Chapter 03

Elise interrupted the conversation as she stepped inside. She let out a slow breath. So Callum hadn't waited long at all to tell his mother about the divorce plans. Even though there was still plenty of time left.

Diana glared the moment she saw Elise appear in the doorway. "Finally, you're home."

No greeting. No small talk. Diana simply looked Elise over from head to toe, then went straight back to the subject she'd been discussing with Callum.

"How much are you asking for?" Diana folded her hands in her lap. "Five hundred thousand dollars? A million? Just name it. Mama will give it to you."

Elise didn't answer. She slowly took off her jacket and draped it over her arm.

"There's no need for this four-week divorce process," Diana continued, her voice rising slightly at the lack of response. "Our lawyers can finish all the paperwork in three days. You sign, Callum signs, done. Clean. No need for any extra drama."

Elise walked to the empty sofa across from Diana. She sat down calmly, back straight, hands folded in her lap. The exact same posture as Diana's, but without the tension that came with it.

"I already made an agreement with Callum," Elise said flatly. "Four weeks. That's what we agreed on."

She paused for a moment. Then turned to look at Callum, and her voice turned cold.

"Unless he wants to go back on it."

Callum, who had been silently staring at his tablet screen this whole time, lifted his eyes from it.

Diana growled in irritation. "Agreements can be changed."

"Mine can't." Elise turned back to Diana, polite but final. "I don't need Mama's money. But thank you for offering."

Diana opened her mouth. Then closed it again.

Two years had been enough for Diana to understand one thing about her daughter-in-law. Elise wasn't the type who could be swayed by numbers. Not because she didn't need money. But because there was something in that woman that could never be bought—her pride and her self-respect. Diana had never managed to find a way to bend either one.

Elise glanced at the clock on the wall.

"It's about time for dinner." She looked back at Diana, her expression unchanged. "Will Mama be eating here, or going home?"

Diana's face flushed red. "Are you throwing me out?"

Elise stood. Smoothed the fabric of her skirt. Then walked over to the foyer table, picked up Diana's bag lying there, and came back. She held it out with both hands. Polite. Final.

"Just a reminder." Her voice remained even. "Papa might be waiting for Mama to have dinner at home."

Diana growled again. Her hand nearly rose to swat the bag away.

But Callum spoke first.

"Ma."

One word. A tone that didn't raise its volume but closed the conversation in a way that left no room to continue. Callum had never needed to shout to make someone stop talking.

"It's late," Callum continued. "Let the driver take you home."

Diana shot her son a wounded look, then looked at Elise. Unable to believe Callum was siding with sending her away too. Furious, Diana snatched the bag from Elise's hands.

"Shameless woman," she hissed quietly—but loud enough for Elise to hear.

Diana rose. She turned and left. Without another word.

The front door slammed shut with a loud bang that echoed through the entire living room.

Elise stayed standing in the same spot until the sound of footsteps on the porch faded away. Until the car engine started outside and the house fell back into silence. Then she turned to face Callum.

"I'll get dinner ready."

"I already ordered in." Callum didn't look up from his laptop screen. "It's in the kitchen."

Elise looked at him a second longer than necessary.

"It's not like you to come home early and have dinner at home."

Callum shifted his gaze from the laptop. Closed it slowly. Then looked at Elise in a way that made something in her chest tighten before the sentence even came out.

"Mama's offer is worth considering." Callum's voice was flat. "Aren't you interested?"

Elise let out a quiet huff. Not a laugh. Something more bitter than that.

"Is Callum Voss trying to back out of our deal?" Elise looked straight at her husband. "Regretting agreeing to my terms?"

"That's not—"

Right at that moment, the phone on the table rang.

Elise could see the screen from where she stood. One name lit up brightly on it.

*Vivienne.*

Callum glanced at his phone. His hand moved to pick it up. But Elise's voice came first.

"It's fine if you want to back out of our agreement from last night."

Callum's hand froze in the air.

"But that means there will be no divorce between us."

Callum lifted his head. Looked at Elise. Something shifted in his eyes. Not annoyance. Not indifference. Something closer to wariness.

The phone kept ringing between them. Vivienne was still waiting on the other end. But Callum didn't move to answer it.

"Do you remember the vow you made to Grandma?" Elise's voice dropped, quieter, but every word came out sharp, like a blade being honed. "In her final moments, you promised you'd stay by my side until death separates us. You said it while holding her hand, which was already going cold."

Callum's jaw tightened.

"I'm giving you a clean way out, Callum. Four weeks, then you're free without breaking anything. Your vow stays intact, because it's *me* who chose to leave." Elise took a step closer. "But if you want to twist this agreement around—if you want to throw that vow away just because of some other influence—"

She stopped right in front of Callum, the phone still ringing.

"Then there won't be a single word of yours I can ever trust again."

Elise stared deep into her husband's eyes.

"And I refuse to have a husband who has the nerve to break a vow to a woman who's already dead for his sake."

The ringing stopped.

The room fell into total silence.

Callum said nothing. And Elise didn't wait for an answer. She turned, headed for the kitchen, leaving her husband alone with a phone whose screen had now gone dark.