The air between us grew tense. For a moment, Jonah stared at me, his face unreadable. Then, as if a switch had flipped, his gentle expression hardened. A flicker of anger darkened his hazel eyes and his voice turned sharp. "Sasha, have I been too good to you? Do you know how many women in all of Brookside envy you? Everything I've done—every gift, every gesture—it's all for you. And today of all days, you just have to stir up trouble, don't you?"
His tone cut through me like a blade and I had to bite down on my trembling lip to stop myself from crying. Jonah abruptly rose from his seat, his towering figure casting a shadow over me. Without another glance in my direction, he stormed toward the door. "Fine! Stay home by yourself!"
The door slammed shut behind him with a deafening thud, the vibrations reverberating through the room like the final note of a cruel symphony. It felt as if the sound had landed directly on my chest, shattering something fragile and irreplaceable. The tears I'd been holding back spilled over, hot and uncontrollable, streaking down my face.
I collapsed onto the couch, covering my face with trembling hands. The man I had loved for sixty years, the man I once believed was my entire world, had always been two different people. When he called me "Sasha," there was indifference. When he called me "Rosa," it was all a lie.
The realization crushed me. No matter what Jonah's feelings had truly been, I knew one thing for certain: in my past life, I had loved him with everything I had. To divorce him now, even knowing what I knew, felt like tearing away a part of myself. But Jonah, no matter how much it hurts, this time, I am truly done with you.
***
The days passed in an eerie silence. Jonah didn't come home at all and the printed divorce papers sat untouched on the coffee table, an ominous reminder of the choice I had made.
Perhaps even fate, tired of my suffering, had granted me this second chance. I couldn't waste it.
With renewed determination, I grabbed the divorce papers, the cool weight of the documents grounding me. Outside, the sky had darkened, the faint hum of the city lights illuminating the streets like scattered stars.
By the time I reached the towering Robert Group building, night had fully descended. The only light in the entire structure came from Jonah's office, a glowing beacon that pierced through the inky darkness.