I Left Him, and My Life Got Better

Aria's POV

"Mom, stay with me!"

Boulders and mud slammed into the crumbling exterior wall of the clinic. The heating had shut down long ago. The temperature was dropping toward freezing. My mother's body was cold as ice; her serious illness had flared up again, and hypothermia was quickly setting in.

If we didn't get out soon, she was going to die.

With trembling hands, I dialed my husband, Charles Harrington.

"Aria, I already told you, the helicopter's on its way," his voice came through the line, tinged with impatience.

"Charles, please hurry! My mom is dying! The mudslide is going to tear this place apart any second!" I screamed into the receiver.

"Twenty minutes," he said coldly. "Just wait quietly."

I clutched the phone like a lifeline. "Mom, did you hear that? Charles is coming to get us right now."

She kept her eyes closed, her breathing so shallow it was barely there.

Fifteen minutes later, a deafening roar echoed overhead as the blinding beam of a searchlight swept across the window.

The rescue helicopter was here!

I held my mother tighter, bracing for the landing. But the roaring didn't get any closer. The helicopter hovered midair. Then it banked sharply and sped off toward the opposite mountain peak at full speed!

I rushed to the window like a madwoman, pounding wildly on the glass. "Come back! You're going the wrong way! We're down here!"

But the chopper flew away without a moment's hesitation, absolutely certain in its course.

My phone buzzed—the helicopter's internal comms had patched through.

"Charles? Why did the chopper fly away?!" I shrieked at the screen.

"Vivian's claustrophobia is acting up," he said, his voice stiff and emotionless. "She's trapped in a villa on the other side. The power went out, and she can't breathe. She's showing signs of going into shock."

Vivian Reed.

The younger sister of Charles's late best friend. The so-called adopted sister he had brought home.

"Charles, are you out of your mind?! My mom is freezing to death! This building is about to collapse!" I sobbed hysterically.

"Aria, stop being so dramatic." Charles's voice was thick with disgust. "I checked the satellite imagery. You're up on high ground; you're safe for now. But Vivian isn't! If something happens to her, how could I ever face my friend again?! I have to get her first. Just stay put and wait for the next flight."

"Charles!" I screamed in utter despair.

But the line went dead.

With a deafening crash, the mudslide gave way completely. A torrent of mud and uprooted trees smashed through half the clinic's walls in an instant.

"Mom!" I threw myself over her, desperately shielding her with my body.

But it was too late.

The fingers that had been twitching weakly just moments ago fell limp. She didn't even have time for a final word before losing all warmth in my arms, forever.

I froze. My mind went completely blank.

I didn't know how much time had passed—maybe hours—before local emergency teams finally carved their way through the rubble.

The hospital morgue hallway.

I leaned against the cold wall like a ghost, clutching that flimsy piece of paper—the death certificate.

Hurried footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor. Charles had arrived.

His handsome features were twisted with undisguised irritation and anger.

"Aria, when are you going to stop throwing these tantrums?" His first words weren't a question; they were an accusation. "I had them set you up in the ER, and you sneak off to this creepy place to play dead?"

"Do you have any idea how terrified Vivian is?"

"She's just a poor orphan! She has no parents, only me!"

"And you? As the lady of the Harrington family, you can't even show a shred of grace? You just had to pull this little disappearing act to fight for attention at a time like this?"

Charles glared down at me coldly, as if I were some vicious, jealous shrew who would stoop to lying about her mother's illness just to fight over a helicopter.

I slowly raised my eyes and let my gaze rest on his face.

This was the face I had loved for ten straight years. From our college days all the way into marriage. I always thought I was his one and only.

Until he brought Vivian home. Then everything changed.

"Are you quite done?" I asked, my voice chillingly flat.

Charles frowned, clearly unaccustomed to this attitude from me. The old me would have been crying, throwing myself into his arms demanding answers. But now, even summoning the energy to question him felt like a waste of breath.

"My mother is dead." I held his gaze and delivered the words, one syllable at a time.

Charles's pupils shrank. "What did you say?"

He stared hard at me, searching my face for any hint of a lie. "Aria, you can't joke about things like this."

I didn't answer. I simply took the signed death certificate and pressed it lightly against his chest.

Charles looked down and read the print. In a split second, all the color drained from his face.

"How…" He stumbled back half a step, his lips trembling slightly. "It was perfectly safe when I left. I thought you guys could wait…"

"Sir!" A frantic shout cut through his muttering.

Vivian's assistant came sprinting around the corner, panting heavily. "Mr. Harrington! It's terrible! Miss Vivian woke up. She's crying non-stop, saying she's terrified and needs to see you right now!"

Charles snapped out of his daze. He looked at the assistant, then back at me. He stood rooted to the spot. "Aria, I…"

"Go," I cut him off smoothly. "She only has you, doesn't she?" I even managed to pull my lips into a mocking smirk.

"I'll be right back." He gritted his teeth, dropping a pale, empty promise.

And then he left, without looking back once.

Watching his retreating back walk away without a shred of hesitation, whatever final ounce of heartache I had faded into nothingness.

I pulled out my phone and dialed my private attorney. "Tom, draft a divorce agreement for me. As soon as possible."

I hung up.

The moment I turned around, I caught sight of a petite figure.

Vivian, swallowed by an oversized hospital gown, was standing just a few feet away near the corner. Her cheeks were flushed with healthy color, her eyes crystal clear.

And hanging on her lips was a blatant, maliciously triumphant smile. "Aria, are you getting a divorce from Charles?"