I Found His Marriage Certificate In His Suit Pocket Chapter 07

I Found His Marriage Certificate In His Suit Pocket Chapter 07

The doctor said Sophie wouldn’t wake up until morning.

Ethan took the chance to go home, to their apartment-the one he’d shared with Sophie for eight years.

He packed up all of Mia’s luggage and threw it out, then sprayed the apartment several times with Sophie’s favorite

perfume before he was satisfied.

When he was done, He sank onto the couch, and a wave of crushing loneliness washed over him.

Usually, no matter whether he was reading the newspaper on the couch or doing research in his study, he could always

see Sophie’s figure.

Sophie making soup. Sophie humming. Sophie doing Pilates in the living room.

He’d always grumbled, telling her she was too loud, too chatty, too much. But he’d always found himself looking up. stealing little glances at her, a small, fond smile on his face that he thought no one saw.

Eight years. Sophie hadn’t changed, not really.

She was still the same bright, beautiful girl he’d fallen in love with in college.

But somewhere along the way, her smiles had faded. Her laughter had grown quieter. The light in her eyes had dimmed.

Ethan shifted on the couch, uncomfortable, and something hard pressed into his hip.

He sat up and pulled it out of the cushion-a bracelet.

He barely recognized it.

Eight years ago, when they’d seen it in the jewelry store window, it had been sparkling, dazzling, the most beautiful thing Sophie had ever laid eyes on.

Eight years later, even though Sophie had polished it and taken care of it every few days, the diamonds had lost their shine. The metal was scratched and dull.

It looked like a cheap trinket from a dollar store.

Ethan clenched the bracelet in his hand and suddenly broke down sobbing, the pain in his heart too much to bear.

Sophie’s mother had left her jewelry far more expensive, far more beautiful than this bracelet. Sophie’s mother had left her jewelry far more expensive than this bracelet.

But Sophie had worn this one bracelet every single day for eight years.

She’d worn it until it was dull and scratched and broken.

Divorce is just the beginning. The woman he called “nothing” is about to win.

And she’d never once complained, never once asked for something better.

All because he’d bought it for her. All because it was the only gift he’d ever given her that had come from his heart.

And he’d never even given her a ring to replace it. Never proposed. Never gave her the wedding she’d dreamed of.

No wonder her smiles had faded. No wonder she’d been sad.

Clutching the bracelet, Ethan slept on the couch through the night.

The next morning, he was waiting outside the New Haven County Marriage Bureau at seven thirty, an hour early.

The next morning, he was waiting outside the New Haven County Marriage Bureau at seven thirty, an hour early.

Ethan cut her off before she could say a word, and they signed the divorce papers in silence, the process quick and cold.

“Did you bring Sophie’s jewelry?” he asked, his voice flat, no emotion in his eyes.

Mia bit her lip, her eyes filled with resentment, and nodded. She pulled a small velvet box out of her purse and handed it

to him, her fingers tight around the edge, like she didn’t want to let go.

“Professor Cole,” she said, her voice soft and pleading, one last attempt to save what little they had, “you said this jewelry was for me to give me confidence, to help me hold my head up high. I love it so much. Can I keep just one piece? As a

memento?”

Ethan snatched the box out of her hand, opened it, and counted the pieces-necklace, earrings, bracelet, ring, brooch-all of them, every single one of Sophie’s mother’s things, safe and sound. He slammed the box shut and cut her off, his voice

sharp and impatient:

“If you want nice jewelry, study hard. Get a good job. Save up and buy it yourself.”

“If your parents try to control you, if they try to force you into a marriage, call the police. Don’t come to me. I don’t want Sophie to misunderstand.”

Ethan grabbed the velvet box and turned to leave, no goodbye, no backward glance, his steps firm and resolute.

On the drive back to the hospital, he practiced his proposal a hundred times, replaying the words in his head, trying to

make them perfect.

In the backseat were flowers and a diamond ring, bought with the royalty fees from his nanomaterial patent.

He hoped she’d like it.

If she didn’t like it, it didn’t matter. When he made more money later, he’d buy her a new one.

Nervous, Ethan pushed open the hospital room door. He held a large bouquet of flowers in one hand and a delicate ring

box in the other, his hands trembling. Blushing, he dropped to one knee. He was like a young kid, so excited he could barely speak.

“So… Sophie. Will you marry me?”

Silence.

No answer.

Ethan looked up, confused, his smile fading, and his heart dropped into his stomach.

The hospital bed was empty.

Sophie was gone.