Chasing Celeste

The Fool in Love

Celeste Lancaster had spent three years of marriage chasing after a man who barely acknowledged her existence.

Adrian Sinclair—her husband.

But their marriage had never been about love. It was arranged by their families, a union between two of the most powerful names in the business world. The Lancasters were influential, but the Sinclairs? They were on another level.

Celeste had grown up loving Adrian. He was the boy she had admired from afar, the one she dreamed about as a teenager. When their families announced their engagement, she had been ecstatic.

She thought it was fate.

She thought he would eventually love her too.

She thought wrong.

——————

Three Nights Ago

The bar was dimly lit, a low hum of conversation filling the air as Celeste sat across from her best friend, Mia.

Mia sipped her cocktail. "Ugh, I needed this. But are you sure you wanna be here? Isn't it 'wait-for-Adrian-to-come-home' night?"

Celeste rolled her eyes. "He's working late again. I figured I'd give my loneliness some alcoholic company."

Mia smirked. "That's the spirit."

Celeste smiled, but just as she was about to take a sip of her drink, a familiar voice caught her attention.

Her heart stilled.

Adrian?

She turned her head slightly, and sure enough, Adrian sat at a booth just a few feet away, laughing with his friend, Ethan.

She wasn't going to eavesdrop. She wasn't.

Until she heard her name.

"Celeste?" Ethan scoffed. "Man, you really got unlucky, huh?"

Celeste froze.

Adrian let out a low chuckle. "It's not like I had a choice."

Ethan sighed. "Yeah... must suck. Marrying someone you don't love."

Celeste's fingers tightened around her glass.

Adrian's voice was unreadable. "I never wanted this marriage."

Ethan snorted. "Because you wanted her."

Celeste's breath hitched.

Her?

Adrian didn't reply immediately, but when he did, his voice was quieter. "You know I wouldn't married her if I had a choice."

Celeste felt something inside her crack.

Mia, noticing her pale face, leaned in. "Babe? What's wrong?"

Celeste swallowed hard, blinking back the sting in her eyes. "I... I need to go."

Mia frowned. "What? Why? Cel—"

Celeste stood up abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. She didn't care if Adrian saw her. She couldn't stay here.

Because at that moment, she realized—

She had never stood a chance.

——————

Present Day

Celeste sat on their bed, staring at her wedding ring.

Three years. Three years of hoping, of making excuses, of waiting for a love that was never meant for her.

She had thought Adrian was cold because he didn't know how to love her.

But the truth was, he had already given his love to someone else.

Her phone buzzed. Mia.

Mia: Tell me you're not crying over that emotionally constipated man again.

Celeste smiled bitterly.

Celeste: I'm not crying.

Mia: Then what are you doing?

Celeste hesitated before typing.

Celeste: Thinking.

Mia: Oh god. That's even worse.

She laughed, but deep down, the realization settled like stone in her chest.

She had spent years fighting for Adrian.

It was time to let him go.

With steady hands, she slipped off her wedding ring.

Tomorrow, she would ask for a divorce.