After everything was done, I went home. I stood in the place I'd lived for five years, looked at everything around me, and felt nothing but the absurdity of it all.
I didn't know how long I stood there before the door opened. Bartholomew walked toward me, frowning.
The jasmine perfume Vivien always wore reached me before he did.
“Have you come to your senses?”
He took off his jacket like nothing had happened, waiting for me to say I accepted them.
I let out a bitter laugh. Looking at this stranger wearing my husband's face sent a dull ache through my chest.
I didn't speak. I slipped the divorce agreement behind the gift registry and held it out to him.
His brow creased. He snatched it from me impatiently.
“What now? Who's that sour face for? If you want something, just say it. Bags, watches, jewelry. I can get you whatever you want.”
I lowered my head, a hollow smile pulling at my lips. In his eyes, every emotion I had was just me being difficult. Every wound could be paid off.
I swallowed the metallic taste rising in my throat and pushed the papers toward him, my voice eerily calm.
“Bartholomew, sign this. Consider it my compensation.”
He glanced down, assuming I was throwing a tantrum and needed gifts to settle me down.
After all, whenever he'd upset me in the past, it always took a pile of presents to coax me back. He figured now was no different.
He flipped to the first page. A full spread of luxury items. He didn't so much as blink before signing his name.
“Kay, stop being upset. You know you'll always be Mrs. Vance. The promises I made you will never change.”
He started to hand the signed pages back.
I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms, the pain making my hands shake. I turned to the next page and pushed it in front of him again.
“Sign this one too.”
Confusion flickered across his face, and he was about to look more carefully when his phone rang.
It was Vivien. On the other end, her voice was choked with tears, saying she'd had a nightmare and was scared.
Bartholomew's composure cracked in an instant. He dropped the papers and turned to leave.
I stepped in front of him, my voice cold.
“It's just a signature. It won't keep you from running to her.”
Seeing I wouldn't budge, he scrawled his name and bolted out the door without even grabbing his coat.
I watched his retreating back, then looked down at his signature on the divorce agreement. The last trace of warmth in my chest went dark.
Everyone in our circle knew he'd treated me like a princess.
We'd walked from the innocence of our school days all the way to the altar.
Five years ago, the wedding that stopped the city. Millions spent. Fireworks filling the sky. He knelt before me and swore on his life that I would be the only one.
Now I knew how cheap his promises were, how short a shelf life his love carried.
I gathered the papers and gripped them until my knuckles went white.
Then I turned and walked upstairs to the bedroom to pack.
Some time later, noise rose from the first floor. I went downstairs.
Bartholomew had Vivien tucked against his chest, giving instructions to the household staff.
Vivien stood there with red-rimmed eyes, looking fragile enough to snap.
When she saw me, her body flinched. She dropped her gaze, her voice a teary, quivering whisper.
“Kay, I really didn't want to intrude. But I kept having nightmares, and Bartholomew was afraid something might happen to me, so he……”
“But I promise, I don't want a title. I don't want anything. I just want to carry this baby safely to term, and the moment it's born, I'll leave. I won't cause you any trouble.”
The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, pressing a hand to her chest as a violent cough overtook her.
Bartholomew's expression changed instantly. He pulled Vivien into his arms, then whipped his head toward me, his voice sharp with accusation.
“Vivien is your best friend. She belongs here. Stop giving her that cold look and scaring her.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. From start to finish, I hadn't said a single word. And somehow, I was the one at fault.
“Bartholomew, did I say one word?”
He froze for a few seconds. His jaw twitched, his mouth opening and closing before he managed to speak.
“Kay, stop being petty. Vivien is carrying my child. It's not safe for her out there. Starting today, she stays here. I give you my word, the moment the baby is born, I'll send her abroad.”
I stood rooted to the spot, watching the husband I had loved for years bring another woman into our home right in front of me.
Watching the best friend I'd once risked my life to save, the woman I'd treated like family, waltz through my front door to take everything that was mine.
I stared at the two of them, and the cold swallowed me whole.
I bit down on the soft flesh of my cheek to keep myself conscious, then turned and walked back to the bedroom, one step at a time.
From the living room drifted the low, tender murmur of their voices, and every syllable carved into me like a blade drawn slow across what was left of my heart.
