Rocco did not react the way I expected. His face stayed controlled, almost distant.
“You’re still pushing this,” Rocco said evenly. “And you’re trying to pull Astrid into it, even though she has nothing to do with your personal collapse.”
He paused for a moment before continuing.
“You’re being cruel, Celeste. You are refusing to see what this will cost everyone else.”
Something inside me snapped at that.
I pushed myself up and slapped the handkerchief out of his hand. It fell between us and stayed there.
“Do not call me cruel,” I said. “You are talking about my brother like he is nothing.”
My legs nearly gave out, but I forced myself to stay standing.
Rocco looked at the cloth on the ground for a second, then turned away as if the conversation had already ended for him.
He walked back to Astrid and put his arm around her waist.
“We’re going back to the villa,” Rocco said.
Astrid leaned into him slightly, then looked back at me.
“Are you really not coming with us, Celeste?” Astrid said. “You could at least stop making this harder than it needs to be.”
Rocco pulled her closer and kissed her in front of me without hesitation. “Not tonight. Leave her here.”
The engine started soon after and then they were gone.
No car remained. No explanation followed. No one looked back. Only silence stayed behind, pressing into everything.
...
It was already midnight when I reached the manor.
My hand trembled at the door before I even touched the lock.
Then I stopped.
Intimate voices were coming from inside.
I did not move right away.
I stayed there, listening, until time stopped feeling like something that mattered.
The cold cut through me, but I did not leave.
Because what was outside no longer mattered compared to what I knew I would find inside.
When everything finally went quiet, I unlocked the door and stepped in.
Clothes were scattered across the carpet I had once chosen carefully, thinking it would become part of a life I could build.
Now it looked destroyed.
On the table sat unopened protection packets, placed neatly, deliberately, as if meant to be seen.
My throat tightened. So this is what I was replaced with.
I did not look further because I already knew I would not survive what came next.
I turned toward the stairs. “Aww, leaving already?” Astrid said.
I stopped and looked at her.
She stood there wrapped in a towel, hair slightly messy, but her expression was controlled, almost bored with my reaction.
“You don’t have to act like this,” Astrid said. “I am not a third party in anything that matters to him.”
“I do not care what you call yourself,” I said. “I am not here to argue with you.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “You should care,” Astrid said. “Because this is the reality you are refusing to accept.”
Then she stepped forward and grabbed my wrist.
Her grip was tight and deliberate.
“Come with me,” Astrid said. “There is something you need to see.”
She dragged me into Rocco's study.
The only room I was never allowed to enter alone.
My chest tightened, but I followed because there was nowhere else to go.
Astrid went straight to the safe. It opened without hesitation and pulled out a document and threw it at me.
“Read it carefully, bitch,” Astrid said.
I caught it and lowered my eyes.
It was a divorce agreement.
My name was printed clearly at the top and my signature was on the final page.
I flipped it once, then again.
I looked up at her. “This is not real. I never signed this.”
Astrid did not move. “You did sign it,” Astrid said. “It is valid, and it has been for a long time.”
“That is impossible,” I said. “I would remember something like this.”
“You would,” Astrid replied. “If you were still the wife he chose to keep.”
She stepped closer, lowering her voice.
“Rocco ended the marriage,” Astrid said. “And he accepted it because I refused to stay in a situation where I had to share him with you.”
The words landed hard.
I felt my stomach turn.
“You are lying,” I said, but my voice had already weakened.
Astrid shook her head slightly.
“I am not lying,” she said. “I am telling you so you can stop embarrassing yourself by clinging to something that no longer exists.” She tilted her head. “I will give you time to leave,” she added. “After that, it will no longer be my concern.”
I looked down at the paper again.
Rocco had always been precise.
He never missed details. Never left loose ends. Not in business, not in contracts, and not in people.
So when I saw the divorce agreement, something inside me went cold in a different way.
He did it properly. Cleanly. Completely.
He erased me the same way he erased problems.
I had spent days thinking about how to leave him. Thinking about how to survive that kind of ending.
But I didn’t even get the chance to leave. I had already been removed.
For a moment, something strange settled in my chest.
I picked up the papers from Astrid’s hand without looking at her face. I couldn’t afford to.
If I looked at her too long, I might lose control.
So I folded the agreement slowly and spoke in a steady voice.
“I understand,” I said. “If that is what you both decided, then I hope you have a long marriage.”
My voice didn’t shake.
But I made sure every word landed clearly.
Especially the last part.
Astrid’s expression flickered for a moment, like she felt the weight of it. But I didn’t wait to see more.
I turned and walked out.
