The Lost City

Chapter One

I never imagined the day would come when I’d be standing at the divorce window with Jake Lawson, ready to call it quits.

There wasn’t any big fight or massive betrayal, just the slow creep of the seven-year itch finally scratching its way to the surface.

Seven years of marriage, polite, predictable days, I honestly thought we were set for life.

Turns out, time wins.

I’ve known Jake for ten years.

Back then, I was young and head-over-heels, chasing him for three solid years.

After college, his parents basically strong-armed us into tying the knot, skipping the whole dating thing.

He used to claim he was allergic to marriage, so I still don’t know why he agreed.

All these years, no wedding, no honeymoon, and definitely no kids.

It wasn’t that we couldn’t have them, Jake just didn’t want them.

He treated me like his wife, did his husbandly duties, you know, the usual – even if our intimacy felt more like a scheduled maintenance thing.

Being with him, loving him even if it was one-sided, was enough for me.

That’s what I told myself, anyway.

Then one night, he came home late from work, and lit a cigarette right there in the entryway.

The smoke curled up, stinging my nostrils.

My chest tightened.

I didn’t even know he smoked. I’d never caught a whiff of it on him before.

It was our anniversary, too, though I doubted he even remembered.

I asked for a divorce.

Jake just looked at me for a long moment, took a quick sweep of the living room, and stubbed out the cigarette in a teacup.

I turned around, locked myself in the bedroom, and moved out the next day.

Thirty years old, career in overdrive, a car, a condo – I was the “girlboss” everyone talked about.

My love life, though? A total train wreck.

Staring out the window at the buzzing city lights, I gave a wry laugh.

Ten PM, and there was a knock on my office door.

“Ms. Shaw, I finished revising the project proposal and emailed it to you.”

I looked up, nodded.

“Thanks, you can head home. Get some rest tomorrow.”

The girl beamed. “Thank you, Ms. Shaw! You should go home too, work never ends!”

Work never ends… I used to say that to Jake all the time.

Now, standing here, I realized he wasn’t always working late, maybe he just didn’t want to come home and face me.

“Got it.” I smiled back. “Go on, be safe.”

“Yes ma’am!”

The office went silent, and it felt like my little corner was the only light left in the whole building.

I leaned back in my chair, closed my eyes, and felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me.

My phone buzzed, cutting through the silence.

It was Ryan, one of Jake’s best friends, and I couldn’t imagine why he’d be calling this late.

I answered, and a loud, boisterous voice exploded in my ear.

“Hey, Sis! Jake’s totally hammered! Could you come pick him up from the club?”

I froze, thinking I misheard.

“Who’s drunk?”

“Jake! Jake Lawson! Are you Sis? Sounded like you…”

The voice was all muddled, sometimes loud, sometimes quiet. I frowned, not understanding how Jake, always so calm and collected, could get wasted at a club.

Was he upset about the divorce?

That was a joke, right? He’d practically jumped at the chance to get divorced.

I called out to Ryan, “Just put him in a cab, okay? The keys should be in his pocket. I can’t tonight.”

There was a pause, then a nervous laugh. “Hey, Sis, what are you talking about?”

“We’re divorced.”

I wanted to say those words, but it was Jake’s voice that said it.

Ryan went completely silent, then hung up after a moment.

I stared at my phone, dazed.

It had been twelve hours since the paperwork went through. I’d been reminding myself of it every minute, hammering the reality into my brain.

And yet, hearing him say it out loud still sent a jolt of emotion through me.

For a while after that, Jake and I didn’t cross paths.

My company was developing our new line for next year, and my assistant and I went to discuss a partnership. The meeting was scheduled at Lawson Group’s club, the Deerfield Lounge.

I hesitated, figuring it was a long shot that Jake would be there, he rarely visited the club.

So I didn’t say anything.

I had a couple drinks that day, not enough to get properly drunk, but I was definitely feeling a little fuzzy-headed as my assistant guided me out of the club.

Then I looked up, and Jake was standing right in front of me.

“Can we talk?”

I stared at him for a second, making sure I wasn’t seeing things, then told my assistant to go ahead.

He reached out to steady me, but I flinched away, stepping back.

“What do you want to say… just say it.”

