Chapter 2

Aurelia POV:

The new apartment, though small and sparsely furnished, felt like a sanctuary. I' d secured it quickly, paying three months' rent upfront with what little liquid cash I had left from my personal account, before Jacob could freeze everything. It was a stark contrast to the mansion, but the quiet hum of the city outside its windows was a comforting sound, a constant reminder that I was no longer trapped.

My old life, however, demanded one last visit.

I drove back to the mansion, the sprawling estate now feeling less like a home and more like a mausoleum of broken promises. The gates, once a symbol of prestige, now felt like the entrance to a prison. I walked through the grand foyer, past the meticulously curated art collection, the echoes of my own footsteps the only sound in the vast space. The silence was deafening, a testament to the emotional emptiness that had always resided here.

In the kitchen, a place I had rarely cooked in during our marriage-staff usually handled everything-I prepared a meal. It was a strange, almost ritualistic act. Jacob' s favorite: pan-seared scallops with lemon butter sauce, and a bottle of the rare Bordeaux he cherished. I set the table for two, the finest china and crystal gleaming under the soft glow of the chandelier. A final supper, a last offering to a ghost. I cooked with a strange sense of detachment, each movement precise, methodical. It was my way of saying goodbye, of trying to end things with a semblance of peace, even if only on my end.

I hoped he would come home early. I hoped we could talk, rationally, calmly. I hoped for a closure that was respectful, clean. A fool' s hope, I knew.

Hours passed. The food grew cold, the Bordeaux sat unopened. The clock on the mantelpiece chimed midnight, each stroke a hammer blow to my fragile composure. My hopes withered with every passing minute, replaced by the familiar ache of neglect.

Then, the roar of his engine, a familiar, unwelcome sound. The heavy slam of the front door. I heard his footsteps, steady and unhurried, as he made his way through the house. He entered the dining room, his eyes sweeping over the untouched meal, then landing on me.

His expensive suit was disheveled, his tie loosened. The faint scent of expensive perfume, not mine, clung to him, mingling with the ever-present whisky. A lipstick smudge, faint but unmistakable, was visible on his collar. My breath caught in my throat. The evidence was glaring, undeniable. The final nail in the coffin of my illusion.

My gaze dropped to his left hand. The heavy gold wedding band, a symbol I had clung to for so long, was gone. His finger was bare, a pale, accusing circle where it once rested. The last thread snapped.

He looked at the elaborate dinner, then at me, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face. "What is this, Aurelia?" His voice was flat, devoid of curiosity or appreciation. "Some kind of grand gesture? A desperate attempt?" He gestured dismissively at the table. "I told you to get out. This pathetic display isn't changing anything."

My initial shock gave way to a cold, hard anger. "It's a farewell dinner, Jacob," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "But it seems you've already had yours." I pointed to his collar.

He glanced down, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly as he registered the smudge. A muscle twitched in his jaw. He started to turn, to walk away, to escape the confrontation.

"Jacob!" My voice cut through the silence, sharper than I intended. He stopped, his back to me. "I said I wanted a divorce," I continued, walking to the table and picking up the new, pristine set of papers-the ones Ms. Davies had sent, now signed by me. "Here. It's done."

He slowly turned, his eyes piercing me. A harsh, derisive laugh escaped him. "Divorce? You think you can just demand a divorce, Aurelia? After everything?" He scoffed. "You found some silly draft agreement and now you're throwing a tantrum? Don't be ridiculous. This is my house. You're my wife. Go back to your room."

"It wasn't a 'silly draft,' Jacob," I said, my voice gaining strength. "It was your plan. Your plan to divest me of everything, to leave me powerless while you showered billions on Kaleigh. And it wasn't just a draft, was it? It was a mirror of the prenup you forced on me, a testament to your true intentions all along." The words tumbled out, raw and unfiltered.

His expression hardened. "You don't understand the complexities of my business, Aurelia. It was a contingency, a proposal for restructuring assets. Nothing more." His dismissiveness infuriated me. He still saw me as irrational, emotional, incapable of understanding his "complexities."

But I did understand. I finally, truly understood. He had never loved me. Not for a single moment in our fifteen years together had he seen me as anything more than a means to an end, a convenient accessory to his public image, a fertile vessel for a child he intended to mold into Kaleigh's image. The realization hit me with the force of a tidal wave, drowning out the last vestiges of hope.

I remembered the early days of his career, when his first major real estate deal nearly collapsed. He was on the brink of ruin, his reputation in tatters. I, then a young, ambitious architect, had seen his potential, his raw talent beneath the arrogant exterior. I' d poured my own savings, my family' s small inheritance, into shoring up his collapsing project. I' d worked tirelessly, using my design skills to salvage the project, turning it into a lucrative success. I' d walked away with nothing but the promise of his loyalty, his gratitude, and a love I mistakenly believed was real.

"I will never forget this, Aurelia," he' d whispered, his eyes full of what I thought was admiration and devotion, after the deal was saved. "You saved me. I owe you everything. My life, my future... it's yours." Those words, once my most cherished memory, now felt like the cruelest joke.

He never delivered. He merely absorbed me into his world, blurring the lines between my contributions and his empire, ensuring I never truly had independent footing. My love, my loyalty, my very being, had been consumed by him, leaving me with nothing but the illusion of a shared life.

"You owe me a life, Jacob," I said, my voice cracking, the words tasting like ash. "I salvaged your career, I poured my own capital into your failing venture, I saved you from ruin! You promised me everything. And what did I get? A decade of being your shadow, your convenient wife, while you chased another woman!"

He flinched, his composure finally cracking. "How much do you want, Aurelia?" he said, his voice strained. "Name your price. I'll give you anything. Just don't make a scene. Don't make things difficult."

"You think this is about money?" I laughed, a harsh, humorless sound that echoed eerily in the vast room. "You think you can buy back my wasted years, my shattered trust, with a check?" I picked up the signed divorce papers again. "I want nothing from you, Jacob. Nothing but my freedom. And yours."

"This is ridiculous," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not signing these. Not now, not ever."

"You will," I stated, my voice cold, calm, and utterly final. "You have until the end of the week. Sign them, or face a public divorce suit. And trust me, Jacob, you don't want me to start talking about your 'contingency plans' and your 'business complexities' in court. Or the lipstick on your collar."

His face drained of color. He opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time in years, and saw not the compliant wife, but a stranger. A dangerous stranger.

I placed the papers gently on the table beside the untouched Bordeaux. "The lawyers will be in touch." Then, without another word, I turned and walked out of the dining room, out of the mansion, and out of his life. My footsteps were steady, resolute. I didn't look back.

Behind me, I heard a crash. The sound of shattered glass, of crystal exploding against marble. Jacob was unleashing his fury on the dinner I had prepared, the table I had set. A fitting end to our decade-long charade.

The only regret, the deepest, most agonizing regret, was the child I carried. This innocent life, conceived in a lie, born into a world of betrayal. A life I had almost, in my desperation, chosen to end. But the tiny kick, the flutter of hope, had changed everything. Now, my purpose was clear. My baby. My future. And Jacob Dickerson would have no part in it.