A Chance At Forever: Chasing His Divorced Love

CHARLOTTE“Rogerio,” I whispered as he shut the door behind him and stepped into the night. The clock ticked softly in the corner of the room as my heart pounded against my chest. I clutched the sides of my stomach to steady my body as a sharp pain shot up my spine, and my eyes ached terribly.I stood up a few seconds later to look at myself in the mirror again. My reflection stared back at me as my heart broke into a million pieces.“I did everything right!” I yelled and sobbed loudly. I heard the door open and looked up, expecting to see him and hear that he had changed his mind, but it was the door that led to the staff quarters, not the one he had walked through.I felt whatever was left of my dignity shed as Maria stepped into the hallway. “Signora,” she said and ran towards me, enveloping me in an embrace. “Let’s get you out of here.”“I did everything right, Maria,” I repeated in between sobs. She sighed and patted my head.“Let’s get you into the bedroom. This has caused quite

CHARLOTTEI was too stunned to make any sudden moves. My life was crumbling before my eyes, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I slid onto a couch next to the door and sobbed quietly.My heart raced, and my body trembled terribly. I had finally lost everything that was important to me. It felt like life enjoyed playing cruel tricks on me. First, it was my dad and mom dying, leaving me to fend for myself in a world where everyone operated on a different set of rules than the one I had been raised with. Now my husband was gone.“This can’t be happening,” I said to myself as tears streamed down my cheeks. “It’s all a bad dream, and I’ll wake up from it soon.”I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly. I wiped my face and slowly opened my eyes, hoping to meet different circumstances. My resolve wavered as I opened my eyes and the house became silent. I was still in the library; nothing had changed. The silence made it worse; it was easier to deal with this when I could still hear people talki

ROGERIOThe sun had just begun to set when I arrived at the penthouse. The movers had completed their task of hauling the properties I had brought from the estate. Once they finished, they dispersed as swiftly as they had gathered, leaving me with the staff members who had packed up their things and moved with me. I studied them for a few minutes, waiting to see if anyone would speak up, but none did. It dawned on me then that my decision to divorce Charlotte had brought about unforeseen consequences.First on that list was her refusal to sign the papers. She claimed to love me, but I doubted it. Our relationship was built on different terms—love was never one of them. We both knew it, so I couldn’t fathom her delusion. It was pointless, considering we both acknowledged that our union wasn’t working. I attempted to push the encounter out of my mind and focus on what I could currently control, but the expressions on the faces around me made it futile.I stood in the corner of the room,

CHARLOTTEBefore leaving the courtroom, I stole a final glance at Rogerio. He looked perfect in the three-piece suit he had on, and I yearned to tell him that, but I knew better. He seemed excited about the outcome of the proceedings and did a fine job of avoiding my stare.As he spoke with his lawyers in the most enigmatic fashion, I smiled wistfully and walked to the parking lot. My lawyer offered to follow me, but I declined. I thanked him for his role in the hearing and made my way towards the car with slow, steady steps. Thankfully, the lot was empty, so I got into the car and sat in silence for a few minutes.Everything I had dreamed of having for almost two years had gone up in flames in a few hours. I had no more zeal to fight for anything left inside me. I could wish to turn back the hands of time or try to find a light at the end of the tunnel, but I knew those options were pointless.No matter what I did, nothing would change. I tried to come to terms with what had happened

ROGERIO“Signor Rogerio, you’ve got to do something about this,” a familiar voice said into the phone in a hushed tone. I blinked in confusion and looked around me. I was in my bedroom, and slowly, the events of the previous day started to come back to me.I had spent the day at the office handling the appointments that had been rescheduled to fit the court proceedings and moving out of the estate. I also spent hours in meetings with the accountants, investors, and other shareholders.The company had experienced a loss, and someone was trying to undermine our activities on the island. I wasn’t prepared to hear that gold was being stolen by the miners as well.I needed to schedule a trip to the island, but had decided to take a day off. I needed some time alone to rest and clear my head. The sound of the voice speaking through the phone speakers pulled me out of my reverie. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock on the bedside table, then shifted my gaze to the phone’s screen.The ca