she didn't let them.
"That's exactly why."
Adrian stared at her for a long moment.
"You knew from the beginning that I didn't love you."
"Yes."
"And you still married me."
"Yes."
"So don't act as if I ever promised you anything."
Alya nodded slowly.
"You're right."
She pulled a white envelope from her bag.
Then she placed it on the table.
"I won't ask you to love me anymore, either."
Adrian stared at the envelope.
"What's this?"
"The papers I've already signed."
Adrian's brows furrowed.
"What papers?"
"The divorce filing."
For the first time, Adrian's expression changed.
"Alya."
"I've already signed it."
Adrian picked up the envelope.
But before he could open it, Alya walked past him.
Her hand was already on the doorknob.
"I'm leaving now."
Adrian turned around.
"You think I'm going to let you walk out just like that?"
Alya stopped.
Then she turned to him.
Their eyes met.
In the past, Adrian's gaze had always been enough to frighten her.
Today, it wasn't.
"For two years, Adrian, I waited for you to choose me."
Alya smiled sadly.
"And now I'm choosing myself."
The door opened.
Alya stepped outside.
Adrian stood frozen.
He didn't chase after her.
He didn't call her name.
He didn't stop her, either.
Because in his mind, Alya was only angry.
Just like before.
He was certain she would come back.
Hadn't Alya always been that way?
Always waiting.
Always forgiving.
Always coming back.
Adrian didn't even realize that morning was the last time he would ever see Alya as the woman who was always waiting for him.
Outside the house, Alya stopped walking.
Her tears finally fell.
She glanced back once.
The grand house stood majestically before her.
The house she had called home for two years.
Even though it had never truly felt like home.
Alya wiped away her tears.
"Goodbye, Adrian."
Then she walked away.
Without looking back again.
Meanwhile, inside the house, Adrian was still standing by the door.
He stared at the divorce papers in his hand.
Then he sighed.
"She'll come back."
Adrian put the papers in a drawer without reading them.
He didn't know...
That this time, Alya truly would not come back.
And seven days later, when Adrian returned from Singapore, the first person he would look for would not be his secretary.
Not his family.
It would be Alya.
But she was already gone.
Her phone number was no longer in service.
The small apartment where Alya had once lived was empty.
And for the first time in his life...
Adrian Mahendra was afraid of losing something he had always assumed would be his.