Chapter 4

Amelia pov

The realization that I lost before the marriage even began settled heavily in my chest,strangely, it hurt less than I expected because I finally understood.

Normally, I blamed myself,maybe I wasn't beautiful enough, I wasn't interesting enough or I wasn't enough.

Now I knew the truth,it was never about me.

Damian entered our marriage carrying another woman's name in his heart. How the hell was I supposed to compete with that?

I couldn't,what words existed for a marriage like ours?

A marriage built on obligation,a marriage held together by one person's love,a marriage already dead long before anyone admitted it.

Finally, I looked down at the divorce papers. The pages felt heavier now as if they carried the weight of every disappointment from the last three years.

"Does she know?" My voice sounded distant,almost detached.

Damian frowned slightly."Know what?"

"That you're still in love with her."

His expression remained unreadable.

"Yes,she knows," he said.

Of course she knew,the answer shouldn't have surprised me.

I wondered what it must feel like to be loved so completely,to be remembered after years apart,to have someone choose you over everyone else.

I spent years trying to earn something Sophia had possessed effortlessly.

The front door suddenly burst open.

A loud voice echoed through the mansion. "WHERE IS HE?"

I closed my eyes,Lily,right on schedule.

Several startled servants appeared in the hallway,none of them seemed capable of stopping her.

A few seconds later, she stormed into the dining room.

Her dark hair was slightly messy and her eyes blazed with fury.

She looked ready to commit several crimes. The moment she saw me crying, her expression changed.

The anger disappeared and concern replaced it.

"Oh, Amelia." She rushed toward me immediately.

Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around me. The hug nearly broke whatever composure I had left and I wanted to cry properly.

Lily pulled back slightly and she noticed the divorce papers.

Her eyes narrowed and she turned toward Damian.

The room temperature seemed to drop.

"You." Lily said but Damian remained completely calm.

"Lily." Damian said.

The fact that he even remembered her name annoyed her further.

"You signed divorce papers on your anniversary?" Lily said.

"Seriously?"

Lily laughed an extremely unpleasant laugh.

"You know what?" She nodded.

"Good."

The response surprised both Damian and me.

Lily crossed her arms. "Do her a favor and leave faster."

My eyes widened. "Lily."

"No." Lily said.

She pointed directly at Damian. "This man doesn't deserve you!"

"Lily." I called her name again.

"I've been saying that for years." Lily said

Unfortunately, she wasn't wrong,Damian remained expressionless as always.

I sometimes wondered if anything could affect him.

Lily clearly wondered the same thing.

"Do you even feel guilty?" She asked.

Damian answered immediately. "Yes."

The room went silent,even Lily looked surprised.

Seems none of us expected that answer.

"Good." She said,

Then she grabbed my hand. "Pack your things."

I blinked. "What?"

"We're leaving." Lily said.

My gaze shifted toward Damian,a strange expression crossed his face.

"You're not..." Damian said.

Both Lily and I looked at him.

His gaze rested on me. "You don't need to leave tonight."

The statement shocked me. The divorce papers were literally sitting between us but he wanted me to stay?

Lily looked equally confused,then suspicious.

"Why?" She asked.

Damian's jaw tightened. "You can stay until the divorce is finalized."

The explanation killed whatever confusion remained.

Exactly like Damian,Lily rolled her eyes.

"Oh, how generous."

I almost smiled,my eyes wandered around the room.

Every corner contained memories,which most of them painful.

I looked back at the divorce papers,the empty signature line waited patiently.

One signature,that was all it would take. One signature to end everything and the thought terrified me.

As long as the papers remained unsigned, some tiny part of me could still pretend this wasn't happening.

My phone vibrated and a message appeared.

I barely glanced at it.

The sender's name made my stomach tighten. It was an unknown number,normally, I would have ignored it. But for some reason,I opened it

The attached image loaded slowly before it appeared on my screen.

A photograph of Damian and Sophia together standing outside a restaurant smiling.

His hand rested gently against her back.

The date stamp at the bottom showed it was taken four days ago.

While I was still busy buying anniversary decorations, I was still planning tonight's dinner.

Another message appeared immediately.

‘You should stop embarrassing yourself,he never loved you.’

My fingers tightened around the phone.

"What happened?" Lily asked.

I couldn't answer,the humiliation hit harder than expected because whoever sent this knew exactly where to aim.

Lily carefully took the phone from my hand,her eyes scanned the image.

Her face darkened."Oh."

"Oh, absolutely not." She said

I knew that someone was about to suffer but unfortunately I wasn't sure who.

Lily looked from the phone to Damian.

"Interesting."

Damian frowned. "What is it?"

Lily's smile was terrifying. "Tell me something."

She lifted the phone. "Would your precious Sophia happen to know how to use anonymous numbers?"