Chapter 104 SOME ENDINGS.
\~~~RAINA.
That morning, everything felt off, and I couldn't put my finger on why. Maybe it was the empty chair across from me at breakfast, or the way the bed had felt too big last night with no one beside me. Luciano hadn't come home, or if he had, he hadn't slept in our room.
I pushed the thoughts away and ate my toast alone, the dining quiet except for the tick of the clock on the wall. The coffee tasted bitter, like it matched the knot in my stomach.
I told myself it was fine, that everything was okay, and that I had gotten through worse.
So, after I finished eating, I cleared the plates and wandered around the house for a bit. The rooms felt too big, and too empty. Boredom started to creep in, heavy and nagging. I needed to get out, to breathe some fresh air. Sightseeing might help and maybe walking through the city streets would clear my head, and push away the weight pressing on my chest.
I went back to the bedroom and changed into comfortable clothes. Jeans that hugged my legs just right, sneakers for walking. I grabbed a sweatshirt from the closet, the soft gray one that smelled faintly of laundry soap. As I pulled it over my head, the door creaked open and my heart jumped. I turned, and there he was, Luciano.
The first thing I noticed was how rough he looked with the dark bags under his eyes, like he hadn't slept in days. His hair was a mess, sticking up in places, and his face was hard, cold. Just like the first time I met him, back when he was a stranger with eyes that could freeze you in place. No warmth, and no softness.
He held a brown envelope in his hand, thick and official-looking and that honestly made my stomach twist.
He walked straight to the bed and dropped the envelope there, right in front of me. It landed with a soft thud on the comforter. I stared at it, then at him.
"Here is the divorce agreement," he said. His voice was flat, like he was reading from a script.
For a second, I swear I stopped breathing.
"I have signed it," he continued, not looking at me. "You just need to do your part. For the alimony, you can request whatever amount you want. In a week, five days, actually, it will be fully resolved.”
Alimony. The word hung in the air, cold and businesslike.
He didn't wait for me to speak, didn't even glance back as he turned and walked out. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me alone with the envelope and the echo of his words.
I stood there, frozen, my sweatshirt half-pulled on. He was really doing it.
Divorcing me.
Of course, I had asked for it. Begged for it, even. Last night with the knife... God, I had pressed it to my neck, the blade sharp against my skin. I told him if he didn't let me go, I'd end it right there.
The blood had trickled down, warm and sticky, and I meant it. In that moment, I was so lost, and so broken, that dying seemed like the only way out of the nightmare. The lies, the pretending to be Talia, the cage of this marriage had all crushed me.
But now? With the papers right there, waiting for my signature, everything felt wrong.
My chest ached, a sharp pain that made it hard to breathe.
I didn’t know what I wanted anymore.
No. That wasn’t true.
I should be happy.
I was supposed to be happy about this. I had never wanted this union. From the day my parents forced me into it, I hated every second. Praying in the dark of night for it to end, for freedom. Six months in this hell was too long. I deserved to go home, to be Raina again, and not some shadow of my sister.
Yet, as I stepped closer to the bed, my legs felt heavy, like they were made of rock. I reached for the envelope, and my hand shook. Badly.
My fingers trembled so much that I almost dropped it but I picked it up anyway, the paper cool against my skin and I slid out the documents slowly, my eyes scanning the top page.
DIVORCE AGREEMENT.
The words screamed at me in big, bold capital letters. Tears blurred my vision before I could even read the first line. They spilled over, hot and fast, down my cheeks.
This was real.
Not a dream, not a threat.
Luciano had done it. He was letting me go.
I sank onto the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping under me. My hands shook as I flipped through the pages. There were clauses about assets, about the house, about ending our marriage completely. No shared property, no ties left. And then the alimony section. It said I could specify an amount, whatever I needed to start over, and money to rebuild my life.
I grabbed the pen from the nightstand, tears dripping onto the paper, and smudging the ink slightly as I crossed out the alimony line, null and void.
I didn't want his money. I just wanted out.
So, with a deep breath, I signed my name at the bottom, Raina Monroe.
The more the pen scratched across the page, the more tears fell, soaking the edge.
Tears poured freely now, soaking the paper as I finished.
When I was done, I slid the documents back into the envelope and placed it gently on the bed, exactly where he had dropped it.
My chest hurts, God, I can't breathe.
Still, I lifted my left hand and stared at the ring on my finger.
The wedding ring.
It had once felt foreign, too tight, and too symbolic.
Now, it felt like it weighed a thousand pounds and had fucking grown on me.
Shit, there was no time I was not wearing it.
I pulled it off slowly and just like that, something inside me broke completely.
I placed the ring beside the envelope then I sat down on the edge of the bed and cried.
Not because I loved him.
No, I don't.
I’d never love that man. I can’t. I don’t!
It… it was just… because some endings, even the ones you beg for, still hurt.
And this one felt permanent like a door was closing behind me.
Forever.