He slowly lowered his arm, then straightened up.

“I never got a chance to apologize. I tried a cigarette for the first time that day, and forgot you were allergic to nicotine. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

I dropped my gaze, and managed a weak laugh.

“Yeah, it’s okay, it’s in the past. I didn’t think much of it.”

“I won’t smoke again, not ever.”

My throat suddenly felt tight.

Divorced people talking about “forever” was kind of pathetic, wasn’t it?

I said coldly, “That’s your business, you don’t need to tell me.”

He was silent, then finally spoke again. “Where’s your car? I’ll drive you home.”

“No need, I called a ride.”

Another silence, and I heard a short, humorless laugh.

“Is that it… are we just going to pretend we don’t know each other?”

I looked up at him, felt a sharp pain in my chest, and a jolt in my brain.

“What are you saying? I don’t like to think that way.”

I’m so drunk… I inwardly cursed myself, but kept smiling as I added, “Lawson Group’s the top company in the city. Who knows? Maybe someday I’ll be working with Mr. Lawson on a deal.”

He smiled, but the smile felt cold.

People say that people with thin lips are naturally detached. I never believed it.

I loved his thin lips more than anything.

A light red, cool and soft like lime ice cream.

I suddenly snapped out of it, stumbled back, and turned to find my car.

“Well, Mr. Lawson, I should get going. Maybe we can chat again sometime.”

I ran away, plain and simple.

In my phone’s contact list, Jake Lawson was always at the top.

I woke up from a nightmare one night, and found no one beside me. I automatically thought Jake was working late again, and instinctively dialed his number.

A low, sleepy “Hello?” made me freeze.

Habit really was a scary thing.

“Sorry, I butt-dialed you.”

I blurted it out, about to hang up when his voice, louder now, cut through the line.

“Wait, you had a nightmare again? I can talk to you for a bit.”

Actually, Jake had been a kind and dependable husband.

I never slept well. Whenever I woke up from nightmares or just couldn’t fall asleep, I’d ask him to talk to me. His voice was always so calming. I’d fall asleep easily, feeling safe.

Now, I didn’t have the right anymore, and I needed to wean myself off my dependence on him.

“No, it was a mistake, you can go back to sleep.”

I hung up quickly, but the phone rang again a second later.

“Actually, I remembered something. Could you still come home for dinner this weekend? Mom hasn’t been feeling well lately, and I haven’t told her about us.”

That completely woke me up.

Did I have to pretend everything was normal?

That wasn’t exactly my strong suit.

“I’ll think about it, see if I have time.”

I hung up again quickly, and Jake didn’t call back.

I swiped his name off the favorites list.

I wanted to come up with an excuse not to go to the Lawson’s, but the next day his mom called me, sounding confused, asking why I hadn’t been in touch lately.

Mrs. Lawson had always loved me as a daughter-in-law.

First, because my family connections helped Lawson Group, and second, because she knew Jake didn’t want to get married, and I was the only one who could handle his coldness and stubbornly pursue him for so long.

All these years, Mrs. Lawson always sided with me whenever Jake and I had a fight.

And she really wasn’t doing well.

The excuses turned over and over on my tongue, but I swallowed them all down.

“Work’s been busy lately… but Jake and I will come see you tomorrow.”

“Okay, okay, you have to take care of yourself too. All the money in the world doesn’t matter without your health…”

After a long, concerned conversation, the office fell silent again.

I sighed, pushing the problem to the back of my mind, and focused on work.

What was coming was coming.

In front of the Lawson’s villa, Jake and I stood shoulder-to-shoulder, like two actors walking the red carpet, plastering friendly smiles on our faces as we walked forward.

He suddenly stopped, turning to look at me.

“Something’s missing…”

I looked back at him, confused. He took a long step towards me, bringing his arm almost touching mine, his breath warm on my forehead.

My ears flushed, betraying me.

“You used to link arms with me.” he said.

I lowered my head, feeling awkward.

“That was then, it’s not appropriate now.”

“But for these next few hours, we’re still a ‘couple,’ aren’t we?”

A wave of anger surged through me, and I took a deep breath, barely keeping my voice down.

“Jake Lawson, what are you doing? Are you regretting your decision?”