Chapter 6 - THE LETTER SHE LEFT BEHIND
That evening, Adrian returned to the mansion.
For the first time, he noticed how enormous it was.
Thirty-two rooms.
Four fireplaces.
A private theater.
A wine cellar.
A ballroom nobody used.
And not one room that felt warm.
Mrs. Alvarez met him near the staircase.
“Sir.”
He looked up.
“Yes?”
She held out an envelope.
“Mrs. Vale asked me to give you this.”
Adrian stared.
“When?”
“After she'd gone.”
He took it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
He recognized Claire's handwriting immediately.
Neat.
Small.
Careful.
He unfolded it.
Adrian,
I know you'll want an explanation.
The truth is that I've been giving you one for nine years.
Every time I asked you to come home early.
Every time I invited you somewhere important to me.
Every time I tried to tell you about my work.
Every time I asked whether we could have dinner without your phone.
Every time I sat beside you while you talked to everyone except me.
I wasn't asking for money.
I wasn't asking for a bigger house.
I wasn't asking you to stop being successful.
I was asking to be your wife.
Not an accessory.
Not a responsibility.
Not a woman who existed only when you needed someone beside you at a gala.
I loved you, Adrian.
For longer than I should have.
But I don't want to spend the rest of my life proving that I'm worth noticing.
Please don't look for me until you're ready to hear the answer you've avoided for nine years.
Claire.
Adrian read the letter three times.
Then folded it.
Placed it against his chest.
And cried.
May you like
Not because Claire had left.
But because he finally understood how long she'd been leaving.
