Chapter 100

Stella

The drive to Adrian’s house is silent. I listen to the hum of the engine and the whir of the air conditioning, staring outside the window as the familiar scenery of Adrian’s neighborhood comes into view.

I used to think that I would stay in a place like this forever. That I will remain by Adrian’s side as his wife and that one day, he would have seen me for more than a body that he could have picked apart to save Clara.

Now, I dread coming back to this place. It holds an abundance of depressing memories, of nights spent alone in a confined bedroom while my body was doubled over in pain. It is a place that I wish to never see again after today but a sliver of my heart feels nostalgic for returning, wishing for me to stay.

I know I can’t. it is a death wish for my soul. I know that if I remain here, pieces of me will die and start to decay on the inside of my chest, my heart no longer healthy but a withered mess of pity and uselessness.

“Where are we heading, princess?” the man in the drivers seat asks me. I suck in a breath and let it out soon after, shaking my head.

“Do you see all of those gifts back there?” I ask, pointing to the bouquets of flowers and the boxes where the desserts are now ruined. The man nods. “My ex-husband thought he could win me back with gifts and jewels after he used my body to save my foster sister.”

The driver’s face goes white. I nod and look away, staring at the blur of evergreen trees as we drive by.

We slowly pull up to Adrian’s house. His black sports car sits out in the driveway and there is a light on through the windows beside the door. I nod my head at the driveway and the bodyguard follows my instruction.

As soon as we park, we hop out of the car and the man slides open the side van door. I grab the first bouquet of flowers and walk across Adrian’s lawn, anger surging through my veins, and toss it onto the lawn just next to to the steps that lead up his home.

“Just leave it there,” I instruct the bodyguard who carries one of the boxes, “he can pick it up himself.”

We continue with our job and toss more and more of Adrian’s gifts onto the lawn. I grab the jewelry boxes and stare at them, a slight frown pushing across my face, before I throw them at his door.

Not even a minute later, Adrian comes running out with a wild look on his face. I grab the cake box from inside the car and walk back towards the pile, throwing it onto the green grass.

“What the hell are you doing, Stella?!” Adrian yells, rushing towards me.

I ignore him and make my way back towards the white van, grabbing one of the last few gifts that sit inside the van’s bed. I turn around and Adrian is standing right behind me, towing over me with ease. I stop for a split second before ducking to the side of him, heading towards the large pile of discarded gifts.

“I am simply returning what you have given to me!” I respond, speaking to him from over my shoulder.

“What? Why? These are all for you!” Adrian speaks.

I shrug, which clearly is not good enough of an answer for him, and he grabs my shoulders, stopping me from walking. The bodyguard immediately begins to walk in my direction but I hold up a hand to stop him, turning my glare up towards Adrian.

“I do not want your gifts,” I spit the words out at him, hoping that they slice through his thick skull so he can finally understands what both him and the gifts mean to me. “I do not want your kindness. I do not want to see any grand gestures that you may have to offer—”

“Stella, please,” Adrian interrupts me with an aggravated sigh. He pinches the bridge of his nose. “You are being so unreasonable right now!”

“I am? I’m the one being unreasonable?!” I raise my voice and push him away from me. “You are the one who is clearly still holding onto something that nobody wants! I do not want this! I do not want us! I divorced you for a reason, Adrian, why can’t you see that?!”

Adrian falls silent. My breathing grows heavy from my anger and my fists remain balled at my sides. I glare at him and can feel my nails digging into the palms of my hands but I push through the stinging sensation.

“Can we please talk?” Adrian asks.

“No,” I laugh from surprise, “why the fuck would I want to do that?”

“Because I want to talk about us—”

“Adrian!” I yell, opening my arms and slicing the air that stands between us. “There is no us! How are you not comprehending this?!”

“Stella,” Adrian sighs. His face falls. A piece of my heart aches for him, still mourning the relationship that I once had with him.

But that is done. It is over and I need to move on and away from him. Clearly, he does too.

“There is no more us, Adrian. Our relationship is nonexistent, okay? We are no longer husband and wife. We no longer have any relation with each other so please, for the love of god, move on!” I hope my words can get through to him. He shakes his head, though, and steps towards me.

“Stella, please. Just…just give me five minutes for us to talk,” Adrian pleads. I laugh again.

“You had all of the time in the world to fucking talk to me during our marriage,” I begin. A look of hurt flashes across his face but I cannot bring myself to care anymore. “Five years, Adrian. You had five years and not a single day did you reach out to me. Not a single day did you stay with me in the hospital. Not a single day did you act like a husband towards me. You were too busy trying to play hero and fawning over a girl in a coma rather than the one right in front of you!”

Tears begin to fall down my face at a rapid pace. I do nothing to stop them, though, allowing them to fall as my throat begins to close up, feeling raw from holding back my inner emotions.

“Stella…I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Adrian breathes out. I shrug.

“And yet you did,” my voice cracks. “You signed away my body for a woman who doesn’t even care about you. You were going to give my heart away and kill me for her!”

My emotions take over my body. I wipe away my tears, trying to get rid of the blurriness inside of my vision. Once it clears up, Adrian is shaking his head, a confused look across his face.

“Your heart? Stella…I didn’t sign your heart away,” his voice is laced with confusion.

“Don’t lie to me. Just stop. I saw the forms back in the hospital,” I wipe my eyes and begin to back away from him. “You should be happy to be with Clara. She’s...” I snort, “she’s a catch.”

“I don’t want her,” Adrian steps forward and tries to take my hands. I snatch them away. “I want you.”

“Yeah? Well, too little, too late,” I response.

I turn around and head towards the car where the bodyguard waits inside. I get into the passenger seat and slam the door behind me, covering my face with my hands as I sob, the man driving us away.