After the Last Tear: Rising from the Ashes of a Broken Marriage By Cassila K

Chapter 72

The countdown is almost over.

Two days.

Fall is here. The air is crisper now, with a freshness that wasn't there before. The sky is weighed down by thick clouds, and drizzle begins to form fog on the streets, making the sidewalks slippery.

I wrap my shirt tighter around me, the thin fabric doing nothing to keep out the cold. I slip on my slippers and walk downstairs slowly, carefully, as if delaying my final routine here.

And then-

A black umbrella tilts toward me, shielding me from the rain before I can even notice the drops hitting my skin.

"Always walk in the rain," comes a low, familiar voice. "Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?"

I pause.

He holds the umbrella handle tightly-too tight. The tendons in his fingers stand out, and his knuckles pale from the pressure.

Pax Brown.

No more pretending.

No more wearing faded hoodies or worn sneakers. No more carefully crafting an image of a struggling man. He stood before me now, radiating the quiet, gaily- bred wealth that had always been second nature to him.

But his face his expression-

That hadn't changed.

He smiled.

if nothing

he wasn't standing before someone he'd

if we weren't in the midst of a slow,

have that Pax Brown came to me personally?" My voice was light, nonchalant. Detached, as if he'd shown up at my doorstep

casual mask slipping in an instant. "Do you have to

I almost laughed.

he always decide the rules of

decided how much I could know, how much I could see, how much I

a few days ago, stood in that hospital room, looking at me

that door,

And yet

He's here.

I'm sorry. Let

I didn't answer.

I bought Nina - it was a

careful, as if he thought it could be redeemed, as if he thought the right words could reshape

have been

I didn't move.

his temple. His expression was a careful combination of guilt and sincerity, so close to believability that he might have succeeded if I hadn't seen

this time, I've been playing two

and arrogant. They expect me

with you..." His voice softened. "When I was with you, I was just a boy. A man with nothing but

I stared at him.

in two. I didn't know which version of me

you found out the truth, I panicked." His hands clenched into fists at his

Ah.