Pretended to Need Quiet, Loved Another’s Chaos Chapter 06

Pretended to Need Quiet, Loved Another’s Chaos Chapter 06

Adrian stood outside the conference room, his breath catching.

“What gave them the right to terminate the contract without my approval?”

“But Faye said you never wanted to work with Ivy Creative in the first place. She came back around noon and used your electronic signature to approve the termination agreement.”

Adrian hung up abruptly.

He couldn’t accept it.

Difficult partnership? Wasted time and money? Ivy couldn’t simply decide it was over and walk

away.

After college, she’d ended their relationship because their families objected.

Now she’d unilaterally ended their business partnership too. Did she think she could leave him whenever she wanted?

He called her, but the call went straight to voicemail.

Then he opened their message thread and typed a single line.

[Ivy, we need to talk.]

The message never showed as delivered. He could no longer find any of her social media profiles,

either.

The room seemed to tilt. His phone slipped from his hand and hit the floor.

She’d blocked him everywhere.

By the time Faye reached the office, Adrian was already rushing toward the exit. She called after him several times, but although he clearly heard her, he never looked back.

He drove home without stopping.

It was already evening, yet the house was silent. He didn’t bother removing his shoes as he searched every room, his footsteps striking the bare floors.

Ivy was gone.

All he found was the divorce agreement on the coffee table, with her signature on the final page.

His legs finally gave out, and he collapsed to the floor.

Meanwhile, I’d asked a friend to help me find an apartment. I couldn’t return to my parents’ home yet, and sleeping at the office wasn’t a permanent solution.

I was considering different neighborhoods when I heard raised voices outside my office.

“Let me in.”

“Mr. Pierce, you can’t. Ms. Dawson is busy.”

“Why can’t I? I’m her husband.”

“I thought you said you two only had a professional relationship.”

The moment my assistant finished speaking, Adrian appeared in the doorway.

His hands were clenched at his sides. His eyes burned with anger and something I couldn’t identify.

“It’s okay. You can go home.”

My assistant hesitated and glanced at him several times before leaving.

Adrian walked slowly into the office and stopped in front of my desk.

“Why do you want a divorce?”

He slapped the agreement down in front of me. I glanced at it.

“You haven’t been able to sleep beside me for six years. Once we’re divorced, you’ll finally get some rest. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

His lips tightened as he stared at me.

“We’re not getting divorced. I’ll sleep in the guest room if I have to.”

I couldn’t understand him. After years of swallowing every grievance, his refusal made even less

sense to me.

“I don’t get you, Adrian. When we first got married and you complained that I made too much noise, I offered to sleep in another room. You refused because you said married couples belonged in

the same bed.”

My voice remained steady.

“So I stopped watching TV, making calls, or eating after nine. I had carpet installed throughout the house, and I spent six years walking on tiptoe.”

Adrian shook his head, his gaunt face set with determination.

“No. I said I’ll take the guest room. We’re not getting divorced.”

I stood and cut him off.

“Why not? I’m the reason you can’t sleep, remember? If I rolled over, I was too loud. If I swallowed, I was too loud. Even lying beside you and breathing kept you awake.”

“I used to think your insomnia was so severe that you couldn’t tolerate any sound. Now I know you were disgusted by me, and I know you sleep perfectly well around Faye. So why can’t I leave?”

“If she’s the woman who helps you sleep, go be with her. Or are you only worried about our families? I can tell them myself. Your parents never liked me, so they’ll probably be thrilled.”

I lowered my eyes and reached for my phone, but Adrian snatched it from my hand.

When I looked up, his eyes were red.

“What about you, Ivy?” he demanded through clenched teeth. “Who are you losing sleep over?”

“Are you heartbroken because Liam married someone else and had a child? Or can’t you sleep because you’re trapped beside a man you never loved?”

A dull ache spread through my chest.

Adrian knew I took sleeping pills, but he had never understood why I needed them.

“You still don’t get it.”

I looked straight at him.

“I spent every night terrified that I’d wake you or make you angry. How was I supposed to sleep under that kind of pressure?”