sa

yes narrowed, lingering on my face for what felt like an eternity. A cold, calculating

But don't expect a single penny from us. You'll leave with nothing but the clothes on your back. The divorce papers will be finalized and delivered by tomorrow noon. Consider your

, just missing my face. I flinched, but quickly picked it up, my fingers trembling slightly. It was a

e life I had lost and the life I was about to gain. I took a deep, shaky breath, letting the clean, sterile air fill my lungs.

? Why didn't you answer my calls? Why is Grandmother here?" He glanced briefly at the divorce papers in my hand, then back at me, his eyes filled with a mixture of ang

ick on his collar. His face was a mask of disdain, his eyes sweeping over my hospital gown, my pale face, my

ll trying to cling to him, are we? Honestly, Elisa, what do you have left to offer? You're damaged good

hey came and went, each one a fleeting distraction, a prop in his elaborate charade of disdain. They were all so eager, so confident that they woul

d, my voice calm, almost conversational. The

ion on his face. Then, a slow, mocking smile spread across his lips. "Marry her? Darling, don't be ridiculous. You a

me, to protect me, to love me until his last breath. Now, his words were a cruel parody of those sacred promises. I could feel the malice r

flicker of the old devotion. "Not after everything we've been through. Not after all you

once believed in. Now, I saw only the twisted reflection of his own pain, his own bitterness. A single, misspoken word, a lie carefully planted by his grandmoth

ted, my voice flat, final, leaving