I got a deja vu while I was driving recklessly through the dark highway at midnight. The exact same feelings I had years ago were being blown at my face. It hurt to realise that I was wrong about thinking that maybe Crystal and I could work this marriage out and be the perfect husband and wife for each other.

That picture of Evan's lips on Crystal's pierced through my heart. As I recalled that, numerous emotions rushed into me, making me accelerate the car and tighten my fist on the steering wheel.

I wasn't mad at Crystal or Evan for liking each other.

I was disappointed that I allowed myself to fall for someone I shouldn't have once again. I should have known that when the woman who claimed to love me and promised to be by my side forever didn't think twice before ghosting on me, how would someone bound to me by a contract would stay.

But if Crystal had feelings for Evan, why did she hide it from me? Why did she make me feel like we could be something together and why did she let me kiss her?

Nothing made sense at that moment and honestly, I was mentally exhausted.

I stopped the car when I reached the hilltop, the place I had brought Crystal to after our date. Opening the glove compartment, I took my small bottle of whiskey and moved out of the car.

Minutes turned to hours and I sat there doing nothing with my phone buzzing in my pocket continuously. I ignored it for some time. It was Sophie who kept calling me. When declining the call several times didn't give her a hint, I turned my phone off.

The whiskey had finished and it had started to freeze but I didn't move. I don't know how long it was when I heard rustling beside me followed by Sophie's voice.

"I knew I'd find you here." She said and crouched down her knees as I sat on the ground. "When someone calls you, you need to answer them, that's what a phone is for."

"And when someone declines your call, it means they are either busy or they don't want to talk. I thought you were smart enough to know that." I commented grumpily.

She sighed deeply and said nothing, but that silence wasn't long.

"I told you, you'll end up getting hurt." I shut my eyes in annoyance. Don't get started, Sophie. "I knew she was just using you and trusting her would give you nothing. Look what she's done to you. Look at what you've done to yourself."

"Can we just not do this right now?" I was already very frustrated. I tried taking a sip of my whiskey but realised that it had finished so I threw it beside me in irritation.

"If you expect me to just sit and watch you be all depressed, you know that's not happening." She grabbed my face and turned it towards her. "It's still not late, Adrien. You can free yourself from her. Let her go and both of you can stay happy."

Her words hit my head hard. Maybe she was right. If I had been holding Crystal back from being with Evan, from being happy, I needed to let her go.

"The media is paying more attention to Alan Marshall's controversy and while they are at it, you both can separate your ways. It won't make a big impact."

While Evan and Crystal's kiss was imprinted in my mind, all of Crystal's moments with me flashed before my eyes. When we cared for each other, when we enjoyed being around each other, when we kissed each other. It hurt to realise that there was no 'we'. It was just me who had felt that.

Tired of all the thinking, I laid my head on Sophie's shoulder. The posh scent from her wasn't very comforting but I didn't move away. Instead I just reminded myself of Crystal's peachy smell and her embrace.

"I don't know how to deal with this, Soph." I mumbled.

Her hands caressed my shoulder and she said, "Listen to me, Adrien. It's for the best."

Let her go. It's for the best.

When I opened my eyes next, it was morning already and I was laying on a soft surface unlike the hard muddy ground I had expected. I looked around and saw a room I hadn't seen in a long time.

Sophie's guest room.

I sat up on the bed and rubbed my eyes, dealing with a bad pain in my head before someone knocked on the door and Sophie came in with a tray in hand.

"Morning Romeo!" She handed me a pill and water and I gulped it down.

"Thanks." I said. "How did you get me here?"

"Oh I managed to get you in my car before you passed out and the watchman helped me bring you here." I nodded.

"I should go." I said and got up from the bed. My shoes and socks were kept next to the bed and wore them up.

"Breakfast will be ready in five. Stay till then." Sophie offered but I declined.

"I'm not really hungry. Thanks for yesterday, though." I said and walked out of the room. Before I could reach the main door, Sophie stopped me.

When I turned around, she sprang herself into my arms and mumbled against my chest. "Think about what I said last night."

I awkwardly rubbed her back and pulled away. "See you in the office." She said before I left her house with one thing in mind. It's for the best.

.

.

With a knock on my door, Ryan came into my cabin with a file in hand. "Sir, here are the papers you asked for. Your lawyer has asked you to contact him personally when you can." He said and put the file on my desk.

With a heavy heart, I picked it up and checked the papers inside. I hated reading them but I had to.

DIVORCE AGREEMENT

It's for the best. I told myself and got up from my desk.

"Have you cancelled all my appointments for today?" I asked Ryan and he said that he did. I wrapped up my things and was about to leave when Sophie came in.

"You're leaving early?" I nodded at her question.

"I'm taking your advice." I told her. She took the papers from my hand and read them before giving a sad-ish smile to me. "It's going to be okay."

Taking the papers back from her, I left the office and drove straight home.

Going to my own house had never been so nerve-wracking. My heart beat abnormally and beads of sweat kept forming on my forehead as I keyed the door and walked inside.

I hoped Crystal wasn't here but I wanted to see her, both at the same time.

As the main door shut behind me, her tired figure came out of our room. She was still in her clothes from the party but her make up and hair were a mess. Stains of tears on her face and her swollen, red eyes did nothing bad to her beauty but it clenched my heart.

"Adrien." Her cracked voice came out as a whisper. "Where were you all night? Your phone was switched off, I was so worried." She walked towards me and I actually had to wonder if all this could be a facade. It was so difficult to believe that her eyes were lying to me.

"I need to tell yo-"

"Crystal." I stopped her from talking. "I'm here for something important."

She held her breath and looked at me with a frown as I handed the file to her. When she opened it and read the papers, her face fell with so much pain in her eyes.

Her eyes filled with fresh tears and I barely held myself back from wiping them away like I always did.

"But, why?" She looked up at me but I looked away. I couldn't dare to look at them "Adrien, if this is because of those pictures-" She sobbed while trying to speak. I could hear the pain in her voice.

I didn't understand. If she had liked Evan, what was the problem? I was freeing her from our contract. She didn't have to pretend to be my wife or to love me then what was she hurting for?

"This is our chance, Crystal. The media is distracted by Alan's scandals so we can end our contract under their nose. We both can finally part our ways." I was trying to sound desperate for the divorce so she wouldn't feel guilty. "It's for the best."

I looked back at her. Her eyes were now empty, reading the papers. Taking a deep breath, I said. "I've already signed them. When you do, give them to Martin. We'll talk about the rest after I talk to my lawyer."

I waited a whole minute for her to say something. But nothing came out. She was so still and void of any reaction that I doubted if she was even breathing. Having nothing to say or listen, I walked out.

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