Chapter 6: The Man She Left Behind

The mansion was quiet.

Too quiet.

Andrew Collins stood alone in the centre of the living room, his sharp eyes moving slowly across the massive space.

Nothing had changed.

Everything remained exactly where it belonged.

And yet…Something felt missing.

His face was cold.

This was what he wanted, wasn’t it?

Freedom from a marriage that had become nothing more than an obligation.

So why did the emptiness inside the mansion suddenly feel different?

His eyes shifted toward the staircase.

Every morning for the past three years, Isabella would appear there around this time.

Quiet footsteps.

Soft voice.

A gentle presence moving carefully through the house as though afraid to disturb the silence.

But now…There was nothing.

No sound.

No movement.

No, Isabella.

Andrew exhaled sharply before turning away from the staircase.

He whispered, " I had made the right decision.

The marriage had always been a contract.

Nothing more.

His phone suddenly rang, breaking the silence.

Andrew answered immediately.

“Speak.”

“Mr Collins, the documents were delivered.”

His expression remained unreadable.

“And?”

A brief hesitation followed on the other end.

“She refused to accept them.”

Andrew’s hand tightened slightly around the phone.

“What do you mean she refused?”

The assistant cleared his throat nervously.

“She said she doesn’t want anything that belongs to you.”

Andrew becomes Silent, he stares ahead coldly, the words replaying inside his head.

She doesn’t want anything that belongs to you.

For reasons he couldn’t explain…The statement irritated him.

Not because of the documents themselves.

But because of what the refusal meant.

“Send them again,” he said finally.

“Sir, she specifically said…”

“I don’t care what she said.”

His tone dropped colder and sharper.

“Send them again.”

“Yes, sir.”

The call ended immediately.

Andrew slowly lowered the phone.

His eyes darkened slightly.

“She doesn’t want anything from me…”The words lingered unpleasantly in his mind.

And for the first time…He realised Isabella wasn’t reacting the way he expected her to.

She wasn’t angry.

Wasn’t emotional.

Wasn’t trying to hold onto him.

Instead…She was cutting herself away completely.

And somehow…That bothered him more than it should have.

Across the city.

Isabella stepped out of a small clinic, a file held tightly against her chest.

The cold afternoon breeze brushed gently against her hair, but she barely noticed it.

Her mind was elsewhere.

The doctor’s words still echoed clearly inside her head.

Confirmed.

No doubts.

No uncertainty.

She was pregnant.

Really pregnant.

Her fingers tightened around the file slightly.

Fear settled heavily inside her chest.

But beneath the fear…There was clarity too.

A strange, painful certainty.

There was no going back anymore.

This wasn’t just about her life now.

Someone else depended on her.

Someone small.

Someone innocent.

“Isabella.”

She turned at the familiar voice.

Daniel stood a few steps away, concern immediately visible in his eyes.

He had insisted on waiting nearby during her appointment, even after she told him he didn’t need to.

“Well?” he asked carefully.

Isabella looked down briefly before nodding once.

“It’s confirmed.”

Daniel went silent for a moment.

Then finally…“We’ll figure it out.”

The words made her blink slightly.

“We?”

Daniel frowned faintly at her reaction.

“Yes. We.”

A small smile touched Isabella’s lips.

“I will figure it out,” she corrected quietly.

Daniel sighed softly.

“You don’t have to push everyone away every time things get difficult.”

“I’m not pushing you away.”

“You are.”

Their eyes met.

And for a brief moment…Neither of them looked away.

“I just…” Isabella hesitated.

Then lowered her eyes again.

“I don’t want to depend on anyone anymore.”

Daniel’s expression softened instantly.

“That’s not weakness.”

“To me, it is.”

Silence settled between them again.

Because deep down…Both of them understood that this wasn’t something that could be easily argued away.

Andrew had taught her what happened when you depended too much on someone emotionally.

You got abandoned.

And Isabella refused to let herself experience that kind of pain again.

Back at the Collins Mansion.

Abigail Scott walked elegantly through the long hallway, her heels clicking softly against the polished floor.

She stopped outside Andrew’s study briefly before pushing the door open.

Andrew stood beside the floor-to-ceiling window once again.

Always the window lately.

Always staring outside as though searching for something he couldn’t name.

“She refused the documents again?” Abigail asked softly.

Andrew didn’t turn around, but he replied to her.

“Yes, she did.”

A faint smile curved Abigail’s lips.

“How unexpected.”

Andrew’s expression hardened slightly.

“She’s being difficult.”

“No,” Abigail corrected gently as she stepped farther into the room.

“She’s changing.”

That made him turn toward her fully.

Their eyes met across the room.

“And what exactly does that mean?” he asked coldly.

Abigail crossed her arms lightly.

“It means she’s no longer the woman who stayed quietly beside you no matter how badly you treated her.”

The words settled heavily in the room.

Andrew’s face turned cold.

But he said nothing.

Because some part of him knew she was right.

And that realisation irritated him more than anything else.

Abigail watched him carefully.

Then after a moment, she smiled softly.

“You wanted freedom, Andrew. Isn’t this a good thing?”

His expression remained unreadable.

“Yes.”

But the answer came a little too slowly.

Later that evening.

Isabella sat at the small desk near Daniel’s apartment window, papers spread carefully in front of her.

Rental listings.

Job applications.

Financial estimates.

Her entire future lay out in numbers and possibilities.

She studied everything carefully.

Because she had to.

No one else was going to build her life for her.

Daniel leaned quietly against the doorway, watching her for a moment before speaking.

“You don’t have to rush through this.”

“I do.”

She didn’t even look up from the papers.

“The sooner I stabilise things, the better.”

“For you…” Daniel asked carefully, “Or for the baby?”

Her hand paused briefly above the papers.

She said “For both.”

Daniel nodded slowly.

For a moment, silence filled the apartment again.

Then he spoke quietly.

“You’ve changed.”

That finally made Isabella look up.

“Have I?”

“Yes.”

His answer came immediately.

“You used to wait.”

Her chest tightened faintly at the words.

Because he was right.

For years, she waited.

Waited for Andrew to notice her.

Waited for affection.

Waited for love that never came.

Now…She was tired of waiting.

A faint smile touched her lips.

“I learned my lesson.”

The words were soft.

But painful.

Daniel’s eyes lingered on her quietly.

And for the first time…He realised Andrew Collins might have truly lost her.

Miles away.

Andrew sat alone in his study once again.

Same chair.

Same room.

Same silence.

But tonight…The silence felt heavier than before.

His phone rested on the desk in front of him.

He stared at it for a long moment before finally picking it up.

His thumb moved across the screen automatically until he reached her contact.

Isabella.

Still saved.

Still there.

His finger hovered briefly over the call button.

Then stopped.

A strange unfamiliar feeling settled inside his chest.

Finally, Andrew locked the phone again and placed it back onto the desk.

Because he didn’t call her.

He didn’t need to.

At least…That’s what he told himself.

But for the first time in a very long while…Andrew Collins felt something dangerous creeping beneath his control.

Not anger.

Not frustration.

Not even regret.

But uncertainty.

And he hated it.