I’m Done Being Your Rock

My wife, Stella Bentley, was a talented artist who had always been emotionally distant. It took me five long years to finally make her my wife. To be with her, I turned my back on my parents and my family, giving up everything I had to follow her to Varenne. During the day, I washed dishes in the kitchen of a fine dining restaurant. At night, I worked at a bar. I survived on three or four hours of sleep a day, all so I could afford Stella's art supplies and help her open her own studio. But on the day of our seventh anniversary, I decided to divorce her. My personal attorney, Gregory Hicks, had been my friend since childhood. His family had practiced law for generations, with several generations of Hicks attorneys moving in Elaria's most elite legal circles. When he heard what I wanted, he asked me again and again, "Colin, you gave up your inheritance from one of Alderwyn's wealthiest families just to marry Stella. We all thought you'd never look back. And now you're asking me to draw up divorce papers? Why? "All because of a pair of wrist braces? Fine. Come home, and I'll buy you a whole pile of them!" Even now, she still didn't understand. I wasn't leaving her because of anything money could buy. I was leaving because…