Chapter 1

“Amelia, sign this… I want a divorce." Ronald's voice cut through the room like a blade, sharp and emotionless. The envelope that had fallen onto the glass table with only a soft thud weighed upon her chest like a boulder. He stared at her, his eyes cold as though he was searching for something in her reaction-anything but the surprise that washed over her face.

Amelia's breath caught. "Are--are  you teasing, Ronald?" she finally whispered, her voice trembling. It was the first time he had asked her to sign anything, certainly not this.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" His face was impassively hard as stone. "It's the divorce papers. You just need to sign them. I'll handle the rest." His words dangled in the air, uncaring, final as if the choice had been torn from her before she could ever make it.

Her heart was racing, the beats loud, irregular in her ears. "I-I-I booked a dinner. to celebrate our third wedding anniversary. Everyone's going to be there." Her voice barely held together, fragile as glass. She wanted to melt into the floor, to disappear from the agony twisting in her chest.

Ronald didn't bat an eyelid. "I have a business meeting. Go without me." He sat down, his back to her, as if she were already gone from his life.

Amelia's gaze dropped to the papers on the table. Her hands were shaking, her mind refusing to believe the reality staring back at her in black ink.

Amelia, stop this foolishness. Just sign the papers." His sharp, authoritative voice cut into her like a hot knife, severing her internal musing and making her jump. "I have already signed. It is done.

Why, Ronald? Why now?" Her voice broke, and her words could hardly be heard over the knot in her throat. "Today of all days? Our anniversary…" Tears blurred her vision while her mind reeled, reallocated membranes harboring the memories of a man she had thought she knew-the one who vowed to stand beside her. What has changed?

"Between us, Amelia, there's nothing left," he spat, each word a lash, each word a verdict. "No love, no marriage, absolutely nothing!." And then he looked at her, the chill of his stare piercing to the bone.

Those words shattered something deep inside her. Her legs buckled, and she collapsed into the nearest chair, her vision swimming. The baby, her baby was to be the hope, the bridge to their future. Now, that future crumbled before her eyes.

"I cannot… I will not sign." The voice was more sure now, yet behind it rimmed a desperation that she could not conceal. "We have been through too much. You can't just lay it away like this." Her hands had bunched to fists while her heart throbbed strongly against her chest of its weight of the last three years.

“Throw everything away?" He laughed bitterly. "There's nothing left to save, and you must have been out of your mind if you really believe we still have a marriage." His face contorted in anger, he rose over her. "Sign the bloody papers, Amelia. Let's just end this farce now!”.

Her world spun. Her heart tugged, her mind racing to keep up with the nightmare unfolding before her. How could this be happening? What of their future? The child she had growing inside of her that he didn't even know about yet?

Tears sprang into her eyes as she struggled to speak, the words catching in her voice. "Ronald…if–if I've done something wrong, let's talk. I'll fix it." She reached out toward him and made a motion to take his hand; he jerked his away, twisting his face.

“You're always so slow, Amelia. It's exhausting." He snarled-the venom oozed from his tone into her veins. "I can hardly believe that I've put up with you this long." And he stared down at her with a cold gaze, as if she were a stranger.

She felt his words like daggers, each one deeper inside her than the last. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words just wouldn't come. Her miscarriages, her failures played in her head over and over again, some broken records. It was Ronald's next words, though, that froze her in place.

"You've been the cause of all of it, Amelia. The miscarriages, the failures. Look at you…you have become ugly. I just cannot counterfeit anymore. It is over."

Amelia's heart stopped for a moment. His words were the coup de grace, one of those pains that hollows you out and leaves you with nothing inside. Then, something dark kindled inside her, a little smoldering ember of defiance.

Her hands fisted, her gaze jerking up to his, fire crawling up her chest. "I won't sign. You can't force me, I'm not going to sign this fucking papers." Her voice was unruffled, even eerily so. She took the divorce papers and ripped them into pieces.

"What do you think you are doing, Amelia, what the fuck did you do! You're insane." He merged onto the highway, shaking his head. "I'll get another copy. You'll sign them eventually, and this will be over”.

Amelia's eyes flashed cold, hard. She watched him head for the door this time, and she moved fast, standing in his path.

"You think you can just leave me, Ronald?" she hissed low and controlled. "Not after everything I've done to keep us together."

His steps faltered, the cold mask he wore slipping, just for a second. "What the hell are you talking about?" Her eyes sparkled, dark and secretive. "You shall soon see, our marriage is far from over, Ronald.".

The resulting silence was thick, electric. She stared at him down, unreadable, before turning on her heel and spinning out of sight into the room.

Ronald was frozen, some chill running down his spine. For the first time, doubt fluttered in his chest. What had she meant? Why did it suddenly feel like he wasn't in control anymore?