I Walked Away When My Love Became My Cage

When I ended my marriage with Raiden Curtis, we were both composed. He calmly asked what I wanted.

Without second thought, I replied, “The car, the house, the savings.”

“And half of the company shares.”

For a moment, Raiden seemed taken aback, clearly surprised. “The kids? You don’t want either of them?”

“You’ve always loved them so much. Can you really leave Castor and Amara behind?”

My eyes fell on the marks on my wrist, memories of the many times I had hurt myself.

I gently shook my head. No.

From this point on, besides money, anything tied to Raiden, I didn’t want it anymore.

——

Seeing how distant I’d become, Raiden looked like he wanted to say something.

But after a brief pause, he stayed silent and signed his name on the divorce papers.

When we finally parted, Raiden spoke politely, “I can’t give you the shares, but you’ll always be the mother of our two children.”

“If you ever face any trouble, you can come to me.”

I nodded.

But when I turned away, I tossed the business card he had handed me straight into the trash.

In this life, even if I died, I never wanted to see Raiden again.

Once I got home, I told the housekeeper to pack up everything that belonged to Raiden and throw it all out.

The housekeeper didn’t think too much about it and smiled teasingly. “Ma’am, did you and your husband argue again?”

“Let me tell you something, try to be patient.”

“Sir really does care about you; no need to give up being Mrs. Curtis over a little fight.”

All the pain I had suffered through the years, every bit of humiliation I had endured, Isabella had witnessed all of it.

She knew how deeply I had loved Raiden.

She had also seen me break down countless times because of his betrayals.

She and Raiden were no different; both assumed I would never actually walk away.

But this time, I didn’t cry or plead like before.

Instead, I took the wedding photo off the wall and said softly and calmly, “My mother is gone.”

The smile on Isabella’s face froze right away.

She stood there in a panic, stumbling over her words as she tried to apologize.

I quietly smiled and didn’t reply.

Then I held the photo frame tightly and smashed it apart.

Startled, Isabella gasped and quickly bent down to help clean the mess.

She carefully tended to the small cut on my hand, muttering softly, “Good… that’s a relief.”

“You’re a top graduate from Atmore after all. Even without him, your life will still be fine.”

“Be strong, stop letting yourself suffer for him.”

I answered quietly and lowered my head.

I hadn’t meant to cry. But when I looked down, tears still slipped out on their own.

There was regret, sorrow, and a bit of relief that I had finally escaped.

After ten years of being bound together, this so-called love story between a prince and a Cinderella had finally come to its end.

It wasn’t a happy ending, but it was one that was meant to happen.

That year, I got into Southwestern University with the highest score in the whole county.

It was also that year when I met Raiden, who had returned to his alma mater as an investor.

Like many stories, ours started off beautifully, and we were no different.

Raiden fell for me the first time he saw me. After his speech, he started chasing me like crazy.

He would wait outside my classroom with milk tea and a bunch of flowers.

He even sent money to my roommates just to ask where I was.

He remembered every little thing about me.

And he confessed his love in the middle of a garden full of blooming flowers.