"I have a feeling I'm going to get better soon..."
I watched him, my expression laced with quiet scorn.
His shoulders were practically trembling. He looked so terrified of losing me.
And yet every word out of his mouth was still a lie.
"Caspar." I cut him off. "I only want to ask you one thing."
"In these two years, have you ever lied to me?"
We had loved each other fiercely once. That was why I was willing to give him one last chance.
If he admitted it. If he confessed that he'd lied to me. If he laid everything bare, told me the whole truth.
I would forgive it all.
But Caspar fell silent for a moment, and when he finally spoke, what came out was:
"No. Maud, how could I ever lie to you?"
"I love you. More than anything."
In that instant, the last flicker of hope in my eyes died.
"Fine."
"Then there's nothing left to say."
The next morning, I left the divorce agreement behind. I packed a single suitcase, picked it up, and walked out.
Ebony threw five hundred dollars in my face. The bills grazed my skin, fluttered upward for a brief, weightless moment, then drifted to the floor.
"Take your money and get lost."
"And remember, don't ever come back. Because if I see you again, I'll make you regret it."
When Caspar came home, he was carrying the little cakes I loved and a crystal necklace.
Ebony's eyes lit up instantly. "Are those for me?"
Caspar frowned and pulled away from her reach.
"They're for my wife."
He ignored the shift in Ebony's expression and kept talking, almost to himself.
"This is your fault. You went too far last time."
"Maud is genuinely angry now. Don't show your face for the next couple of days. I need to make things right with her."
"You should've seen her. She cried so hard yesterday her eyes were all red, like a little rabbit."
His voice went unbearably soft as he said it.
"It broke my heart."
"Put the whole faking-sick thing on hold for a few days."
He held out a check.
"Here's a million dollars. Go have fun somewhere for a couple of weeks. Once Maud's cooled off, you can come back."
Ebony didn't reach for the check. She just smiled, slow and amused.
"Why don't you go find Maud yourself?"
She glanced lazily at the watch on her wrist.
"She left for the airport two hours ago. Heading overseas, from what I heard."
"She's probably already boarded by now." Her smile sharpened. "What, are you going to chase her across the ocean?"
