The Crash

Anya let out a sardonic chuckle.

"With your skills, I suppose you'd do well as a janitor at Sawyer Group. After all, you can't even compare to a fresh graduate like John."

I was just about to reply when John Williams, her newest bedmate, walked out of the bedroom.

"Anya, do I look nice in this?"

He was wearing the outfit Anya bought for her first love every year.

Anya slapped me across the face when I accidentally touched it while cleaning the room.

Right now, there wasn't a single hint of anger on her face. Instead, she was solemnly examining John from head to toe with a satisfied look on her face.

"You do. You're also free to wear any outfit in there."

John posed for her, curling his lips into a smug smile as he turned to me, saying, "Shane, do I look nice?"

I nodded as I tried to think of a sincere compliment.

"You look good."

My response shocked him.

Before he could react, I turned and retreated into my room.

I could leave in three days. It really was about time for me to start packing.

Anya called me not long after I returned to my bedroom.

"John needs to return to his campus. Drive him back."

I couldn't help but frown at her demand.

"Don't you have a driver?"

This was the second time in a row I'd rejected Anya's request. At this point, she could no longer hide how my disobedience was infuriating her.

"Are you going to be this contrary for the entire day?"

Before she could continue with her rant, I agreed to her request.

Anya was immediately mollified as she remarked imperiously, "This argument wouldn't have happened if you'd just agreed in the first place."

When I left the dressing room, I found Anya waiting for me in the courtyard with John.

"Hurry up! John has an exam coming up. Stop dallying."

John turned toward me with a large grin.

"Thank you, Shane."

When John and Anya parted, they took a moment to exchange passionate kisses.

John turned to shoot me a mocking look as he got into the car.

"Sorry, Shane. Anya was a little too passionate. Does she always treat you like that?"

John's grin sharpened when I did not bother responding.

"Why would a woman like her fall for a man like you? You're so old and dull," he said snidely.

Soon, he fell silent. It was likely that he'd grown bored talking to a wall.

Just as we were about to arrive at his school, a car going the opposite way lost control and came screeching toward us.

I hastily swerved to the other side.

Despite my quick reflexes, we were still hit.

After the car crash, I felt an intense pain throbbing in my chest and leg.

Then, I heard John's groans coming from the rubble.

When I turned to look at him, I saw that he was completely fine aside from a tiny gash on his hand.

Still, I worried that he might be injured in places I could not see.

The ambulance soon arrived and rescued us.

I suffered a small fracture in my left leg.

Meanwhile, the only wound on John was a gash on his hand.

Once the doctor was done dressing my wound, Anya arrived at the scene.

She practically ran over to John's side to ask how he was holding up.

John lapped up her attention, whining about his hand hurting.

That prompted Anya to bark at the driver to rush John to the hospital.

She passed by me twice, but not once did her eyes ever glance at me.

My lips stretched wide into a grin.

The pain in my leg covered up the pain radiating from a certain part of me I did not want to think of.

When I was wheeled into the hospital, I heard some nurses talking.

"Anya is so sweet to her boyfriend. He only had a small gash on his hand, but she's insisting that the top experts had to treat him right away."

"She's so caring and rich. That's so rare for a woman of her station. The man who'll marry her will be very happy."

Leaving Anya

I nearly rolled my eyes as I thought dryly, 'The man who married Anya is far from a happy camper.'

When the doctors wheeled me over to the operating theatre, I saw Anya walking over with John.

"What's with you?"

She frowned at me.

"Why can't you concentrate when you're driving? Fortunately, John's alright."

John immediately donned a piteous look on his face, complete with wide, teary eyes..

"It's all my fault. I wanted Shane to drive me to my campus. That's why all this happened."

Anya hastily turned to calm him down, saying reassuringly, "It's not your fault. You're hurt too. There, there. Let's head out for some supper."

That was when the doctor came over, informing me that they were ready for my operation.

Anya glanced at me in shock.

However, she was soon distracted by John's response.

The operation went well.

Afterward, a nurse asked if I had notified my family yet.

It took me a few seconds before I responded, "There's no need. I have no family."

When I was hospitalized, I hired a personal caretaker to take care of me.

Meanwhile, Anya was busy fooling around with John.

He would send me photos of the places they'd been every single day.

They went to the beach. They snorkeled and went stargazing.

Each picture showed them intertwined in a passionate embrace.

However, I felt nothing when I scrolled through those photos.

After all, I was busy getting the logistics down with my friend on the new research laboratory we're planning on starting up.

In the eight years I'd been married, I would help my friend with the research and development of various products in my free time.

He kept pushing for me to start a company with him, but I never said yes.

Many of my friends said I'd wasted eight years of my life just for a mere contract.

Still, I never regretted one moment of it.

At that time, nothing was more important to me than my mother.

Now that the contract between Anya and me was over, I was free.

What I didn't see coming was that Anya would call me when I was discharged from the hospital.

"When are you coming home? Everything's a mess here. Are you still hospitalized?" she demanded.

I chuckled and shot back with a mocking lilt in my voice. "Are the servants you hired useless?"

