Chapter 2: THE END

Emma stood by the grand piano, her heart pounding with a mixture of determination and sadness. She collected herself as she felt her resolve hardening.

She had to leave this life behind.

Exhaling deeply, she faced Daniel, her voice steady despite the turmoil within. "Fine, Daniel," she said, her words laced with a touch of bitterness. "If that's what you want, I'll leave. But know this, I won't take a single thing from you. It was yours to begin with, so you can keep it all to yourself."

Her words hung in the air like an unspoken promise, a testament to her unyielding pride and determination.

She would leave the mansion, she would leave his life and she would also agree to his terms but she would do so with her dignity as her sole possession without taking a single belonging.

With that, she turned and walked away from Daniel with faltering footsteps.

Emma walked through the lavish decorations and past the abandoned feast of delicately prepared food and drinks.

None of those luxuries mattered anymore when her happiness and mental health were at stake.

Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over, but she blinked them back. She couldn't afford to break down in front of the man who had shattered her world.

She resolved to rebuild her life, relying solely on herself so she refused to let her emotions get the best of her and kept her back straight and her head held high.

She walked past the pendulum clock and into the guest bedroom where she had spent the past year, a stark contrast to the opulence that surrounded her.

As the door closed behind her, Emma stood in the lonely and bare apple green monotonous room and laughed mockingly.

She was married to Daniel Kozlov, the CEO of K, the giant of the business industry yet she had nothing to her name.

Pulling out an old suitcase from the bottom of the bed, she unzipped it with determination and walked toward the wardrobe, her breath getting stuck in her chest when she saw the array of flashy gowns neatly arranged in it.

Her fingers hovered above the gowns but stopped above a forest green dress neatly embellished with black ornaments and had a sweetheart neckline and she pulled it and threw it onto the bed.

The only reason why she had these dresses was because she had to make sure not to disgrace Daniel whenever they were invited to a social gathering. This green dress however was what she wore when she met Daniel.

So Emma ignored the rest of the dresses, reached for the white t-shirt, ripped jeans, and pine and blue colored shorts and dresses folded neatly at the side and placed them on the bed.

These were the clothes she brought into the house herself, a reminder of the person she used to be. She had always loved to dress casually and wasn't used to the flamboyant lifestyle that Daniel led but she had almost forgotten that.

With a deep sigh, Emma admitted to herself that she had slowly lost her identity since the beginning of this marriage. The once assertive go-getter had become a people-pleaser, constantly gauging others' reactions and sacrificing her own desires.

Sighing, she wiped her tears that had almost dried up and grabbed the sneakers kept in the shoe box, bypassing the expensive shoes and sandals that were lined up before her.

She had made up her mind. If Daniel believed she was a deceiver, then she would prove him wrong. She would leave the house without taking anything and rely on her own strength to start anew.

Emma shut the wardrobe doors, sealing her decision, and proceeded to pack her clothes into the old suitcase.

When she was done, she opened the cabinet at the bedside and retrieved her old phone, casting aside the sleek new model that Daniel had gifted to her.

She also placed all the cards he had given her into the cabinet and brought out an old card from a rose gold peach sling bag from her university days.

Briefly checking the expiry date, she sighed in relief when she realized she still had about eleven months till it expired. Turning the old phone on, she wiped the screen and stashed it into the sling bag.

When she was done, she pulled the suitcase off the bed and placed it by the mahogany door.

Her gaze inadvertently landed on a mint green diary beneath the bedside lamp, looking barely imperceptible under the dim light and she couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. She grabbed it and hurled it into a corner of the room, the muffled thud barely audible.

She had written her most sincere feelings and her unwavering hope for Daniel's reciprocation in the pages of that book. But it was useless anyway plus it was also something that Daniel bought her and she definitely couldn't take it with her.

Emma had just turned around and taken a step when she heard the clack of her heels.

Emma paused momentarily, her fingertips grazing over the luxurious fabric of the red A-Line satin dress adorning her figure.

Oh yeah. She had bought this attire with his money too so it had to go.

