shoulders back, arms folded, eyes narrowed as if trying to ph

die was

back. 'I said,

ay back into Dashiell'

you decided to jump into th

g to tell you, but could never find the right time. You know how Miriam

e reacts to Dashiell's infidelity would be Dashiell's problem - oh, and also

ked genuinel

d like his wife, dressed like his wife,

her almond-shaped eyes, replac

wn in a perpetual pout, were now turned

was she

rce?' Dashiell e

at's right. And I've brought the neces

ate. 'Here you go,' she said, placing a pen beside the document.

shot up in surprise.

d. 'One of the reasons

ng. A divorce was what he wanted, but not on her terms. He had planned to ini

hroat. 'Are you

le widened.

t sadness or regret, but a sense of finality. This chapter of his life w

stretched once he finished. 'It's been...int

ince it's I who breached the terms, I'll offer compensatio

apers in her purse. 'Getting out of this mar

c bow, she turned and walked away, leaving her ex-husba

ile opulence a stark reminder of the life she was leaving behind. This room h

g here that truly belonged to her. A smile curved her lip

e a cheque, placed it on her nightstand, and let out a satisfi

of Dashiell Kellan's house, newly divorced and free. She walked back into her ol

ven her, not so much a gift as a tether, something to keep her on a short l

to a trashcan. 'Hey, it's me. I'm leaving D

rt, where she boarded a sleek, shining G650 without a single piece of

her a glass of champagne wh

took

e slightly under an hour,' a warm vo

*

his skin. He glanced at the doorway where Elodie had stood just minu

arkling with a joy that didn't quite reach his. But even the warmth of her touch and the

like this. He had envisioned a sense of liberation, a soaring feeling of freedom now that the shackles of his marriage wer

r the best,' S

y for the best? Had he just let go of something more than a convenient arra

he way she stood tall, a new confidence radiating from her, a stark contrast to the timid girl he thou

layer, revealing a woman he had never known existed, a woman who stood on her own two

ff his bathrobe and

going?' Selene'

om