Chapter 14
Damon searched every inch of the house–living room, bedroom, study, bathroom–but there was no sign of Clara anywhere. Douglas had rushed over when he heard the commotion.
Seeing how panicked and confused Damon looked, Douglas finally voiced the question that had been weighing on him. “Mr. Croft, why did you agree to divorce Mrs. Croft?”
Divorce? The word sent Damon reeling.
Clara had never brought up divorce, so why was everyone acting like he was the one who wanted it? His mind raced as he struggled to put the pieces together. He was sifting through his memories for clues.
He thought back to Olivia acting strangely at the café, the plane ticket he hadn’t even had a chance to look at, and the cryptic words Clara had said that mering–something about already giving him what he wanted most.
Damon’s panic grew as he thought about that last part–the thing he hadn’t had a chance to ask her about.
He ordered his assistant to track down Clara’s whereabouts while he set off to look for her himself. He went straight to the home she’d lived in before their marriage, only to find the doors and windows boarded up.
Neighbors told him Clara had stopped by the day before and thrown out a bunch of things like she was getting ready for a long trip.
A moment later, his assistant texted him. “Mr. Croft, I found out Mrs. Croft bought a ticket to Falverton two weeks ago. She left this morning, should already be there.”
So Clara wasn’t just moving out. She had left the country.
so she
The realization sent a chill through Damon. He couldn’t wrap his head around why Clara would suddenly want a divorce and disappear without a word. Hadn’t she always wanted to marry him and stay by his side?
After instructing his assistant to book him a flight to Amethria, Damon got back in his car. He didn’t start the engine. Instead, he leaned back against the seat and stared blankly at the chat screen where she had blocked him.
His phone, drained from being uncharged all day, flashed a low battery alert. He reached into the glove compartment for a charger. That was when his eyes landed on a document envelope
This time, he finally decided to open the file that had been sitting there for a month.
The second Daman saw the words “divorce agreement“, his hands started shaking, But he managed to keep himself calm and flipped through the pages one by one.
Then, when he reached the last page and saw his signature, he froze: Why was his signature on a divorce agreement? Why didn’t he remember signing it? His mind raced as he scrambled to piece together everything he had missed.
Clara was the one who had drawn up this agreement. The only time she had ever asked for his signature was one evening a month ago. She’d said she wanted to give him a gift, and he had signed it without looking at it. After that, he walked away.
She had left that agreement in his car, reminding him over and over to check it until a whole month had passed. The agreement had already gone into effect, yet he had never even opened it.
Those flimsy sheets of paper felt impossibly heavy in Damon’s hands. Only now did he finally understand why Clara had left,
She must have sensed the doubt in his heart about their marriage. She must have thought he would divorce her and go back to Giselle, so she chose to leave first
And that so–called “gift” had been this divorce agreement. Clara had given him his freedom, convinced that was what he had wanted all
