CHAPTER 2—THE DIVORCE

The divorce papers were already on the kitchen island when I got home.

Lorenzo didn't look up. Seraphina sat next to him in my chair, wearing my cashmere robe. Her hand was on his forearm.

Aria," he said quietly. We talked about this.

I didn't answer. I was still holding the ultrasound photo from The Portland Hospital in my pocket. One tiny sac. four weeks .No heartbeat yet

My baby.

Seraphina gave me a soft, sad smile. The dying woman smile. Aria, I never wanted to come between you two. I just... I have six months. I just wanted to feel what it is like to be a wife before I go. Lorenzo is doing this out of kindness.

Kindness.

I looked at the papers. Fifty pages. My lawyer, Mr. Jenkins, stood by the window. He wouldn't meet my eyes.

Just sign where I flagged, Mrs. Blackwood, he said. Mr. Blackwood is being very generous. The house in Aspen, the apartment in Paris, fifty million

I don't want it, I said.

The room went quiet.

Lorenzo finally looked at me. Aria, don't be

I said I don't want it. My voice was calm. I had practiced this calm in the elevator. I took the pen. I signed on every flag. Fast. No hesitation. Aria Sinclair Blackwood. Aria Sinclair Blackwood. Aria Sinclair Blackwood.

Until the last page.

There, the pen stopped.

Mr. Jenkins cleared his throat. Mrs. Blackwood is waiving all spousal support and assets. She is leaving with personal effects only.i know if I took his money ,they would say I trapped him with a baby. I had to leave with nothing.

Personal effects. One cheap suitcase. The one I came with three years ago when I was nobody from nowhere.

Why? Lorenzo asked, frowning. This is not like you.

I thought about telling him. Right there. I'm four weeks pregnant. Your mother prayed for an heir. You have one. Right here, in my belly.

Instead, I took off the diamond bracelet he gave me on our wedding day. I took off the diamond necklace. I placed them on the island like trash. Like they were nothing.

"I came with nothing. I'll leave with nothing," I said. "You taught me that love is not measured in diamonds, Lorenzo."

Seraphina's eyes flickered to the diamonds, then back to me. She looked... satisfied.

I zipped up my old suitcase. Inside, I slipped the key to my studio in London,the one I'd rented in secret last year.

"Where will you go?" Lorenzo asked. For a second, his voice cracked. Like he cared.

I didn't answer. I walked to the door. marcus, his driver, was waiting to take the suitcase down.

At the door, I turned.

"Take care of her," I said to Lorenzo, looking at Seraphina. "She looks very... healthy, for someone with six months to live."

Seraphina's smile froze.

Lorenzo frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," I said. "Just an observation."

I left. I didn't look back. If I had looked back, I would have stayed. And if I had stayed, he would never have known what he lost.

Eight hours later, I landed at Heathrow.

One suitcase. One velvet box. One heartbeat inside me.

And one person waiting for me at arrivals holding a sign that said QUEEN.

Rhys Carter.

The boy I once helped in Central Saint Martins when no one would give him a job. The boy who became the only person who knew I was S.

Marcus was by the car, he took my suitcase without a word. He looked at my face, my red eyes, and didn't ask.

"Flat is ready," he said. "Studio is warm. I stocked the fridge."

"Thank you," I whispered.

In the taxi, my phone buzzed. A photo. A hospital bracelet. SERAPHINA VALE, ADMISSION DATE: 09/15/2026, WARD: ONCOLOGY. And a message underneath: You think you know everything, little ghost? You know nothing. He's mine. He was always mine. S

My blood ran cold.

I called julian in London. "Check this bracelet. Check if it's real."

He was silent for a minute. "Boss... ,I called Royal Marsden.No seraphina vale admitted on 09/15 .That bracelet is fake .But Hohenegg? she was there . it's a psychiatric clinic,not cancer.

The woman who was supposed to be dying wanted to be Lorenzo's wife before she died.

And she had just checked into a cancer hospital while her official medical file said she was in a psychiatric clinic in Switzerland.

The game had just changed.

I put my hand on my still-flat stomach.

"Activate Project Queen," I said to Rhys. "Atelier S is coming home."