The divorce is final. As of last week, she tried to delay, tried to negotiate, but eventually signed. The house sold. Assets are divided. We're done.
And you're okay? James considered the question seriously. More than okay. I keep waiting for the sadness to hit, for the regret, but it doesn't come. Mostly, I just feel free and maybe a little angry at myself for waiting so long.
Victor nodded knowingly. My second wife, yes, second, I'm not proud. She spent 3 years making me feel like I was never quite enough, never attentive enough, romantic enough, successful enough. After the divorce, I realized she'd been projecting. She was the one who was never enough, never satisfied, never grateful, never present.
Some people are black holes of need. You can't fill them. You can only escape them. The words resonated deeply. James had spent years trying to fill that void, sacrificing his own dreams and ambitions, believing that if he just tried harder, gave more, diminished himself enough, she'd finally see him.
But some people don't want to see you. They want a mirror that reflects only their own desires back at them. What about you? Victor asked. Are you ready to date again?
Plenty of women here would be interested in a successful foreign architect. Not even close. James laughed. Right now, I'm dating my career, my freedom, my life. That relationship is going extremely well.
But the universe, it seemed, had other plans. Her name was Elena and she was the environmental consultant on the Meridian project. Romanian by birth, educated in London, based in Singapore for 5 years, she had a directness that was refreshing after years of reading between lines and decoding passive aggressive texts. Their first real conversation beyond project logistics happened during a site inspection. The foundation was being poured, a massive undertaking, and they'd both stayed late to supervise.
The rainwater harvesting system, Elena said, studying the plans on her tablet. It's brilliant. Most architects treat sustainability as a checkbox. You've made it integral to the design. It's always bothered me, James admitted, how we build these monuments to human achievement while ignoring the environmental cost.
Like we're conquering nature instead of working with it. Exactly. Her eyes lit up. That's exactly the problem. This building though, it's different.
It's a collaboration, not a conquest. They talked for 2 hours, long after the workers had left, standing in the construction site under portable lights, debating design philosophy and environmental ethics. When James finally noticed the time, he was startled. He hadn't lost track of time in conversation with a woman in years. With her, it had always been about managing her moods, her needs, her perception of him.
"We should do this again, " Elena said as they parted ways. The conversation, I mean, maybe somewhere with better lighting and fewer muddy puddles. "I'd like that. " They started having coffee once a week, always talking about work, ideas, the projects they dreamed of doing. Elena had a 5-year plan to start her own sustainability consulting firm.