CHAPTER 26
Celeste’s POV
I agreed to Damien’s request to meet, trying to sound calm while my heart beat like crazy.
After ending the call, I stood there dazed in the living room, phone still in my hand, the weight of what was to come already pressing on my shoulders. It all felt surreal.
Theo glanced up from the couch, concern showing on his face. “You’re going to meet with Damien?” he asked, already knowing.
I nodded. “He wants to talk about the divorce.”
Theo’s expression didn’t change much, but I noticed the slight tightening of his jaw. “Do you want me to come with you?”
There it was his instinct to protect. He always offered that quietly, never forcefully. And yet… I shook my head
“No. I need to go alone. I have to do this by myself, Theo.”
This time, it wasn’t because I didn’t want to trouble him, or because I feared the press would twist something out of nothing. Well, maybe that too. But more than anything, I didn’t want him dragged into my mess.
He had already done enough.
“You’ve helped me more than I could ever ask for,” I said softly, lowering myself onto the edge of the armrest across from him.
“I won’t let you be caught in the crossfire because of me.
His brows drew together. “Celeste-”
tried to
“I mean it.” I met his gaze. “They’ll come after you next. And I won’t let you become collateral damage just because you t
help me.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “The rumors are getting worse,” he said quietly. “I’ve had someone keeping an eye on the media
circles. There’s a pattern–it feels like someone’s feeding them. Strategically.”
A chill ran through me.
My mind immediately jumped to one person. Genevieve.
It wouldn’t surprise me.
But suspicion wasn’t proof, and proof wouldn’t undo any of this. Still, I tucked the thought away, letting it simmer.
“I’ve thought about that too,” I admitted. “But I can’t point fingers unless I’m sure. And even then, this is something I have to deal with myself.”
Theo leaned forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees. “You don’t have to face everything alone.”
“I do,” I said, firmer now. “I won’t let myself fall into that trap again–depending on someone to save me. That was my mistake
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with Damien. I let him hold all the power, and look where it got me.”
This is different,” he murmured.
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“Perhaps,” I agreed. “But you know how Damien feels about you. I don’t want him thinking that this divorce has something to do with you or anyone else. It’s my own decision, and that’s what he needs to understand.”
He was quiet for a while, then he eventually nodded. “I guess you’re right.”
“Yes. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
Theo didn’t argue. He knew I wouldn’t bend once my mind was made up. But as I reached for my coat, I felt his eyes on me. However, I didn’t want to see the emotion in his gaze. And I certainly couldn’t confront it now.
“Text me if you need me,” he finally said.
“I will”
And with that, I stepped out the door. I pulled my coat tighter around me, not from the cold, but from the strange hollowness that crept in immediately.
This was it.
The divorce wasn’t just a formality–it was liberation. It
It was the final thread I needed to sever, the last piece of a cage I had spent too long trapped inside.
I had planned this for months. Ever since I realized that love at least the kind I once believed in–wasn’t enough to survive the damage done. I couldn’t heal with him still tethered to me. I couldn’t move forward while haunted by memories that blurred the line between love and betrayal.
But still… the ache in my y chest throbbed.
Because no matter how ready I told myself I was, cutting someone out of your life–someone you once loved with all
was never easy.
your heart-
Damien’s POV
I stood by the edge of the rooftop garden, overlooking the city that never slept. Strings of soft lights framed the garden
arched
trellises, adding to the romantic atmosphere.
Why did I choose this place? To make our parting less cruel? Maybe.
But maybe I just also needed to believe there was still something left between us. Perhaps this was a silent plea. A final in the hope she’d say, “Not yet.”
stage set
The venue was private–secluded, elegant, and high above the noise of the world below. Perfect for difficult conversations that
require silence, and distance.
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CHWINN
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I checked my watch again. She’s already ten minutes late.
I couldn’t help worrying. Maybe she’d changed her mind? Or she finally realized she didn’t have to face me. That she didn’t owe
me anything anymore.
d then I
And then I saw her. And my heart leaped out of my chest.
She stepped out of the private elevator like a phantom drawn from a dream–elegant, poised, untouchable. The long black dress hugged her frame in all the right places, sleek and devastatingly beautiful. Her hair was swept up with a few soft strands left
loose, brushing against her collarbone. A bold red lip. Defined eyes. No sign of the woman I thought I knew.
My breath caught.
She looked… nothing like the wife I remembered.
This wasn’t Celeste, the sheltered girl who waited quietly at dinner parties or nervously tucked herself behind me at galas.
No.
This was a woman who had been burned by the world and risen from the ashes.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I have never seen her looking so gorgeous, brave, and confident. God help me…
Celeste walked toward me.
“Damien,” she said simply, her voice calm… cool… indifferent.
I swallowed hard. “Celeste.”
She didn’t wait for pleasantries or permission. She moved past me and took a seat beneath the soft canopy of lights. I followed
slowly, my heart feeling heavy.
And I sat there across from her, wondering how the hell the woman who once worshipped me could now sit just three feet away
and feel a thousand miles out of reach.
“Funny thing,” she said, voice even. “During our entire marriage, I was always the one waiting.”
She met my eyes, calm and unflinching. “Every dinner, every event… before and after the vows–it was always me, waiting on
you.”
A pause, barely a breath.
Then she spoke again. “But tonight? You waited for me. I guess that makes us even.”
There was no bitterness in her tone. No anger. Just… finality.”
And that more than rage or tears–shook something in me.
–
I opened my mouth, desperate to say something, anything. To ask how she’d been. If she was eating. Sleeping. If the headlines
were too much. If Theo-
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CHAPTER
But before a single syllable could pass my lips, she reached into her bag and pulled out a crisp folder.
She laid it flat on the table between us with practiced ease.
The divorce agreement.
I stared at it like it had fangs. It hit me then. Hard,
This is real and it’s happening n now. No more timeouts. No more waiting for her to cool off and come back.
I had always assumed that once the anger faded, once the noise died down–she’d return and we’d fix all this.
But now, sitting here, with that detached look on her lovely face… I finally understood.
She’s not coming back.
Not to me. Not ever.
I shut my eyes tightly, trying to breathe through the sting building behind them. Then, with a trembling hand, I reached for the divorce papers.
Not because I wanted to. But because I had no choice.
