Find her

Adeline

As I stepped through the front door of the house that Xander and I once shared, a chill swept over me.

The place now felt like an empty shell.

I wandered through the rooms. The silence was deafening, broken only by the hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen. I found myself standing in front of the dining table, my fingers tracing the grain of the wood.

It was here that I had spent countless evenings waiting for Xander to come home, dinners growing cold.

I sighed. "This isn't my home anymore," I whispered to myself.

I moved to the bedroom, the room we had once shared. The bed, neatly made. I sat on the edge.

"Why did it have to end like this?" I asked the empty room. There was no answer, of course. There never was.

The closet stood half-empty, Xander's clothes noticeably absent. I pulled open a drawer, finding it filled with my things – neatly folded, untouched. It felt like our marriage, my presence carefully contained and largely ignored.

I wandered back into the living room and sank onto the couch, staring at the divorce agreement on the coffee table. The black and white of the text seemed to blur as tears filled my eyes. Xander's signature was already there. My heart ached at the thought of the love we never had, the future that would never be.

With a heavy heart, I picked up the pen and hesitated. "This is it, Adeline," I murmured to myself, trying to summon the strength to move forward. "This is the end of the chapter."

I thought of my husband and sister again and my heart tingled. In the years since I got married, he had never defended me so much.

“Our marriage was a mistake.” Yes, it was. If it wasn’t for the mistake, it wouldn’t have been my turn to marry him.

Now it’s time to put an end to the mistake.

I signed my name on the dotted line. I set the papers back on the table, and I let it all sink in.

For a moment, I allowed myself to cry, the tears flowing freely as I mourned the end of our marriage.

With a deep breath, I picked up my phone and dialed Xander's assistant.

"Hello, this is Adeline," I said, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside. "Can you come by and pick up the signed divorce agreement? It's ready."

"Of course, Mrs. Hale," came the polite reply, a touch of formality that felt oddly comforting. "I'll be there within the hour."

"Thank you," I said, ending the call. I looked around the house one last time, then headed to the bedroom to start packing my things.

The task was sorrowful. As I folded clothes and sorted through personal items, memories came rushing back—both good and bad.

Finally, with my bags by the door, I took a deep breath and steeled myself for what came next. The assistant would be here soon to collect the papers, and I needed to be gone before then. I didn't want to face anyone from Xander's world right now.

I dragged my suitcases to the front door and took one last look around the house.

I loaded my bags into the trunk of my car and slid into the driver's seat.. I didn't know where I was going yet, but I knew I needed to find a place where I could start over, where I could rediscover who I was beyond being Mrs. Xander Hale.

I hopped in the car, speeding away. I was all up in my head the whole time.

I glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed a car behind me. At first, I brushed it off. Who would be trailing a divorcee? But as I made my way through the city, taking five different turns in an attempt to shake off the uneasy feeling, the car was still there. It was too good of a coincidence.

"Am I being followed?" I muttered to myself, my grip on the steering wheel tightening. I took another turn, this time into a quiet residential street, hoping to confirm my suspicions.

Sure enough, the car followed, maintaining a steady distance. My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to stay calm. "Okay, Adeline, don't panic," I told myself. "Just get somewhere safe and figure this out."

I decided to head to a area with more people around. I pulled into a grocery store parking lot, parked the car, and watched the other vehicle. It drove past slowly, then circled around and parked a few rows away.

My mind raced with questions. Who could be following me, and why?

****

Xander's POV

I sat in my office, staring at the divorce papers my assistant had just delivered. Adeline’s signature was neatly placed at the bottom, but there was something missing. I didn’t expect her to sign it. After she left without saying a word yesterday, I thought she would continue to pester me.

What surprised me even more was that she did not accept compensation.

“What is she trying to prove?” I muttered, feeling a twinge of irritation. I grabbed my phone and dialed her number, ready to confront her about what I perceived as another one of her tricks. But the call didn’t connect. It went straight to voicemail.

I tried again, but the result was the same. "Damn it, Adeline," I whispered. I tried a few more times, pacing my office, each attempt ending in frustrating silence.

I called my assistant. "Have you heard from Adeline?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

"No, sir," he replied. "I picked up the papers, as you instructed, but she didn’t say much. Just handed them over and left."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. Something felt off. Adeline wasn't the type to just vanish, even if she was upset. Maybe this was a sign that she was truly done with me, done with trying to make our marriage work.

I dialed her number again, but there was still no answer. What if she was in trouble? What if something had happened to her?

“Find out where she went,” I ordered my assistant. “I need to know where she is.”