The Divorce He Refused to Sign Chapter 02
Not long after Julian left, Isabella sent me a contact request.
“You lost, Rory. I’m Marco’s wife now. You can’t stop Julian and me from being together anymore.”
“You’re getting old, gray hairs already. Heard you threw another tantrum with the Don, You miserable, bitter woman. If you’ve got the nerve, come catch us red–handed.”
She attached the address to the safe house.
It was a blatant challenge.
I drove there.
The brownstone was lit up bright, covered in tacky flowers. Laughter spilled out onto the street.
Julian had changed back into his tuxedo, surrounded by a crowd of mobsters.
Marco raised his glass with a wide grin.
“Don, I married her for you two lovebirds. You two owe me for the rest of your lives.”
Julian gave a small laugh.
“You’ll be rewarded for it.”
Someone asked,
“Don, if you’re so obsessed with her, why not just kick Rory to the curb and marry Isabella?”
Marco answered before Julian could speak.
“A man like Julian can’t be tied down by one woman.
Why else would we build this empire? Keep the house
quiet and the streets loud.”
Julian drained his glass in one swallow. He didn’t deny a word of it.
I sat in the car, nails digging deep into my palm.
Just let it go. Don’t go in there. This is his territory.
You still have a way out, Rory. You can still l After marrying him, I cut ties with my mother.
We lived in a rundown Brooklyn apartment, splitting a single microwaved meal between us.
When the stress got to him and he started losing
weight, I’d hide the only piece of meat under the ramen and pretend I’d already eaten.
When he found out, his eyes reddened with emotion.
He pulled me into his arms.
“I’m sorry, Rory. I swear I’ll make it up to you. I’ll
give you everything.”
Maybe he meant it back then.
But now he’d betrayed the man he used to be.
Marco and the others laughed as they pushed Julian
toward the bedroom, then left.
I stared out the window.
Shadows moved behind the blinds. Julian’s hand
rested on Isabella’s waist as she tilted her chin up.
Isabella suddenly yanked the curtains open and
stared straight at my car.
She knew I was there.
I held her gaze without flinching.
Not when he kissed her. Not when they fell onto bed.
Once they were on the bed, Julian pulled out his phone. A second later, mine buzzed.
Julian’s voice sounded distracted.
“Rory, I know you’re upset, but you just lost the
baby. Getting worked up isn’t good for your health.
Take the pills I left for you and get some rest.”
“Be good. Don’t make things worse.”
He was lying with his head in another woman’s lap,
yet feeding me caring words.
How thoughtful.
Julian pulled Isabella closer.
I twisted the ring on my finger.
It was a cheap silver band–the only thing he could afford when we got engaged.
I’d treasured it. Even after he could buy me diamonds the size of my fist.
Once, I lost it and cried for days.
Later, while cooking, I found it inside a fish.
I thought it was fate.
But it wasn’t.
He’d bought a fake, stuffed it in there so I wouldn’t cry.
Back then, that ring was his forgiveness.
But a replacement is never the original.
Just like Julian.
The man who had once loved only me no longer existed.
I slipped the ring off and threw it into the gutter, along with every hope I’d had for this marriage.