Chapter 1: The Papers on the Table

The crystal chandeliers above the ballroom glowed like a thousand captured stars, casting warm gold light over silk gowns, tailored suits, and champagne flutes raised in celebration.

It was supposed to be perfect.

My wedding night.

I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the bridal suite, my fingers trembling slightly as I smoothed them over the lace of my dress. The fabric was soft, delicate hand-stitched in Paris, my mother had said, as if luxury could somehow guarantee happiness.

The woman staring back at me looked unreal.

Wide eyes. Soft makeup. A pearl comb pinned into loose waves.

A bride.

Avelyn Blackridge.

The name still felt strange in my head, but not unpleasant. I had practiced it quietly for weeks, whispering it when I was alone. I wanted to grow into it. I wanted the life it promised.

“Mrs. Blackridge,” my best friend Naomi said softly behind me, smiling as she adjusted my veil. “You did it. You married the most powerful man in the city.”

I smiled, though my chest felt oddly tight.

“Cassian isn’t his money,” I said. “He’s… just Cassian.”

Naomi met my eyes in the mirror, hesitation flickering across her face before she masked it. “Right. Of course.”

The music from the ballroom swelled applause, laughter, clinking glasses. Our guests were still celebrating. Billionaires, politicians, old family friends. People who looked at this wedding like a merger, not a promise.

I pushed the thought away.

Cassian had been distant during the ceremony, yes but that was just how he was. Reserved. Controlled. He didn’t show emotions easily. I’d told myself that a thousand times.

Love didn’t have to be loud.

A knock came at the door.

Naomi’s smile brightened. “That must be him.”

My heart jumped.

Finally.

Alone.

Just us.

“I’ll give you space,” Naomi said, squeezing my hand. “Call me if you need anything.”

The door closed behind her with a soft click.

I turned just as it opened again.

Cassian Blackridge stepped inside.

The room seemed to change the moment he entered like the air had tightened around him. He’d loosened his tie, the top button of his shirt undone, dark hair slightly disheveled. He looked impossibly handsome in a way that still stole my breath after three years of knowing him.

But his eyes…

They were cold.

Not angry.

Not conflicted.

Just distant.

“Avelyn,” he said.

My smile faltered, just a little. “You disappeared after the ceremony. I thought something was wrong.”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he walked past me to the small table near the sofa and placed a thin manila folder on it with precise care.

The sound was quiet.

But it landed like a gunshot.

“What’s that?” I asked, forcing a lightness I suddenly didn’t feel.

Cassian turned to face me fully then. His jaw was tense, lips pressed into a line that told me he’d already made a decision one I hadn’t been invited into.

“Sit down,” he said.

A chill slid down my spine.

“Cassian?” I laughed nervously. “You’re scaring me.”

“I don’t intend to,” he replied calmly. “This will be quick.”

I didn’t move.

The chandeliers continued to sparkle. Music filtered faintly through the walls. Somewhere outside this room, people were cheering for us.

For nothing.

Cassian sighed, as though irritated by my silence, and opened the folder himself, sliding its contents toward me.

White pages. Black text.

Bold letters at the top burned into my vision.

DIVORCE AGREEMENT

My breath left my lungs.

I stared at the words, unable to process them, like a language I suddenly didn’t understand.

“…What is this?” I whispered.

“A formality,” Cassian said. “You’ll sign it tonight.”

The room tilted.

“Tonight?” My voice cracked. “We we just got married.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “And now it’s over.”

I felt like the floor had dropped away beneath my feet.

“This is a joke,” I said weakly. “It has to be.”

Cassian’s gaze didn’t waver. “I don’t joke about legal matters.”

I looked down again, my hands shaking as I flipped the pages.

Terms.

Clauses.

A clean, efficient exit.

No alimony.

No claims.

No future obligations.

I was being erased.

“Why?” I asked. “What did I do?”

“You did nothing,” he said. “This marriage was never meant to last.”

The words cut deeper than any accusation.

My throat tightened. “Then why marry me?”

Cassian hesitated just for a fraction of a second.

Because you were convenient.

He didn’t say it.

He didn’t need to.

“My reasons are irrelevant,” he replied. “What matters is that this is the best outcome for both of us.”

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

“Does everyone know?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “Publicly, the marriage will stand for now. Appearances matter.”

Of course they did.

I laughed then soft, broken. “So I’m still your wife… just not really.”

Cassian didn’t correct me.

“What about tonight?” I whispered. “What about everything we promised?”

His jaw tightened. “You shouldn’t read too much into vows.”

Something inside me snapped not loudly, not dramatically.

Quietly.

I straightened my shoulders and reached for a pen from the table.

Cassian’s eyes flickered, just slightly. Surprise, maybe.

“You’ll sign?” he asked.

I met his gaze, forcing my hands to steady.

“You’ve already decided,” I said. “There’s no point begging someone who never wanted me.”

For the first time, something uncomfortable crossed his face.

I signed.

Page after page.

My name at the bottom of a marriage I’d believed in.

When I finished, I placed the pen down carefully.

“There,” I said. “It’s done.”

Cassian gathered the papers, sliding them back into the folder. “I’ll have my lawyer finalize everything.”

I nodded. “Congratulations.”

He paused. “On what?”

“On being free,” I said quietly.

I turned away before he could see my tears.

Behind me, Cassian spoke once more his voice lower, unfamiliar.

“Avelyn.”

I stopped, but didn’t turn back.

“This doesn’t have to be difficult,” he said.

I smiled bitterly.

“It already is.”

I walked out of the bridal suite still wearing my wedding dress.

Outside, laughter echoed. Glasses clinked. Someone cheered our names.

They didn’t know that the marriage they were celebrating had already ended.

And as I stepped into the hallway, clutching the fabric of my gown like armor, one truth burned into my heart

I had been divorced on my wedding night.