Falling Apart
Celeste was on fire. Her blood burned with fury as she marched down the hallway, each step filled with the weight of her own heartbreak.
The words that had been slung at her in the bathroom still echoed in her mind, cutting deeper with every passing second.
She couldn't keep pretending anymore. She was done.
She pushed open the door to Adrian's office without knocking, her heart hammering in her chest. Adrian, who had been speaking on the phone, paused mid-sentence when he saw her. The door slammed behind her with a deafening force that made the entire room reverberate.
Her eyes—blazing, full of rage—locked onto him. Adrian didn't even finish his sentence before he hung up the phone, his attention now fully on her.
But Celeste didn't give him the satisfaction of an explanation.
She was already marching toward her desk, ignoring the way his gaze followed her, the way he stood still, caught off guard by her sudden, violent entrance.
She was shaking, her hands gripping the edge of the desk as she rifled through papers, her every movement tight with barely-contained fury.
Adrian's eyes softened, his confusion turning to concern as he approached her slowly. "Celeste, what's going on?" he asked, his voice tentative, trying to reach her, to understand the storm that was brewing in her.
But she didn't look up. She didn't acknowledge him. She was searching—no, digging—through the clutter on her desk. Her breaths were quick, shallow, as if she couldn't catch her breath from the pain that was eating her alive.
Adrian walked closer, his hand reaching out toward her arm. "Celeste—"
"Don't touch me," she hissed, her voice venomous.
The command struck him like a slap. His hand froze in midair, a muscle in his jaw twitching.
He stepped back, his expression a mixture of confusion and guilt.
He didn't understand. He never did. His mind raced, trying to piece together the shift in her.
She wasn't behaving like her usual self.
This wasn't a tantrum. This wasn't a petty argument.
She was hurt. Deeply, profoundly hurt.
Adrian knew it. But he had no idea why. He had no idea what had pushed her to this edge.
The realization hit him hard, and in that moment, something in him snapped.
He needed to talk to her. He needed them to have privacy.
His finger hovered over the button on his desk, and with a press, the door locked and the blinds closed, shutting them in with only the sound of Celeste's ragged breathing.
"What's wrong, Celeste?" Adrian asked again, this time more insistent, but his voice cracked at the end, full of helplessness.
She whipped around to face him, her eyes fiery with anger and pain. "Where is it?" she demanded, her voice a storm.
Adrian frowned, blinking in confusion. "Where is what?"
Celeste's eyes narrowed as she took a step closer, her voice rising. "The divorce papers. Where are the divorce papers, Adrian?" Her words cut like a whip, each syllable tearing at him.
Adrian's face faltered, the weight of her anger hitting him full-force. He didn't know where this was coming from, but it was clear she was serious. Her fury radiated from her, a palpable force that suffocated the air around them.
"Why would you need them?" Adrian asked, the words leaving his mouth before he could think. "I thought we were past this, Celeste. I thought—"
"Don't you dare tell me we're past this," she interrupted, her voice low, but sharp as glass. "I'm not letting this go, Adrian. I want a divorce."
He hesitated. "I... I took it." He paused, as if measuring the weight of his next words. "I threw it in the shredder."
The confession landed like a thunderclap. Celeste's face twisted in disbelief. Her heart slammed in her chest as anger and pain consumed her. The room felt like it was closing in. "You what?"
His eyes softened, but there was still tension in his voice. "I don't agree to it. Celeste, why are you—this isn't how we—"
She slapped him across the face, hard enough that his head jerked to the side.
The room fell into a stunned silence, and for a brief second, Adrian didn't move. He couldn't believe it. She had never hit him before. They had fought, screamed, even cried, but never had they laid hands on one another.
His heart pounded as he turned slowly to face her, his hand coming up to touch the sting on his cheek. Celeste's hand, still raised in the air, was trembling. Her eyes were wide, filled with unshed tears. She was crying—her chest was heaving with sobs that she was barely keeping in check.
She cut him off, her voice louder this time, tinged with desperation. "I want out of this—out of this marriage, Adrian. I'm done pretending. Done. I'm not your fucking backup. I'm not your damn substitute!" Her words were like daggers, each one tearing deeper into him.
He stepped back, guilt flooding him, but he still didn't understand what she was so furious about. "I didn't—I never thought of you like that. Celeste, you're not a substitute."
Her voice broke as tears welled in her eyes, burning with fury. "Then why did you marry me, Adrian? Because you loved me? Or was I just the one available when you wanted to make Emily jealous?"
"No!" he shouted, frustration leaking into his voice. "It wasn't like that, Celeste."
"Then what was it like?" she spat, her tears now flowing freely. "Was I just a pawn for your damn games?
