And finally, the day of decision arrived.

Ariadne woke early, far earlier than she needed to. There were still more than two hours left before the appointed time.

“My lady… isn’t this a bit too early?”

“…Maybe. But I couldn’t sleep.”

She stared blankly out the window for a moment, then rose from her seat.

“Let’s get ready. Moving around will make the time pass faster.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Her preparations were simple: she gathered the documents she was going to take with her that day and got ready.

Once she had finished eating breakfast, she slowly set out for Kieron’s office.

This was the moment she had been waiting for; the moment she had desperately hoped would finally arrive.

Feeling her throat grow dry with nerves, she stepped inside.

“…”

He was alone.

No Herald, no Derrick.

Just Kieron—already seated, with a small arrangement of tea and light refreshments prepared on the table.

“…I asked for no tea.”

“If you don’t want it, don’t drink it.”

His reply was curt. He had clearly arranged things exactly as he wanted, so she decided not to object. If he wanted to do as he pleased, then so be it.

After today, they wouldn’t have much of a future together anyway. She sat ready to speak quickly and end things as cleanly as possible.

“Please divorce me, Your Grace.”

Ariadne lifted her gaze and looked straight at the man in front of her, Kieron Ambrose.

He was the man she had once loved so desperately that she had almost lost herself. But now, she could finally see how foolish she had been.

She was tired, tired of expending her energy pointing out what was wrong, only to be ignored time and again.

To protect what little remained of herself, she had to let him go.

Clearly, he wanted her gone, too.

Ending things here would give them both the chance to find someone who was truly right for them. So, the moment she sat down, she spoke.

Kieron, who was in the process of lifting his tea to his lips, froze.

“…What did you just say?”

He lifted his gaze from the teacup and fixed his eyes on her.

He had always responded to her words with irritation, boredom or indifference; today, however, he reacted as though he had been struck.

Ariadne repeated herself in the same even tone.

“I asked you for a divorce, Your Grace. You’ve achieved your goals now, haven’t you? You don’t need me anymore.”

With a small click, the fine porcelain teacup settled back onto the table. Her words fell heavily into the quiet room, and his gaze sank just as heavily as he stared at her.

“If this is some ploy to get my attention, you should stop.”

In response to that cold remark, Ariadne let out a short, hollow laugh.

Of course, this was all it ever amounted to.

Her resolve, her decisions, her heart poured out for him — they had always been reduced to just that: a ridiculous lie to draw attention.

Had her desperate declarations of love ever reached him?

Ariadne lifted her head and met his gaze.

“Why would I bother with something like that? It’s not as if you would care even if I did.”

She was surprised by how cold her voice sounded, but she didn’t regret it. A man who had never known warmth wouldn’t be affected by a chill like this.

“I’ve never been more sincere. But unfortunately, I’m not bold enough to waste any more of your precious time.”

Her heart didn’t tremble. She wasn’t filled with terror at the thought of being exposed, as she had been when she first dared to imagine leaving him.

Calmly, Ariadne Ambrose — no, the woman who would soon be Ariadne Peyton again — reached for the envelope she had placed under her chair.

“I’ve completed everything on my side. If you fill in your part, I’ll handle the submission myself. Do whatever you want with the alimony—I don’t want a single coin from this estate. You could burn it all and it still wouldn’t matter to me. In fact, you don’t even need to give me alimony at all. I considered asking for the dowry my father paid, but… think of it as compensation for the three years you spent with someone you once said was ‘horrifying’ to look at.”

Tap.

The thin envelope landed lightly on the table.

“Thank you for everything. I truly hope your future endeavors go well.”

It was over, or it should have been.

Although he still occupied a corner of her heart that she couldn’t erase, compared to everything she had endured, that leftover affection was insignificant.

Time had extinguished the love she once thought would burn forever, and it would surely erase whatever faint longing remained.

“I’ll be packing today. I’ll leave by tonight. I’ll be staying with my family, so please send the completed documents there.”

She would be all right.

In fact, she would make herself all right.

She had made up her mind.

With that resolve, she rose from her seat and turned towards the door.

But—

“Next month is your father’s birthday. I’ll come to escort you.”

The voice that broke the silence stopped her in her tracks.

Escort her.

Escort who? Where?

Why?

With a hand on the doorknob, Ariadne slowly turned back.

Kieron was sitting in his chair, angling his body towards her and fixing his blue eyes on her.

“If you want something, then do it. I never told you not to visit your family. I never told you not to do what you want. So I have no idea what you think is so lacking that you’d hand me something like this.”

He rose from his seat.

In his hand, the envelope containing the divorce papers she had offered him.

“And you think I would permit this?”

His sharp gaze pierced her.

Then, the loud rip of paper split the silence.

“I didn’t realize you wished to leave me badly enough to shed tears. Or is it that you’ve already taken a lover?”

Kieron Ambrose glared at her with a ferocity that left no doubt.

There would be no divorce.

Not now. Not ever.

***

She had clearly taken his words that there would be no second marriage lightly. Kieron couldn’t stop himself from laughing hollowly as he looked at his wife, who looked as if she had taken on all the world’s tragedies while handing him the divorce papers.

Three years.

Only three.

Two people who had lived entirely separate lives for more than twenty years had been married for just three short years, and she was already giving up?

There would be no divorce. In his world, he had only one wife — Ariadne Ambrose — and no other.

He couldn’t fathom what the problem was.

And he didn’t want to.

“I won’t divorce you. I told you that already.”

“…Why?”

“What do you mean, why? Didn’t you hear me? I said once is enough for marriage—”

“And why is that? Is it just because it’s inconvenient? You don’t even need me, do you, Your Grace?”

Ariadne hissed the words, her eyes blazing.

But Kieron had nothing else to offer.

There would be no divorce.

He would not endure this ordeal twice.

He saw no other way to end this absurd conversation.

“Does marriage need to continue because of necessity? It’s a contract—and shouldn’t you have the sense of responsibility to uphold it?”

“Responsibility? Do you mean the kind where only one person struggles and suffocates until they collapse? Is that your idea of responsibility?”

Her voice rose sharply and infrequently.

Kieron frowned at the outburst.

She seemed desperate to blame him entirely, but relationships didn’t work like that. Of course, there could be imbalances, but no situation was ever solely one person’s fault.

At least, that was his belief.

She might not agree, but he refused to accept that he was solely to blame for everything that went wrong.

“So letting go—surrendering—because it’s painful and difficult… is that what you call responsible?”

“Are you saying we’re here to decide who’s more at fault?”

“I’m saying at the very least, I tried. When you were busy avoiding me, at the very least, I was trying to do something.”

He looked her directly in the eye as he spoke. Once, he had believed that something warm had lived there. Now, however, her gaze held only hatred.

It was as if he was to blame for everything that had gone wrong. As if he had been monstrous.

Kieron pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a short, weary sigh.

“You really think you’ve done everything you could? Truly?”

“…At the very least, I never treated you with the same disregard you showed me.”

Ariadne’s voice was like a razor. Whatever she had been holding in, it was all coming out now. Her gaze was fixed on him, cold and intense.

She didn’t look like someone who wanted to continue the conversation.

He raked a hand through his hair and exhaled deeply.

Where had things gone wrong?

Where should he even begin to untangle this mess?

For now, he decided he needed to take a step back and think.

“If we keep talking now, we’ll only say worse things to each other. Let’s stop here for today.”

“I doubt my feelings will change by tomorrow.”

But Ariadne remained firm and utterly unyielding. No matter what he said or did, she would not budge. Or so she insisted. Only time would tell, though.

Kieron pressed his lips together, already considering the measures he would need to take — and soon.