Semua Bab I Want A Divorce: Bab 151 - Bab 160

DARIUSVivienne spread fabric swatches across the dining table, comparing shades of cream and ivory that looked identical to my eye."What do you think?" She held up two samples. "The champagne or the pearl?""They're both fine.""Darius, this is important. The color scheme sets the tone for the entire party."I nodded at the one in her left hand without really looking. "That one."Her face lit up and she moved on to napkin styles, apparently something people cared deeply about.The engagement party had consumed her life for the past two weeks. Guest lists that grew longer every day. Venue options. Caterers with elaborate tasting menus I barely touched. Florists with portfolios of centerpieces that all looked the same.I said yes to everything. Agreed with whatever she suggested. Signed checks without questioning amounts.It was easier than caring."We need to finalize the guest list by Friday," Vivienne said, making notes with color-coded pens. "I'm thinking around two hundred people

SERAThree weeks since the hospital and I finally felt like myself again—or at least a version close enough that I could pretend.The incision still pulled when I moved too quickly, a dull reminder that I was missing a piece of myself now, but the sharp pain had faded into something manageable. Something I could work around while I sat at the piano composing melodies that had been trapped in my head during recovery.My phone sat on the piano bench beside me, Heather's contact information glowing on the screen. We'd met during one of Monica's checkup appointments when I'd been wandering the hospital halls trying to escape another conversation about family and belonging. She'd been grabbing coffee between surgeries, had complimented my bracelet, and somehow we'd ended up talking for twenty minutes about everything except medicine and kidneys.She didn't know about the Smiths. Didn't know about Darius or Vivienne or any of the complications that came with my last name. Just knew me as Se

DARIUSLuna's quiet sobs cut through me like broken glass as we walked through the hotel corridor toward the exit. My tux felt suffocating—the bow tie too tight, the jacket constricting my shoulders—but I couldn't bring myself to care about anything except the trembling child in my arms."Daddy, why was she so mean?" Luna's voice came out muffled against my shoulder, wet with tears that were soaking through my dress shirt."I don't know, sweetheart." My jaw ached from clenching it. "But she was wrong to speak to you that way. I'm so sorry."How could Vivienne call a five-year-old a whiny brat? In front of two hundred people? My own daughter, who'd only been asking about her mother?The parking garage air hit us cool and sharp as I pushed through the doors. I needed to walk, to move, to put distance between us and that ballroom before I said something I'd regret to everyone still standing there watching.Luna hiccupped against my neck and I rubbed circles on her back, murmuring reassur

VIVIENNEThe elevator ride down to the parking garage felt endless, each floor ticking by with agonizing slowness while rage built under my skin like pressure in a shaken bottle.Darius hadn't come back. Twenty minutes had passed since he'd walked out with that brat, and he still hadn't returned to our engagement party. To our guests. To me.And then when he did, he had the gall to say he'd left Luna with her mother in the parking lot! Her fucking mother?! Here, where MY engagement is being held? I'd stood there smiling and making excuses while two hundred people whispered behind their champagne flutes about how he'd abandoned his own celebration to meet his ex wife and how his daughter disliked me and wanted her mother instead. About how I'd lost control and said something inappropriate. About how maybe this wedding wasn't such a sure thing after all.My heels clicked sharp and angry against the concrete as I emerged into the garage, the cool air doing nothing to calm the fury bur

SERAThe scene felt sickeningly familiar watching Darius cradle Vivienne against his chest, his hands careful on her shoulders while she sobbed into his tux. My stomach churned with the wrongness of it all, the déjà vu making my skin crawl.How many times had I seen this exact tableau? Vivienne collapsing, Darius catching her, me standing on the outside looking guilty of crimes I hadn't committed.The elevator dinged and more guests spilled into the parking garage, either the event was over or they were drawn by Vivienne's screaming. They gathered in clusters, faces shocked and curious, whispering behind their hands."Did you see—""—so much blood—""Poor thing, and she's pregnant—"A woman in a red dress I didn't recognize stepped forward, her expression twisted with disgust as she looked at me. "How cruel. Attacking a pregnant woman."The words hit like a slap but I kept my mouth shut, my arms tightening around Luna who'd buried her face against my shoulder.Darius's head snapped up