Seven Years of Devotion: He Left Me to Die, I Left Him for Good

On the seventh anniversary of my marriage, I, Clara Hart, received two "gifts."

One was an urgent alert from the embassy-armed conflict in Arkania was imminent, and all citizens were advised to evacuate immediately.

The other was a message from my husband, Adrian Foster, "Pack your things. Wait for me downstairs. Ten minutes."

I quickly packed an emergency kit and rushed downstairs.

People around me were already evacuating in a panic, yet Adrian was nowhere to be seen.

I called him, my voice trembling, only to be met with a cold, clipped response.

"The car's packed with confidential company documents. There's no room left. Sophie has a severe fear of war. I need to get her out first."

My blood ran cold. "What about me?" I asked, barely believing what I was hearing.

Adrian clicked his tongue impatiently. "Clara, stop being so dramatic. Just take the embassy bus. It's the same."

Explosions thundered in the distance, shattering everything I had believed in over the past seven years. Whatever love had once existed between us crumbled to dust.

I stopped waiting. Slinging the emergency pack over my shoulder, I turned and walked away into the chaos of war.

......

A dull explosion echoed in the distance, the ground trembling faintly beneath my feet.

"The buses are prioritizing the elderly, the sick, and the injured."

I spoke evenly, forcing myself to stay calm. "I'm your wife."

Adrian frowned, clearly annoyed. "Sophie's not well. She can't handle the stress. You've worked in Mocrana before. You're tougher than most. The assembly point is only five kilometers away. You can make it on your own."

"Adrian, this is a war zone. Five kilometers could get me killed."

"Can you stop making a scene? Sophie got dragged into this. This is your responsibility."

Sophie Bennett burst into tears and reached for the car door. "Adrian, maybe I should get out..."

Adrian immediately stopped her, then turned to me, his voice icy. "Clara, be reasonable. The buses have armed escort. You'll be fine. We'll meet at Astara Gate."

The window rolled up. The SUV kicked up a cloud of dust as it sped north.

I tightened the strap of my pack and turned, walking in the opposite direction.

Black smoke rose in the distance. The streets had already descended into chaos.

My phone vibrated. It was Adrian. "Let me know when you arrive. Sophie's terrified. I have to stay with her for now. Take care of yourself."

I put my phone away and merged into the fleeing crowd.

Ten minutes ago, I had been Adrian's wife.

Now, I was just another solitary figure in a collapsing city.

I knew Adrian would regret this one day.

But by then, I might already be gone.

By the time I reached the embassy assembly point, it was already two in the afternoon.

A dense crowd packed the gates, a sea of people pressed together.

Some held up national flags, others shouted desperately.

I pushed through the crowd, struggling to show my passport to the armed officer at the gate.

"Make way! Move aside!"

A staff member, drenched in sweat, shouted through a megaphone.

"The first batch of buses is full! Please stay orderly and wait for the next round!"

I watched as three buses slowly pulled away, national flags taped to their windows, faces pressed tightly inside.

They were the last convoy with armed escort.

I was too late.

If I hadn't waited those ten minutes for Adrian, if I hadn't argued with him on the roadside, I would have made it.

"When's the next batch?" I grabbed the staff member's sleeve, my voice tight.

He glanced at me, exhaustion and urgency written all over his face.

"We don't know. The roads are too dangerous. The buses can't make it back. If you're able, head to Astara Gate on your own. There'll be support there."

On my own.

Five hundred kilometers from Dorzan to Astara Gate.

With mountains in between... and active combat zones where airstrikes could happen at any moment.

I let go and stepped back onto the curb.

The phone signal flickered in and out.

I opened the chat with Adrian. The last message still sat there, "Take care of yourself."

After a moment, I typed, "The bus is gone. I didn't make it on."

The message spun three times... then failed to send.

The red exclamation mark stabbed at my eyes.

I raised my phone, searching for a signal. After a long moment, it finally went through.

Five minutes later, Adrian called back.

The background was chaotic, wind roaring, Sophie's startled cries cutting through the noise.

"You didn't get on? What were you even doing?"

There was clear blame in his voice.

"I told you to go earlier, but you had to drag your feet. Now what?"

I watched another plume of black smoke rise in the distance.

"I'll wait here by the roadside. Come back and get me," I said.

There was a two-second silence on the other end.

"Clara, stop being unreasonable. We're already sixty kilometers out of the city. If we turn back now, we're all dead. And Sophie just threw up. The car smells awful. We need to cross the border as soon as possible."

My fingers tightened around the phone, turning ashen.

"So I've been left here. Is that it?"

"What do you mean 'left'? You missed the bus. Who else is to blame?"

Adrian's voice rose, sharper now.

"Figure out a ride yourself. You're a project manager. Do I really have to teach you how to arrange transport?"

"Adrian."

I said his name.

"A missile just hit nearby."

He paused.

"Don't try to scare me. The news said the strikes are targeting military sites. You're nowhere near that. Clara, are you seriously jealous that I took Sophie with me? Can you be a little more understanding at a time like this? She can't survive without me. She'd be dead on her own. You're different."

Across the street, a shop window had just shattered from the blast, glass shards scattered everywhere.

"I'm not jealous," I said. "I just want you to know that if I die, you'll probably find my body somewhere on the road to Astara Gate."

"Are you insane?" Adrian snapped.

The line went dead.

I stared at the dark screen, then blocked his number.

It was the first time I had ever hung up on him. The first time I had ever cut him off.

In the past, no matter how bad our fights got, I always left the line open, waiting for him to call back and make it right.

But today, I didn't need that anymore.