Luna seed pleased with my appearance, her eyes soft with warmth.
I hadn't looked in a mirror from start to finish.
After dinner, Luna walked to the door, her eyes filled with reluctance.
As I was about to leave, I thought about asking her to stop having followed, but I held back.
No matter what I said, she would have soone on my tail, invisible and ever-watchful.
She did it under the guise of protection.
My mind, however, was preoccupied with resolving things with Betty, so I let it be.
I glanced back at Luna and the villa I had lived in, hailed a cab, and headed towards my destination.
The car moved through the familiar city streets, stirring a whirlwind of emotions within .
My destination was a law firm.
I t with a lawyer and explained my situation directly.
The lawyer drafted a simple divorce agreent for : all assets would go to Betty.
I wanted nothing, leaving with just the clothes on my back.
As I signed the docunt, a mont of hesitation gripped , but I quickly scribbled my na under the husband's signature.
I left the rest to the lawyer, providing him with our ho address and Betty's phone number.
In my rush, I hadn't managed to get a new phone, so I instructed the lawyer to proceed with Betty's signature first.
I broke protocol by paying in full upfront and took down the lawyer's number, securing his promise to expedite the process.
Stepping out of the law office, I faced the bustling street under the scorching sun, unsure of my next move.
Should I buy a ticket and flee sowhere far?
I decided to stay another day, waiting for the divorce to finalize.
I found a hotel and checked in, but peace eluded as I lay on the bed.
The mont Betty signed those papers, my marriage—and my connection to my family—would end.
What would co next?
My heart raced unexpectedly.
Lying in the hotel bed, sleep was a stranger.
Though physically recovered, my mind was foggy, restless.
At Luna's, my days were filled with nothing more than eating and sleeping—a life I never wanted.
Ti seed to crawl.
I wondered if the lawyer had visited my house yet, if he had t Betty.
My world felt devoid of color, the days a wasteful continuation of life.
People say ti is precious, and wasting it is like a slow suicide.
What was I doing then?
The drive that once sustained was gone.
The appointnt letter I clung to felt like nothing more than a scrap of paper now.
My only remaining ties were to Betty and the ho that was no longer mine.
Living felt like a burden.
In my previous job as a departnt head, I always told my team to value ti and do aningful work.
Now, trapped in this vicious cycle, I couldn't apply the sa advice to myself or find a way out.
I had never felt so defeated.
Was this all a test or punishnt from fate?
I rembered that my luggage was still at the previous hotel, possibly considered abandoned by now.
My laptop was there too.
With nothing but ti on my hands, I got up from the bed.
It was getting dark as I stepped out of the hotel.
Nearby, a shop was still open.
I walked in and bought a hat and sunglasses—not for fashion, but to avoid recognition.
I wasn't sure if Betty had called the police, and I needed to keep a low profile.
I chose to walk instead of taking a cab, hoping to calm the storm inside .
As I approached the hotel where I had previously stayed, a pang of pain shot through my heart.
Ti marched on, and I found myself standing at the hotel's entrance.
Despite my best efforts to avoid it, my gaze involuntarily drifted towards the entrance of my company.
It was quitting ti, and my colleagues were trickling out.
"You know, what the heck happened to Justin? We can't even talk about it at work. It's so weird. His phone's been off too," said one of my notoriously nosy female colleagues, her face marked by curiosity.
"Don't ask what you shouldn't," snapped a male colleague who was usually on good terms with .
"It's definitely sothing to do with his family. Didn't your sister see his wife coming to the company every day? She even camped out there one day. No clue what their beef is, but Justin shouldn't be dragging his wife through the mud like this. She's such a looker, and now she's a ss, like so crazy woman..." another gossip chid in, naturally siding with the woman, thriving on the chaos.
"It's weird, though, she hasn't shown up yesterday or today," the two won prattled on, oblivious to the fact that I, the subject of their gossip, was overhearing everything.
True colors show in tough tis, and this was the rawest form of people I was witnessing.
Their footsteps faded into the distance, none recognizing .
Hearing their conversation left frozen in place.
Although they didn't say much, I caught enough.
Betty had been coming to the company looking for daily, turning herself into a shadow of her forr self.
Betty, always so well put together, now being called a madwoman...
I shook my head, trying to dismiss these thoughts.
Maybe their words were exaggerated, spiced up.
Could Betty still be degrading herself for ?
She had Michael now, a new love...
I recalled everything I heard and saw that night, pushing away any sympathy I felt for Betty.
I adjusted my mindset and headed back to the hotel.
Upon arrival, just as I suspected, my belongings had been removed by the hotel as unclaid property.
However, the hotel service was comndable; they had kept everything for .
I expressed my gratitude, looking at the pile of luggage, feeling utterly drained at the thought of moving it.
After so deliberation, I checked into another room, and with the help of the staff, moved my luggage there.
Coincidentally, the window of this new room offered a view of my company's building.
The original hotel had nothing of mine left, just a bit of a deposit.
I decided to stay, perhaps clinging to a last shred of attachnt to my company, or maybe hoping to catch a glimpse of Betty coming to look for .
It would be like a final farewell, a last look at her.
Lying in the hotel bed, closer to my company, closer to my mories, only made sleep more elusive.
My laptop lay beside , having spent the last few days in the hotel room.
It was through this device that I could see everything at ho.
Now that it was back with , all I had to do was open it, type in a specific URL, and I could see everything at ho.
Though I was away from ho, my heart was heavy with concern.
I thought about opening my laptop to check on things at ho, but I feared seeing sothing I didn't want to see.
I was also afraid that seeing Betty in a pitiful state might soften my heart.
I shifted my gaze away from the computer, deciding not to look.
Tonight, in this room that wasn't mine, I was likely in for another sleepless night.
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