Chapter 3

Amelia pov

Sophia Laurent,the woman everyone believed Damian should have married,the woman the media spent years comparing me to and judging by the look on his face, perhaps she still did.

I stood frozen, unable to look away.

Damian listened quietly to whatever Sophia was saying on the phone.

Then he said something that completely shattered me.

"I'll be there soon." He said.

The call ended.

Damian slipped the phone back into his pocket.

Neither of us spoke,I wasn't sure I could.

My throat hurt,my chest hurt. I finally forced the words out.

"It's Sophia, isn't it?" I asked tearfully.

His eyes met mine,a brief pause followed.

"Yes." He said without hesitation and was unremorseful.

A strange calmness washed over me,I did not feel better,I felt worse.

There comes a point when pain becomes too much,when your heart becomes so overwhelmed that it simply goes numb.

Maybe I had reached that point. A small laughter escaped my lips.

Damian frowned. "What is funny?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

Everything suddenly made sense.

The reason behind it all had returned and her name was Sophia.

"When did she come back?" I asked.

Damian's expression remained guarded.

"A few weeks ago."

"So you've been seeing her." I said without question.

I nodded.

Of course,why else would he suddenly want a divorce?

Three years of marriage hadn't changed his feelings,but a few weeks with Sophia had.

How pathetic did that make me?

I looked down at the divorce papers again.

The document was not prepared today.

It had been drafted almost two weeks ago.

"You already decided everything." I said

Damian didn't respond. "You prepared these two weeks ago."

I looked up. "Did you ever intend to tell me about your plans for us?" I asked

"I am telling you now." He said.

The answer made me scoff bitterly,always the same response, anger began pushing through the heartbreak.

The anger born from years of disappointment.

"I waited for you tonight,you know" I said

My voice remained calm.

"I know." He said.

"I spent all day preparing dinner." I said

His jaw tightened. "I know,bloody hell I saw it!" He said

"I thought maybe things would be different." I said

Something flashed across his face and was gone almost instantly.

Apparently, he wasn't completely heartless.

I looked toward the dining table.

The untouched food, the e burned-down candles.

Everything suddenly felt ridiculous,like a joke.

"I must look pathetic." I said.

Damian frowned. "Don't do that"

"Don't what?" I asked

"Talk about yourself like that." He said

The response caught me off guard,I stared at him.

Then I smiled sadly. "Why not?"

His gaze hardened. "Because it isn't true."

The irony almost made me laugh again,after years of making me feel unwanted, now he wanted to defend my dignity? Was it not too late for that? For such audacity?

"I loved you." I said

The confession slipped out unexpectedly.

“I know that,Amelia" he said

The answer broke something inside me because he knew.

He had always known and it never mattered to him.

"You knew." I said

"Yes." He said

The tears returned,this time I didn't bother hiding them.

"Then why?" My voice cracked.

"Why did you let me keep trying?" I asked

The first sign of discomfort I had seen from him all evening.

"Amelia,can we not…”

"No,answer me." I demanded.

Eventually, he spoke. "I thought things would change."

I blinked. "What?"

"I thought I would eventually feel differently." He said.

That answer hurt more than anything else,why did it hurt more? Why did I feel suddenly hurt by his honest answer? The truth was devastating.

"What a disaster we are." I said

He scoffed

The marriage had failed long before tonight,tonight was simply the funeral.

My phone suddenly rang. Lily again.

I stared at the screen,this time, I answered.

The moment I placed the phone against my ear, Lily spoke.

"Amelia."

Her voice immediately softened.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing." I said.

"Don't lie to me." She said,

Tears slipped down my face and Damian watched.

"Amelia." Lily sounded worried now.

"What happened?" She asked again.

I closed my eyes, I couldn't speak.

The words finally came. "He's divorcing me."

"WHAT?" The scream echoed through the phone.

"That son of a….."

"Lily." I said

"No!" She yelled.

She sounded furious,absolutely furious.

"I'm coming over right now." She said

"You don't have to." I said

"I'm already grabbing my keys."

Despite everything, a tiny smile appeared on my face. That was Lily,a very protective friend ready to fight anyone who hurt me.

Including one of the most powerful billionaires in the country.

"I'll be okay." I said, "No, you won't." She said

Her voice softened. "But you're not going through this alone."

I didn't feel completely alone,after ending the call, I placed my phone down.

The room fell silent again,then Damian checked his watch.

He wanted to leave because Sophia was waiting.

The realization hurt,but not as much as before.

Perhaps because I was finally accepting reality. I looked at him carefully.

Maybe for the last time as his wife. "Do you love her?" I asked him again.

Earlier he didn't answer,this time, he did after a long pause,after several seconds of silence.

He looked directly into my eyes and said,"I never stopped."

The words hit me like a physical blow.

Everything around me faded, after years of marriage... years of loving him...

I finally understood something.

I was never competing against another woman,I was competing against a memory and I lost before the marriage even began.

“I will need your signature by the end of the week," Damian said plainly.