Chapter Two

(Rebecca's POV)

He looked at me like I was playing games and this whole thing was some dramatic stunt I had come up with just to make him feel guilty or buy more time. His jaw tightened, and I saw the impatience in his eyes.

“I don't have the time for this, Rebecca,” he scoffed and rose to leave the room.

I sat on the couch, crippled by the shock of his reaction. I knew he'd become cold, but nothing like this. He showed neither emotion or hesitation. He didn't even pretend to care. He wanted me gone so badly that he didn't even need a second to believe me.

“This is inevitable, Rebecca. My mind is made up. Deal with it. Sign the papers by tomorrow evening or face the consequences.”

My chest tightened so hard I had to force my face to remain still. I didn't say anything else. There was nothing left to say.

I just nodded once.

And just like that, the marriage began to end.

~~~

That Night…

When I returned upstairs, I sat on the bed with my phone and started making calls.

I called the restaurant first. I had booked the private dining room six weeks ago, the one with the corner window that looked out over the city, chosen because Jason once mentioned that he liked watching the skyline at night.

The hostess answered on the second ring, sounding cheerful. I told her I needed to cancel and she sounded surprised, asking if I'd like to reschedule. I said no and thanked her.

Then the florist. Then the woman who was supposed to drop off the custom arrangement I'd requested, which consisted of white peonies and sprigs of eucalyptus, because those were the flowers from our wedding and I thought it would be a sweet thing to bring them back. I told her not to bother anymore and keep the deposit.

One by one, I called them all off.

My voice stayed calm through every single one. Each cancellation took less than two minutes. It was ironic, honestly, how quickly you could undo weeks of planning. How fast something you'd put so much care into could just be gone. Just like that.

After I was done, I set my phone on the nightstand and lay back.

For a while I just stared at the ceiling. The room was quiet and I could hear my breathing.

Then the memories started rushing back, and I didn't have the energy to stop them.

My father's face across the dinner table the night I told him I was transferring schools. He hadn't raised his voice. He never did. He just looked at me for a long moment and said, “You are throwing your future away, Rebecca. For what?” I had sat there with my chin high in defiance, certain I knew something he didn't. Convinced that love was reason enough for anything.

My brothers. The older one went quiet for months after. He was not cold exactly, just careful with me, the way people are careful around someone who has made a decision they can see will hurt them. The younger one called me two days before I left and asked me one last time to think about it. I told him I already had and was sure.

My university. The name alone had meant something. People's expressions shifted when they heard it. Only those on the top ladder of the financial hierarchy could afford it.

But I had walked away from that. Changed my last name, packed up everything, moved to a city where nobody knew who my family was. I had wanted Jason to know me apart from all of it. I had wanted to be chosen just as myself, with no inheritance attached, no last name doing the work for me. And I had been so convinced it was romantic.

“Maybe they were right.”

The thought was painful to admit.

“Maybe I was the foolish one.”

Tears formed in my eyes, but I didn’t cry loudly. Just a silent breakdown The tears slipped down the sides of my face and soaked into the pillow as my chest shook with everything I was holding inside.

And eventually, I fell asleep.

~~~

The Next Morning…

I woke up to voices.

Before I even opened my eyes, my hand moved to the other side of the bed. The sheets were cold and smooth. He hadn't come to bed at all last night.

Another wave of hurt settled deep in my stomach but I refused to entertain it.

I lay still for a moment and listened. There was movement downstairs, more than one set of footsteps, and the low sound of conversation that I didn't make out from here.

I sat up slowly and pushed my hair back from my face.

Something felt different even though I couldn't place it. I got up, still in my nightgown, and walked out into the hallway.

The voices got clearer as I reached the top of the stairs. I walked down, one hand trailing the banister, and stopped about halfway.

Jason was standing in the middle of the living room. His back was mostly to me, but I could see his profile, relaxed in a way I rarely saw him at home anymore.

And then I saw her.

Arabella.

She was standing near the far end of the couch. Gold silk blouse, tight black jeans and low studded heels, her dark hair pouring down. She was looking elegant and everything like the model she was.

She was looking around the room, her eyes glittering with satisfaction.

And then I saw the boy.

He was small and looked like he was not less than three years old, or maybe just over. He had a little bag hanging from one fist, and he was turning in a slow circle in the middle of the room, and just like his mother, he was feeding his eyes.

I held on to the banister tightly.

Jason turned and saw me and his expression didn't change.

"What…" My voice shook. "What is she doing here?"

Arabella turned to me, and like Jason she didn't look bothered. She looked at me slowly from my feet up to my face and said nothing, letting her eyes move away.

Jason was the one who answered.

"I don't think that's remotely any bit of your business, Rebecca." He said moving to place a hand on her shoulder. Then he looked at me directly. "You know what to do."

I felt my breath leave me.

"Arabella and her son will be staying here with me. By my side. As my family,” he announced.

I stood there on the stairs in my nightgown, hand on the banister, staring at him in shock.

I still couldn't believe that my husband had just told me calmly that another woman and her child would be moving into our home, to take my place, barely hours after he'd served me with divorce papers. As if our marriage had been nothing but an inconvenience to him the whole time.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’d hoped the divorce papers were only figments of a bad dream and I'd get the chance to beg my way back into Jason's heart.

“But.. Jason. Isn't it too early..? I mean…”

Jason glanced down at the boy and ruffled his hair fondly. Then he looked back at me.

He shrugged. "Nonsense, Rebecca. There's never been a more perfect time in my whole life.”