The next morning, I walked into my employer's office and submitted a transfer request to the head office.

He looked up from the paperwork and frowned. "Why the sudden change of heart? You turned this down the last time I offered it to you."

I paused.

That offer had come three months after Jaxon and I held our engagement party. Lisa had not yet joined his company. Back then, Jaxon poured everything he had into us outside of work. We were inseparable.

When the head office opportunity came up, I turned it down without hesitation. I did not even tell Jaxon. I did not want him to feel that he was holding me back.

Then Lisa arrived, and his eyes stopped finding me in a room.

I met my employer's gaze and let two seconds pass before I answered, "I just want to push myself while I'm still young. My career is what matters most right now."

He leaned back in his chair. "The head office rotation is a minimum of five years. Have you talked this over with your fiancé? You won't be able to come back during that time, and the contract prohibits pregnancy while you're on assignment."

A bitter taste crossed my mouth before I could stop it.

Pregnancy… Jaxon could not even find the time to sign our marriage papers. A child was not a conversation we were anywhere close to having.

As for talking it over with him, there was nothing to discuss. Jaxon would probably be relieved.

"Don't worry," I said, holding his gaze. "I've already taken care of everything on my end."

He studied me for a moment, then picked up his pen and signed the form. "All right. I won't say any more. I'll give you a week to get ready. Report to the head office next Wednesday."

"Thank you."

…

I got home just after noon. The apartment was quiet and empty, and the sight of it cut straight through me.

When we got engaged, Jaxon and I used to race back from our offices every day to eat lunch together. That was our routine.

After Lisa joined his company, the excuses began. One after another, he found reasons not to come home.

I told myself he was overworked. I cooked proper meals and brought them to his office.

What I found when I arrived was Jaxon and Lisa sitting side by side, laughing over a shared takeout box.

I never brought him lunch again after that. He never came home for it either. Most evenings, he was gone as well.

For a while, I still called him. Every time, Lisa's voice drifted through the line before he offered any explanation.

"Jax, stay with me a little longer. I don't want to be at the office alone."

"Jax, it's so dark out. Can you walk me home?"

He never once said no to her. To me, he would say, "Go ahead and sleep. I'll be back when I'm done."

Eventually, I stopped calling. There was no point.

I stood in the living room and looked at the framed photo of us on the wall. The smile it drew from me held no warmth.

Maybe if this home had a different woman in it, Jaxon would actually come back to it.

My phone buzzed.

Jaxon: [Anna, I need to go to Chirona City with Lisa on a business trip this week. Stay safe at home.]

I typed back immediately: [Okay.]

I had lost count of how many trips there had been.

The first time, he said she was still learning the ropes and needed him there.

The second time, he said she was afraid to sleep alone in a strange city.

The third time, he said it was too dangerous for a woman to travel by herself.

We had a real fight over it once. He told me that I was selfish and that I lacked empathy. After that, he stopped explaining. He sent texts instead, like notifications.

It was fine by me. It would make these last few days in Avella City a lot quieter.

The day before my flight to the head office, Jaxon came home carrying a raspberry cake.

"I picked this up specially for you in Chirona City," he said.

I shook my head. "I can't eat that."

A flicker of impatience crossed his face. "What now? Are you seriously upset again? I just went on one business trip with Lisa. Is that really such a big deal? You can't even—"

"I'm allergic to raspberries," I said.

He stopped.

There was a time when Jaxon tracked my cycle to the day. Now he could not remember a food allergy he had known about for years.

My eyes burned. My chest felt heavy, as if something pressed down on it.

He stared at me for a moment.

"What? Really?" A trace of guilt crossed his expression. "I'm sorry, Annabelle. I've just been so busy lately. It slipped my mind."

"It's fine," I said, keeping my voice even.

It was not the first time. I had long since stopped expecting anything different.

He looked at me, then turned and dropped the cake straight into the trash. "If you can't eat it, I won't either."

Then his expression shifted.

"Actually, Anna." He reached out and caught my arm. "I've got time today. What if we go to City Hall right now and get it done?"

I stood very still.

In the five years of our engagement, that was the first time Jaxon had ever brought it up.

Unfortunately for him, I had already made my decision. I had already packed. I had already signed the papers and bought the ticket.

Nonetheless, something in me pulled in opposite directions. Why now? Why today, of all days, did he have to say that?

Then his phone rang.

I glanced at the screen. It was Lisa.

He hung up and looked at me with the same apologetic expression I had come to know by heart.

"Lisa's water pipe just burst. I need to go over there right now. She's alone, and it's not safe for her to deal with a repairman by herself," he said.

He grabbed his jacket and walked out before I could say a word. I watched him until he disappeared, and a thin, humorless smile settled on my face.

"So he does understand that it's not safe for a woman alone at home to deal with a repairman. Interesting," I muttered.

After all, the last time our pipes broke and I called him, he told me I was being dramatic.

And just a minute ago, some part of me had wavered. I really was beyond help.

I went back to packing. When everything was sorted, zipped, and ready, my eyes settled on the framed photo on the living room wall.

I stood there for a few seconds, then took it down.

In the photo, Jaxon looked at me as if I were the only thing in the room, his gaze warm and indulgent.

He used to look at me that way. Then he stopped, and that look began to belong to someone else.

We never took another photo together after that. But I had seen plenty of photos of him and Lisa on her social media—at dinner, at work, even at a concert. They were all things he had once promised to do with me. He had followed through on every single one. Just not with me.

I picked up a pair of scissors and cut the photo in half without hesitation. I kept my half and left his on the table.

Since I was leaving, I would not leave any trace of myself behind.

When I finished, I set the asset division agreement on the coffee table where he could not miss it. We had never made it legal on paper, but our finances had been intertwined for years. This was cleaner and more honest.

I picked up my luggage and walked out without looking back.

…

Before I boarded, I sent Jaxon one last message.

[Farewell.]

Then I took out my SIM card, slipped it into my pocket, and boarded the plane.