I reached the heavy oak doors of the study. They were slightly ajar, spilling a slice of golden light into the dim corridor. I raised my hand to knock.
"Grandpa, can we drop the subject of her?" Edmund's voice bled through the crack. It was laced with exhaustion and deep irritation. "It's a three-year PR stunt. The morality clause is almost up. It's ending soon."
My lungs seized. The porcelain tray in my hands suddenly felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. My fingertips turned to ice, the chill seeping straight into my bones.
"Edmund!" Ethan's voice was raspy but sharp with reprimand. "How can you speak about Chelsea that way? She is a good girl."
Edmund let out a harsh laugh. The sound scraped against my eardrums like a serrated blade. "A good girl? A woman who used every trick in the book to marry a man who doesn't love her, just for money and status? Don't be naive, Grandpa."
My stomach violently churned. Acid rose in my throat. This was what he truly thought of me. Every quiet dinner, every forced smile for the cameras-he viewed my entire life as a calculated, desperate scam.
I sucked in a sharp breath. I dug my fingernails into my palms, pressing until the skin threatened to break. I forced my shaking knees to lock. The last pathetic shred of hope I had harbored-that maybe, just maybe, my husband felt something for me-evaporated.
The heavy oak door suddenly swung inward.
Edmund stood in the doorway. His massive frame, honed by years of dominating the NHL ice, blocked the light. He froze for a fraction of a second when he saw me.
Then, his handsome face twisted into a mask of pure, unadulterated disgust.
"Did you hear what you wanted to hear?" He stared down at me. "Or are you just plotting your next script to play the victim for Grandpa?"
I stared up at the man I had loved for three years. The legendary hockey captain. Right now, he was a cruel stranger.
"I wasn't..." My voice cracked. My throat was so dry it hurt to speak.
Ethan stepped up behind him. He saw my pale face and the tears pooling in my eyes. "Edmund! That is enough! Apologize to Chelsea right now."
"Apologize?" Edmund stepped closer to me. The sheer physical presence of a professional athlete bearing down on me made my chest tight. "Why would I apologize to a woman who is nothing but a walking lie?"
I tilted my chin up, forcing myself to meet his dead eyes. "What exactly am I to you?"
He leaned down. His face was inches from mine. I could smell the faint scent of his expensive cologne mixed with scotch.
"You are the worst mistake of my life," he whispered, his voice dropping so only I could hear. "A morality clause I had to stomach to keep the league and my sponsors off my back. Are you satisfied now?"
Every word was a physical blow to my ribs.
The strength drained from my arms. My fingers went numb.
The tray slipped.
Crash.
The porcelain shattered against the hardwood floor just past the edge of the rug. Hot tea splattered across my ankles. The noise was deafening in the quiet hallway.
Ethan gasped and reached out, grabbing my elbow to keep me from swaying.
Edmund didn't even flinch. He looked down at the broken pieces, then back up at me with utter boredom. He reached over and adjusted the cuff of his tailored suit jacket.
"I leave for a road trip tomorrow. Don't bother me with these cheap theatrics again."
He turned his back on me and walked away. His footsteps echoed down the hall, steady and completely unbothered.
"Oh, child. Don't cry," Ethan murmured, patting my back with a trembling hand. "I will talk to him."
I shook my head. I gently pulled my arm out of Ethan's grip. I dropped to my knees and began picking up the jagged pieces of porcelain.
A sharp edge sliced into my index finger. A bead of dark red blood welled up.
I didn't feel the pain.
I stared at the blood on my finger. The decision crystallized in my mind, sharp and absolute.
I stood up. I looked at Ethan and forced the corners of my mouth to lift. "I'm fine, Grandpa. Maybe... he's right."
It was time to end this. I was getting a divorce.