Chapter 21
Morning mist cloaked Greenwood Cemetery in a thin veil.
Aria carried white roses along the stone path.
Her fingertips unconsciously stroked the velvet box in her pocket.
Adrian’s headstone stood quietly in the corner.
“Adrian, I came to see you.” She knelt, gently brushing fallen leaves from the granite surface.
The white roses were carefully placed before the headstone, and she took the silver ring from her pocket, setting it beside the flowers.
‘Returning this to you.” She touched the cold stone briefly. “I promised I’d live well… but this time, I’m living for myself.”
A breeze stirred the roses, making them sway like a silent response.
Aria stood, sunlight filtering through tree branches to dapple her face with light and shadow.
She smiled with genuine peace.
In the distance, Lucas leaned against an oak tree, quietly watching this scene.
He shouldn’t have come, but couldn’t control his feet.
He watched her bend to place the ring, watched her lips move as she spoke to the headstone, watched her light steps as she walked away…
In this moment, Lucas finally understood he had lost her forever.
Not because she’d lost her memory, but because she had truly let go.
Let go of Adrian, let go of hatred, let go of everything.
His phone buzzed–a message from his assistant: “Miss Cross’s buyer has withdrawn funding. She’s been arrested for commercial fraud and conspiracy to commit murder. Should we take action?”
Lucas locked his screen, watching the shrinking figure in the distance.
Only when Aria completely disappeared at the cemetery gate did he whisper: “No need.”
Lucas walked to Adrian’s grave, looking at the photo so similar to his own face, feeling strangely disconnected.
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My Husband’s
Chapter 21
At the bookstore, Aria was processing her final batch of orders. Wind chimes jingled as the owner entered with a
letter.
“Really leaving?” the owner asked reluctantly.
Aria smiled, accepting the letter: “Just traveling for a while. I’ve left next month’s order arrangements with
Meredith.”
The taxi slowly pulled away from the small town as Aria watched the retreating streets in the rearview mirror, feeling unexpectedly calm.
Her phone showed newly booked flight information–Paris, the city Adrian had once promised to take her to but
never could.
The airport terminal blazed with lights. Aria finished checking in and turned, nearly colliding with a tall figure.
She looked up into Lucas’s deep eyes.
‘You…” she instinctively stepped back.
‘Don’t worry.” Lucas raised both hands, showing he meant no harm. “I just came to… see you off.”
The boarding announcement echoed as crowds moved toward security.
They stood an arm’s length apart, but it felt like oceans between them.
‘Paris is beautiful.” Lucas finally spoke. “In spring, the cherry blossoms along the Seine…”
How do you know I’m going to Paris?” Aria interrupted.
Lucas smiled bitterly: “I promised not to interfere with your life anymore, but at least… let me know where you are.” He handed her an envelope. “This has something you might need.”
Aria hesitated: “I don’t need your…”
‘Not money,” He said softly. “It’s Adrian’s diary. I think… he’d want you to see it.”
The envelope was thin but clearly contained something meaningful.
Aria hesitated before accepting it, their fingers accidentally touching. Both pulled back like they’d been shocked.
“Thank you.” She slipped the envelope into her bag. “But I won’t change my mind because of this diary…”
“I know.” Lucas interrupted, his voice impossibly gentle. “I’m just doing one last thing for you both. As for
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My Husband’s Guide to Losing a Perfectly Good Wife in Five Lasy steps
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Chapter 21
everything else… have a safe trip. Aria.”
This was the first time he’d said her name so naturally, without possession or guilt–just a simple farewell.
Aria nodded slightly and turned toward security, never looking back.
Lucas stood there, watching her figure disappear into the crowd.
He remembered Aria once saying: “I don’t hate you, but I won’t live for you again.”
Now, she had truly done it.
As the plane soared through clouds, Aria finally opened the diary.
The first page bore Adrian’s familiar handwriting: “For my beloved Aria–may you have the courage to live for
yourself.”
Outside her window, clouds stretched endlessly below as sunlight poured down without reservation. She gently raced those words, finding the final page contained a photograph.
Tears fell silently, but this time they were warm.
Aria closed the diary and looked out at the boundless blue sky.
she knew this journey would no longer carry shadows of the past–only a future that belonged entirely to her.
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