She grumbled in annoyance, "You know that I don't like it when other people move my stuff. I also need you to organize some of the company documents."

I glanced at the time. Just as I was about to tell her I was busy, a nurse stopped by to tell me I could head down to pay and get discharged.

Anya happened to overhear the nurse and began urging me to hurry up.

I ignored her. After my discharge, I got into my friend's car.

Jerome Mullen, my friend, turned to ask me if I was finally free.

There was a faint smile on my lips as I told him everything about my current situation.

"Everything's over. I'm leaving the second the divorce is finalized."

Jerome was even more excited about that prospect than I was. "Let's go! After we sign the deal, let's celebrate with a feast!"

I nodded with a grin.

Anya called me when Jerome and I were discussing the specifics of our new enterprise.

I glanced at my phone before turning it off to focus on my discussion with Jerome.

He let out a whistle at my audacity. "You really don't love her anymore, do you?"

Jerome was the only person in the world who knew I actually had feelings for Anya.

However, all of the love I once felt had been reduced to nothing when Anya hurt me time after time.

My eyes turned distant as I stared at my phone. After a while, I finally replied, "We're too different."

He nodded in agreement.

After the agreement was signed, we headed to the restaurant we'd always gone to when we ate together.

The first juicy bite of that spicy beef made me tear up.

Jerome laughed at me, joking that I was crying from how delicious the food was.

I merely smiled in response.

He wasn't exactly wrong because I hadn't been able to consume anything that was cooked with even the slightest hint of spice ever since I started living with Anya.

Anya's Engagement

I had chosen to do so because she said the scent of spice lingering on a person's body was embarrassing and undignified.

There were also many undignified acts that I could not indulge in.

Those included laughing in public, speaking in a louder voice than normal in public...

Those eight years of marriage did not give me happiness. If anything, it did its best to turn me into an unfeeling robot.

Now, I was so close to freedom. I was finally going to be able to behave like a human. That was what made me tear up.

It was around 10:00 p.m. by the time I returned to my residence with Anya.

When I opened the door, I was instantly greeted by the sight of Anya glaring at me from the living room.

She had called me over ten times during the evening, but I had not answered a single one of them.

"Where did you go?"

I did not reply until I was done changing out of my outdoor shoes and washing my hands. Then, I said blandly, "I had dinner with a friend."

She walked over to me. The moment she smelled the scent of spice lingering on my clothes, the scowl on her face deepened.

"Didn't I tell you to avoid spice? You stink."

I smirked at her and asked curiously, "What about when you ate spicy food with John?"

The disdain on her face grew even more obvious.

"How can you compare yourself with him? After all, he's not a Sawyer."

I remained silent as I thought to myself, " He might not be one now, but he will be soon enough."

After all, everyone could see just how much she favored him.

The following morning, Jerome flew abroad to settle the company's affairs.

When he was busy handling the business, I contacted a lawyer to draft up a divorce agreement.

I couldn't help but use the time to take in the moment before I signed the papers. I stared down at the page detailing how it would be a clean break, and I'd be leaving with nothing.

As soon as the agreement was signed, John sent me a video.

It was of a lavishly decorated hall.

The sign on the stage had the words, "Celebrating the engagement of Anya Sawyer and John Williams," pasted on it.

Meanwhile, Anya was talking to a manager about the engagement party.

"I only mentioned a wish to get engaged with her, and she's already rushing for a celebration," John said in the video.

"The ceremony is in two days. You're invited," he added with a cruel smirk.

My 30th birthday was in two days. Incidentally, it also happened to be the day I'd be flying off.

After that video, I blocked John's number.

I raised my head and looked at my surroundings. They were having the time of their lives in a ballroom while I was sitting in a tiny room that was barely a few feet wide.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh before rising to my feet and packing my bags.

Although I had lived here for eight whole years, I had not purchased anything just for myself.

Back then, I had moved in with just a simple luggage bag.

Now, my belongings all fit in the same bag I had used eight years ago.

Sometime later, Anya walked in just as I placed my luggage at the side of the living room.

"Make me a bowl of seafood chowder," she ordered.

She had said that with entitlement that I would bow to her every whim.

Then again, this was the last time I'd be doing this.

Hence, I did not rebuff her.

As I served her the bowl of chowder, she looked at me with mild confusion.

"Why have you been so silent lately?"

In the past, I'd be constantly talking her ear off about different topics.

Back then, I didn't care when she remained stoically silent.

I brushed her off, casually saying, "I don't feel like talking since my throat hurts."

She clicked her tongue in contempt before leaving with the covered bowl of seafood chowder.

She did not return, even on the day she was getting engaged to John.

I placed the contract from eight years ago and the divorce agreement on the table.

After one last look at the house I've lived in for eight years, I turned and left for the airport with my luggage in tow.

Anya called me as I was boarding.

I didn't even bother picking up the call. Instead, I removed the SIM card from my phone and tossed it into the nearest trash can.

From today onward, I'd be heading toward a future that solely belonged to me. I would finally be living a life on my terms and my terms alone.