The Spark He Showed Her, the Flame I Lost Chapter 10
Adrian spent a full week in a Paris hospital.
I heard he had developed severe acute pneumonia and had almost not made it.
I did not visit him once.
One afternoon a week later, I had just finished a simultaneous interpreting assignment when my attorney back in the States called.
“Ms. Lawson, Mr. Grant has signed the divorce settlement agreement. He agreed to your request to waive all claim to the marital estate, but he has placed all of his shares, real estate, and cash assets into a trust for your benefit, with no conditions attached.” The attorney’s voice carried undisguised shock.
“I don’t need any of it,” I refused calmly. “Proceed according to the original agreement. I don’t want a single cent.”
“Mr. Grant said,” the attorney paused, “that if you refuse to accept it, he’ll donate all of those assets. He said this is what he owes you. If you won’t even accept this final compensation, he truly won’t have any reason left to keep living.”
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows of the conference center, I looked at the crowds moving through the streets of Paris and let out a soft sigh.
“Let him do whatever he wants.”
After hanging up, I walked out the front doors.
Adrian’s assistant stood at the bottom of the steps, holding a black document envelope.
When he saw me, he handed it over respectfully. “Ms. Lawson, Mr. Grant asked me to give this to you. His flight back to the States is this afternoon. He asked me to tell you that he will never appear in front of you again.”
I took the envelope and opened it.
Inside were two certified copies of the final divorce decree, along with an asset transfer agreement.
At the very bottom of the envelope lay a yellowed photograph.
It was our high school graduation photo.
In the picture, the boy wore a white shirt and smiled brightly at the camera, while I stood beside him with my eyes full of him.
On the back of the photo, someone had written a line with a fountain pen. The handwriting shook so badly it was almost illegible.
[Claire, be free.]
I looked at that line, and at last, the faintest ripple stirred in my heart. But it soon settled back into stillness.
Thirteen years of being tangled together finally came to a complete end in that moment.
I tore the photo in half and tossed it into a trash can by the road.
A gust of wind blew past, sweeping the scraps of paper into the muddy water near the storm drain.
I did not look back. I walked into the bright sunlight with long, steady steps.
My phone vibrated. It was a message from a new colleague.
Colleague: [Claire, want to grab a drink by the Seine tonight? We should celebrate your fresh start.]
A faint smile touched my lips as I typed my reply.
I replied: [Absolutely. See you there.]