Chapter 2

Celeste’s POV 

“How long have you been planning this?” my cracked voice sounded through the study as I questioned Sebastian.

I felt an anger begin to rise in my chest. While I was thinking ofthe best way to break the news of my pregnancy to him, he had been making plans to end our marriage.

“Celeste, this marriage was arranged by our families.” He finally answered. “We both knew what we were getting into.”

I flinched. He had never used that argument against me before.When we got married, he had assured me that although our families had arranged the union, we could build something real together. And I had believed him. I had taken those words of his and tried to build a home around them. Now I would watch it all crumble to the ground. 

“You told me we could make this work,” I said quietly.

“And we did. We did make it work.”

“Is that all it was to you? Just… something that worked?”

Sebastian looked away. “I respect you, Celeste. I always will. You’ve been a good wife to me, and I would never deny that.But Camille needs me now, and I can’t let her down.”

A good wife, he’d said. The words felt like a huge insult to me. I had never wanted to be just a good wife to him… another prize on his list of achievements, I wanted to be the woman he chose to spend the rest of his life with. I had always wished that he would one day see me the same way he saw or thought of Camille. But now, I just felt the heavy weight of having to beg for something he had never intended to give me.

“Do you still love her?” I asked, even though I knew the answer to that.

Sebastian’s fingers tightened around the armrest. “I never stopped loving her.”

There it was. The horrible truth I had spent years trying to deny. I lowered my head, blinking out hot tears from my eyes. I thentried to wipe my face with one hand, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of watching me fall apart while he prepared to abandon me.

My other hand slowly drifted from my thigh and went straight over my belly. For one desperate moment, I considered telling him about the baby we were having, watching his expression change, and waiting for him to reconsider. Perhaps the thought of becoming a father would change his mind. Then another thought hit me...

Would I really want raise my baby in a home where I was clearly a second choice? No. I couldn’t do it. My child deserved better. And so do I. I thought.

I took a slow breath and looked at the papers. “Have you already spoken to your lawyers?”

“Yes.”

“Of course you have.” I muttered.

He frowned. “I want you to know that I’ll make sure you’re taken care of. The divorce settlement will be generous. You won’t have to worry about money.”

I stared at him. Money. That was what he thought I needed now.Clearly, he had mistaken my willingness to love him for an inability to survive without him.

“You can keep your money, Sebastian.” I said, wiping the last traces of tears off my cheeks.

Sebastian’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Celeste…” he started to say, but I cut him off.

“I said keep it.”

Something in my voice made him stop. I reached for the folderand opened it. The divorce papers were already prepared, every detail carefully outlined. Even the brutal end of our marriage had been organized without my knowledge. I thought.

“Aren’t you going to at least consult your own lawyers about itfirst?” Sebastian asked, curious.

“No.” I answered firmly.

Then I picked up the pen. He watched me, apparently expecting some form of argument from me. But I wasn’t going to further stroke his ego. I signed the first page. Then the second. And finally the last. After that, I pushed the papers and folder toward him.

“There. All signed.”

He stared at the papers. And then to me. “You’re not even going to ask me to reconsider?”

I almost smiled. But the tightness in my chest wouldn’t let me. “And what would be the point?”

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. For the first time since I entered the study, he seemed unsure about his decision. But I knew Sebastian enough to see it was all an act.

I stood up and adjusted my dress. “Is there anything else?”

“No.” he said with a pitiful face.

I nodded my head. “Then we’re done.”

With that I turned toward the door to leave.

“Celeste.” He called back.

I stopped but didn’t look back.

“I’m really, really sorry. About everything.” He said.

Hearing those words, my fingers clenched into a fist beside me. I had imagined hearing those words from him so many times. That he would apologize for all the lonely nights he left me with… the times when I had needed my husband. The apology was finally here, but it meant nothing now.

“I’m sure you are,” I replied. Then I walked out.

Outside Sebastian’s study, I made sure not to let go of the fresh tears gathered in my eyes just yet. I held it through the hallway, through the stairs, and waited until I was safely inside my car before allowing them flow freely down my face.

I sat there for minutes sobbing, with my hands gripping the steering wheel and my head bowed, struggling to breathe through the pain. After a moment, I lifted my head and placed a hand over my belly, making a silent promise to the baby growing inside me. A promise to pull through this together.

I wiped my face and started the engine, driving out of the Rowe mansion. I needed to clear my head, and the only place that made sense that moment was my family property, which had been willed to me by my father before he died. The one place that was completely mine.

After I had put enough distance between me and the mansion, I pulled over at the side of the road and took out my phone… tocall the one person who could help me start over.

“Merida?” I called as soon as she answered.

“Celeste? Hey, what’s up girl?”

I looked out through the window. “Hey, I… I need you to help me with something,” I said with a cracked voice.

“Is everything okay? You sound worried.”

“Yes. I just need your help with something.” 

“Sure. Anything.” Merida voice sounded through the receiver.

I drew a shaky breath first. “I want to reopen the family property.”