With a sense of reluctance, she finally decided to return it to its rightful owner and proceeded to pull it off. She dumped the dress into a plastic bag, and made a mental note to dry-clean it and have it delivered back to Daniel.

Carefully slipping out of her silver high heels, she delicately placed them within the confines of the wardrobe, their metallic glimmer catching the light as she closed the door.

Emma reopened her suitcase, revealing a neatly organized collection of clothing. Her fingertips danced over the fabrics as she casually picked out a soft, cotton pine dress and a pair of pristine white sneakers. As she put on the dress, a piece of thread snagged onto her finger.

Emma's careful fingers delicately worked through the snag, and she slipped the dress on properly with ease. Curiously, she raised her hand to see what could have caused the thread to latch onto her dress.

As soon as she saw the sparkling diamond on her left hand, a tear trickled down her cheek. Swiftly, she brushed it away and composed herself, smoothing out her dress.

Her blonde hair once in a pristine bun, now cascaded down her back in soft, undulating waves. Her sapphire orbs shimmered like the sun's rays reflecting upon the vast ocean. A slight redness tinged the petite curve of her nose.

As the evening wore on, the mansion's luxurious surroundings felt like a gilded cage, suffocating her.

She really couldn't wait to leave.

Emma went into the living room and found no sign of Daniel. Thinking that it was for the best, she walked to the grand piano and took the papers that were still present there.

Without reading through, she decisively signed her name at the end of the document with the pen that had been 'generously' provided for her.

With a sudden release of her grip, the pen slipped from her fingers and clattered onto the white-furnished surface of the grand piano. A deep sense of knowing settled within her that there was only one final task left for her to complete.

Emma's chest rose as she inhaled deeply, her fingers trembling as she slipped the sparkling diamond ring from its perch on her finger. Grasping it tightly in her palm, she took a moment to collect herself before gently laying the precious piece atop the scattered papers before her.

As Emma walked out of the mansion, she took one last glance at the gigantic building and promised herself a better future.

Youthfully clad in a pine dress and white sneakers, she seemed to possess an elegant, understated beauty that commands attention.

Standing a few meters away from the black metal gate, she ordered a ride from her phone and waited patiently.

A few minutes later, her ride arrived and she climbed in without looking back at the gilded cage she had just escaped.

"Clover District", she casually uttered an address, her voice betraying no emotion as she leaned back in the comfortable backseat of the vehicle with her eyes closed.

The car started and as it drove past the calming ambiance of the soft streetlights and the smell of nature, she looked out the window and thought,

'Now it is truly over.'

'There is no going back, no room for reconciliation or second chances.'

'She, Emma Moreau wouldn't have anything to do with Daniel Kozlov in this life.'

'It was THE END.'

However, unbeknownst to Emma, Daniel had watched her leave from the windows of his study, his eyebrows scrunched into a frown as he stared at the simply dressed woman.

He couldn't understand why he felt so agitated watching her go.

Hadn't he always yearned for this?

He pondered his confusion before pulling the curtains shut and immersing himself in his work.

It wasn't known if he did so because he wanted to or if he was trying to take something or someone off his mind.

Wanting to take a 'stretch', Daniel climbed down the stairs and went into the room Emma previously occupied.

The apple-colored bed was immaculately prepared, and there was not a single wrinkle present on the similarly colored drapes.

This was the second time he had walked in here ever since they got married. So he was quite surprised at the simplicity of the room.

Stretching his long legs, Daniel walked over to the large wardrobe. However, upon opening it, he was taken aback and left speechless.

The wardrobe was filled to the brim with every item he had ever gifted Emma, neatly arranged and accounted for, with not a thread out of place.

Moving on to the cabinet, he was met with a blur of countless cards filling the wooden container and his eyes struggled to focus amidst the overwhelming display.

"She didn't take a single thing?" Daniel thought out loud in confusion, his fingers holding the new phone he had sent his secretary to get Emma for her birthday last month.

'But if she didn't take anything, how would she survive?'