Harbor of Heartbreak

Chapter 5

Just then, a courier stepped into the banquet hall.

He carried three packages, each one addressed to Mr. Crawford, delivered exactly as I had instructed.

The room quieted, curiosity buzzing in the air as the guests turned their attention to the unexpected interruption.

With a warm smile, Mr. Crawford opened the first box.

Inside was an exquisite, hand-embroidered tapestry. A detailed scene of a grand celebration, woven with care and intention.

The craftsmanship alone told the story: this piece had taken me months of painstaking work.

Emotion welled in Mr. Crawford's eyes. But before he could say a word, he reached for the second package.

This time, his hands trembled as he lifted the lid.

Inside lay a velvet box containing the Crawford family's heirloom jewelry, the same set the family matriarch had gifted me on my wedding day.

Gasps echoed across the room.

Everyone understood the significance immediately.

In high society, when a woman returns the ancestral jewels… it means only one thing.

Before Mr. Crawford could fully process the meaning, Alexander, his expression stormy, strode forward and opened the third box himself.

He already had a bad feeling.

The box was large.

But all it held were two simple items.

A signed divorce agreement.

And a medical report.

Alexander froze.

Divorce?

She really wanted to divorce him?

No, that couldn't be right. Claire wouldn't… she couldn't.

Then Mr. Crawford's sharp intake of breath cut through the silence. The old man read the report, his face turning pale, then red with fury.

Smack!

The sound of his hand striking Alexander's face rang out across the hall.

"You heartless bastard!" Mr. Crawford shouted, voice shaking. "Look what you've done to her! If I'd known it would come to this, I'd never have let you marry Claire. You've ruined that girl!"

The guests stared, stunned.

Seeing Mr. Crawford nearly collapse from rage, the family rushed to support him, helping him out of the room.

The crowd quietly dispersed, leaving only Alexander standing there, clutching the torn-up remains of the divorce papers in his hand.

He didn't say a word.

Didn't move.

No one knew how long he stood like that.

Eventually, he took the car keys from his driver without a word, ignoring Natalie's calls behind him, and drove straight to the Sullivan family estate.

The house was pitch black. Not a single light on.

He sat there in the car all night, chain-smoking in front of the gate, watching for any sign of life. None came.

By dawn, his throat was raw, voice completely shot.

It wasn't until five days after the party that he finally found out,

Claire had left the country.

She was gone.

Just… gone.

But why?

Why would she leave him like this?

Just because of a mistake?

A mistake every man in the world had made at some point?

Why did she get to walk away so cleanly?

Why did she get to decide when it was over?

He didn't accept that.

He wouldn't accept that.

After pulling every string and calling in every favor, he finally tracked her down.

Without even stopping home, Alexander left straight from the office and headed to the airport, suitcase forgotten, tie still loose from the meeting he'd stormed out of.

He was seconds from checking in when someone grabbed his arm.

Natalie.

Eyes red, voice trembling.

"You're leaving? Just like that? You're abandoning me and the baby?"

He glanced at her growing belly, then looked away.

"I've already had my assistant set you up in a new place. You'll move today."

Natalie choked on a sob. "I don't care if we live in a shack, Alex! As long as I'm with you. But what about the baby? He's innocent! If Claire really loved you, she'd treat our child like her own, "

She didn't get to finish.

Alexander cut her off with ice in his voice.

"And what right do you have to judge my wife?"

Natalie's lips parted in shock.

"I thought you were smart," he added coldly. "Turns out you have no idea where you stand."

He turned toward the gate, grabbed his boarding pass from the airline staff, and looked back at her one last time, expression flat, eyes unreadable.

"No matter how many kids I have out there, Claire will always be my wife.

And when she comes home, I don't want to see a single trace of you left in that mansion.

Pack everything.

And get out."