I laid Samuel gently on the bed. This time, I didn't carefully remove his shoes and socks the way I always had. I didn't spare him another glance. I turned and walked straight into the guest room, locking the door behind me, sealing out that nauseating tenderness and the lingering scent of him.
Before I closed my eyes, memories flickered unbidden through my mind. All those years of him supposedly "doting on me." Sweet soup delivered late at night. New clothes every time the season changed. Front-row seats at jewelry exhibitions.
Scenes that had once moved me to tears now pieced themselves together into something grotesque. Something mocking. Like a dull blade sawing across my heart, stroke after agonizing stroke.
Morning light filtered through the Castle's stained-glass windows, scattering fragments of color across my face. My eyes snapped open, and I found myself staring directly into Samuel's gaze, still soft, still tender.
He leaned in close, pressing a warm kiss to my forehead.
I turned my head away on instinct.
He paused, a flicker of surprise crossing his features. He assumed I was upset about his drinking and softened his voice even further, coaxing and intimate.
"Lois, were you unhappy last night? I'm sorry. I had too much at the family meeting. I promise it won't happen again. Don't be mad at me, okay?"
"Selene's coming over soon. Leave me a little dignity, will you? Don't let anyone see that the Godfather of Sicily can't even keep his own wife happy."
Gentle as always. Considerate as ever. But every word landed like ice against my skin.
I kept my expression blank, gave a flat murmur of acknowledgment, then turned and pulled out the divorce agreement I'd drafted the night before. I'd slipped it between the pages of a jewelry auction document.
"Sign this and buy it for me. Then I won't be angry."
Samuel was about to open the file when his phone lit up. I caught the name on the screen: Selene.
His expression shifted. Softened. Not the perfunctory warmth he usually gave me. This was real. A smile that came from somewhere deep inside him.
He flipped to the last page of the document, signed his name without reading a single word, and stood up to take the call.
I stared at the freshly signed divorce agreement. A sharp sting pierced my chest.
I thought of my mother's death. The ruin of my family. The plan I'd made with Joshua.
I steadied myself.