I'm so tired, Adrian," Celeste sobbed, her voice breaking into pieces. "So tired of pretending everything is okay. Of waiting. Of being some replacement for her. Do you know what it feels like to be used ?"
Her voice shook with the intensity of her anger and heartbreak. Adrian stepped forward, his hands reaching for her, but she backed away from him as if he were a stranger, her eyes accusing him of everything he had done wrong.
"I wasted three years of my life on you," she whispered, her voice raw and laced with pain.
"Three years... of waiting for you to come home.
.. wondering if you were out with someone else.
Wondering if you were screwing someone while I sat in that empty house—waiting.
Waiting for a man who never truly saw me. "
Adrian flinched at her words, the truth of it hitting him hard. "Celeste, I never... I never cheated on you. When I wasn't home, I was either working or with Ethan. I never—"
"You think that matters?" she interrupted, her eyes burning with hurt.
"You think that makes a difference? I was alone in our house, wondering if you even gave a damn about me.
All this time, I thought I could change things, make things better.
.. But I was wrong because you never even wanted me me.
Adrian's face faltered. His chest hurt. His jaw clenched, his hands curling into fists.
"No. It wasn't like that, Celeste," he said, his voice cracking, but the words felt inadequate, like they couldn't reach her.
"I never wanted to make Emily jealous.
Your grandfather... when your family's company is having financial problems..
. he was trying to marry you off to Jonathan Morris—an old man in exchange of an investment.
I couldn't let that happen, Celeste. I can't give you to him.
So, I had to do something." He was breathless now, pacing in frustration.
"It wasn't about Emily. We broke up, she married another man and I moved on.
I wasn't forced to marry you, I wanted it.
It was about you and me—us. I thought...
I thought I was doing what was best."
Celeste recoiled, her heart shattering in her chest. "So its because of Pity? You married me out of pity?" she gasped, her voice breaking, and the raw pain in her eyes cut deeper than anything he could have imagined. "Is that what I was to you, Adrian? A pity project?"
He didn't answer immediately. The truth was, he didn't want to admit it, but it was there in the back of his mind, weighing him down. The guilt of his own confusion about his feelings had kept him locked in this marriage, but it was all unraveling in front of him.
"I—" He choked on the words. " I thought I was doing the right thing, Celeste. I thought I cared for you... like a big brother. But after a while... I realized I did care for you. More than I ever thought. More than I ever allowed myself to admit."
Adrian's heart clenched. He stepped forward again, but Celeste pushed him away, the pain on her face enough to make him stop in his tracks.
"No. No more. You don't get to act like you care about me after everything." She choked on her own words. "If this is what it means to care, then I don't want it. I'm done. I'm done with you."
Her words rocked him to his core, and his face paled.
He opened his mouth to speak, but the words felt like they were caught in his throat.
He wanted to apologize. He wanted to tell her the truth about how he felt, how he had never meant for things to turn out this way.
But it was too late. He had already hurt her too much.
He stood there, speechless, unable to process the weight of her words. He had been so focused on avoiding his own pain that he never saw how deeply he had hurt her.
"Celeste, please—"
"Why won't you just let me go?" she whispered, her voice cracking, but her words laced with the bitterness of everything he had done to her. "I'm tired of with this. I don't want to fight anymore, Adrian. I don't want you anymore."
Adrian came closer and wrapped his arms around Celeste, pulling her into a desperate, crushing embrace.
He held her so tight, as if he believed that if he let go, it would be the final nail in the coffin of everything they had once shared.
His body trembled with raw emotion, his breath shallow as he clung to her, the tears falling freely now.
"No," he choked out, his voice barely a whisper, thick with desperation.
"Celeste, please... I know I've shattered everything we had, and I'm so sorry.
I've been selfish, distant, and I've made you feel invisible, and I can't take back the damage I've done.
But I'm begging you—please don't leave me.
I never wanted to lose you like this. I never wanted this to be the end.
I tried but I can't—I can't let you go."
But Celeste didn't respond with the comfort he so desperately sought. Instead, she pulled herself from his arms, gently but firmly, her body stiff with rejection. She took a step back, looking at him with a mixture of sorrow and resolve in her eyes.
"I want a life, Adrian," she said, her voice barely above a broken whisper, trembling with the weight of everything that had led to this moment. "A life without you. Without all of this... all this pain."
Adrian's heart broke as he stood there, helpless, the space between them now an unbearable chasm. His arms dropped to his sides, and for a long moment, neither of them spoke. The silence was louder than any words could be, and the ache in his chest was enough to suffocate him.
But Celeste had already made up her mind.
"I'm done," she whispered, her voice final. "I'm done."
And with that, she turned on her heel and walked out of his office, leaving him standing there, broken, unable to stop her.