Too Late to Say Sorry novel Chapter 1

Five years.

Five years I'd spent building a life with Mark, pouring my heart and soul into our marriage, into his dreams.

And on my birthday, the one day I'd hoped he'd remember to put me first, he was a no-show. Not even a text.

The man couldn't even be bothered to make it home before midnight.

As if the sting of being forgotten wasn't enough, his secretary, Jessica, decided to twist the knife. My phone buzzed with a notification: Jessica, all smiles, a brand new, sparkling ring on her finger, an exact replica of the one Mark had promised he'd find for me "someday". The caption? "The sweetest birthday gift from the best CEO."

It was like a punch to the gut.

All those late nights I'd spent helping Mark with his company, pouring over spreadsheets instead of planning birthday parties, supporting his every dream while my own gathered dust… all for this?

For him to shower my replacement with empty gestures and cheap imitations of the promises he'd made to me?

If this was a year ago, even a month ago, I would have given him a real show. I would have screamed, I would have cried, I would have thrown his precious golf clubs out the window. But now? Now, all I felt was a bone-deep weariness. I was tired of fighting, tired of begging for scraps of his attention, tired of being the invisible woman in his life.

I placed the signed divorce papers on the table, the crisp white envelope a stark contrast to the chaos swirling inside me.

Then, I grabbed my suitcase and walked out.

He was right about one thing: this was the last time.