I laid Samuel gently on the bed. This time, I didn't carefully remove his shoes and socks the way I always had. I didn't spare him another glance. I turned and walked straight into the guest room, locking the door behind me, sealing out that nauseating tenderness and the lingering scent of him.
Before I closed my eyes, memories flickered unbidden through my mind. All those years of him supposedly "doting on me." Sweet soup delivered late at night. New clothes every time the season changed. Front-row seats at jewelry exhibitions.
Scenes that had once moved me to tears now pieced themselves together into something grotesque. Something mocking. Like a dull blade sawing across my heart, stroke after agonizing stroke.
Morning light filtered through the Castle's stained-glass windows, scattering fragments of color across my face. My eyes snapped open, and I found myself staring directly into Samuel's gaze, still soft, still tender.
He leaned in close, pressing a warm kiss to my forehead.
I turned my head away on instinct.
He paused, a flicker of surprise crossing his features. He assumed I was upset about his drinking and softened his voice even further, coaxing and intimate.
"Lois, were you unhappy last night? I'm sorry. I had too much at the family meeting. I promise it won't happen again. Don't be mad at me, okay?"
"Selene's coming over soon. Leave me a little dignity, will you? Don't let anyone see that the Godfather of Sicily can't even keep his own wife happy."
Gentle as always. Considerate as ever. But every word landed like ice against my skin.
I kept my expression blank, gave a flat murmur of acknowledgment, then turned and pulled out the divorce agreement I'd drafted the night before. I'd slipped it between the pages of a jewelry auction document.
"Sign this and buy it for me. Then I won't be angry."
Samuel was about to open the file when his phone lit up. I caught the name on the screen: Selene.
His expression shifted. Softened. Not the perfunctory warmth he usually gave me. This was real. A smile that came from somewhere deep inside him.
He flipped to the last page of the document, signed his name without reading a single word, and stood up to take the call.
I stared at the freshly signed divorce agreement. A sharp sting pierced my chest.
I thought of my mother's death. The ruin of my family. The plan I'd made with Joshua.
I steadied myself.
I retreated into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and let scalding water pour over me. I tried to wash away every trace of Samuel's scent, tried to scour away the truths that had carved themselves, word by word, into my skull.
When I stepped out, the long dining table was laden with an elaborate spread of brunch pastries. Shrimp dumplings, siu mai, custard tarts. Every single one had been my favorite, once upon a time. Every time I'd seen them laid out like this, I'd been touched for hours afterward. Now, looking at the delicate spread, my stomach lurched violently. I couldn't summon even the ghost of a smile.
Because I understood now, with brutal clarity. These weren't my favorites.
They were Selene's.
The woman who had destroyed my mother. The woman who had destroyed everything I had. These were her favorites.
The doorbell rang. Through the glass of the foyer, I saw Selene standing outside in the latest couture jewelry gown, her makeup immaculate, a servant trailing behind her. She pushed the door open and walked straight to the dining table as if she owned the place. She sat down without so much as a glance in my direction, her tone dripping with casual familiarity.
"Lois, sorry to intrude. The Godfather and I have the Sicily gemstone mine transfer meeting this morning. He told me to come to the Castle for breakfast first so we could leave together."
My gaze locked onto the silver badge in her hand. It bore the Castle's exclusive crest. An all-access pass, identical to the one I held. The highest-level credential in the entire estate, issued only to the Godfather's most trusted inner circle.
My fingers tightened around my teacup until my knuckles went white. I said nothing.
Samuel noticed something was off. He stood quickly, moved to my side, and leaned in close, his voice low and tinged with a barely perceptible edge of panic.
"Lois, don't misunderstand. Selene is our family's most important jewelry partner and the person I trust most. It's perfectly normal for her to have an all-access badge for the Castle."
Before he'd even finished speaking, something seemed to occur to him. He tensed, rose abruptly, and strode to Selene's side. In one swift motion, he snatched the cup of espresso she'd just poured.
"Your blood pressure runs low. I've told you a hundred times, you can't drink espresso. It's terrible for you. After all these years, you still don't take care of yourself?"
He turned to the sideboard, retrieved a cup of warm almond milk, and placed it carefully in her hands. The anxiety in his eyes, the tenderness, was something I had never once seen in five years of marriage.
Selene accepted the almond milk, pressed her lips together in a coy smile, and gazed up at him with her eyes curved into crescents, her voice playful and sweet.
"That's right. All these years, I've been so lucky to have the Godfather remembering every little thing about my health, looking out for me at every turn."
In that single moment their eyes met, the air between them seemed to shimmer with something pink and intimate. The atmosphere solidified around them, and I became a stranger. An intruder. Completely shut out of whatever world the two of them shared.
A chill shot from the soles of my feet to the crown of my head. I couldn't take it anymore. I shoved my chair back and stood, ready to leave the dining room, but Selene's voice stopped me.
"Lois, wait."
