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.

nothing

someone he'd been deceiving for two

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

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

set, the casual mask slipping in an instant. "Do you

I almost laughed.

always decide the rules

much I could see, how much

stood in that hospital room, looking at me with cold,

you walk out that door,

And yet

He's here.

I'm sorry. Let me

I didn't answer.

- it

thought it could be redeemed, as if

families have always been close-it would have been inappropriate not to

I didn't move.

pressed his fingers to his temple. His expression was a careful combination of guilt and sincerity, so close to believability that he might have succeeded if

all this time, I've been

reckless and arrogant. They expect me to

softened. "When I was with you, I was just a boy. A man

I stared at him.

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

into fists at his sides. "I didn't know which version of

Ah.