บททั้งหมดของ I Want A Divorce: บทที่ 141 - บทที่ 150

SERASeven days of lying in a hospital bed had turned me into someone I barely recognized—restless, irritable, desperate for anything besides white walls and the endless beeping of monitors. Even after I turned mine off, the sound of others were still so freaking insistent! The nurse who'd checked my vitals that morning had warned me to stay in bed, to let my body heal, to give the incision time to close properly. I'd nodded and smiled and waited exactly ten minutes after she left before pulling on the robe Johnson had brought me and shuffling toward the door.Walking hurt. Every step pulled at stitches that felt too tight, sent sharp reminders through my side that I was missing a piece of myself now. But the pain was better than staring at the ceiling for another endless afternoon counting tiles and trying not to think about everything waiting for me outside these walls.The hospital corridors stretched quiet in the mid-afternoon lull between lunch and dinner. I moved slowly, one h

DARIUSThe house felt suffocating when we got home.I poured myself a drink I didn't want and stood at the window overlooking the city, trying to process how my life had spiraled so completely out of my control.I hadn't touched Vivienne. Not once.The thought kept circling back, insistent and damning. When she'd first returned into my life with those devastating words—only a year to live—I'd felt pity, obligation, a desire to make her remaining time comfortable. Perhaps there was attraction at first, but it didn't last, it never went beyond care. Never desire.Not during her illness when she'd been fragile and weak. Not after her miraculous recovery when she'd regained strength and color. The engagement had been about guilt and loneliness and filling the Sera-shaped hole in my life with someone who felt safe and familiar. But I'd never wanted her. Had made excuses every time she'd tried to initiate intimacy, had kept physical distance even while planning a wedding only Vivienne seem

JOHNSONI needed air. Space. Anywhere that wasn't Sera's hospital room where I'd just spilled thirty years of buried resentment like an open wound that wouldn't stop bleeding.The hospital cafeteria seemed like a safe option—neutral territory filled with exhausted staff and worried families who had their own problems to focus on. Nobody would notice one more person sitting alone with thoughts too heavy to carry.The coffee was terrible. Burnt and bitter and probably sitting in the pot since morning. I bought it anyway because holding something warm gave my hands purpose, gave me an excuse to sit at a corner table and stare at nothing while my mind replayed every word I'd said to Sera.I pressed my palms against my eyes, willing the memories of my life with my parents back into whatever box I'd kept them locked in for most of my life."Shit. Fucking hell. Are you kidding me right now?"The voice made me look up. A woman stood at the coffee station, glaring at the machine like it had pe

VIVIENNEI called Cathy the moment Darius left for work, bursting with news I needed to share with someone who'd actually be happy for me."I'm pregnant," I announced the second she picked up.Silence stretched on the other end of the line. Then, "Oh. That's... that's good news. Congratulations."The words fell flat, empty of the excitement I'd expected. Cathy sounded distracted, her voice carrying that distant quality she'd had since the cruise incident.She's been distant, acting as though only her problems matter. Sure, what Lucas did was wrong but, it's been almost three months...she should be better by now. "You could sound more enthusiastic," I said, trying to inject humor into the observation. "Your brother is going to be a father again. I'm going to give Luna a sibling.""I'm happy for you, Viv. Really." But her tone suggested otherwise. "When are you due?""Late July. We're keeping it quiet until after the first trimester is completely safe." I settled onto the couch, cradl

SERAThe nurse wheeled me to the hospital entrance despite my insistence that I could walk perfectly fine. Hospital policy, she'd said with a smile that suggested she'd heard that argument a thousand times.Johnson waited by his car, keys already in hand."I can take a cab," I said as he helped me stand."Not happening." He opened the passenger door with a look that brooked no argument. "Get in."The drive home was quiet, comfortable in the way things had become between us. Johnson hummed along to the radio while I watched the city pass by my window, feeling strangely disconnected from the world outside.My apartment building appeared too soon. Johnson grabbed my overnight bag before I could reach for it and followed me up the stairs with careful steps, like he was afraid I might collapse at any moment.The apartment felt too quiet when I unlocked the door.A week wasn't that long. But the silence pressed against my ears in ways it hadn't before, making the space feel larger and empti