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

we weren't in the midst of a slow,

to me personally?" My voice was light, nonchalant. Detached, as if he'd shown

instant. "Do

I almost laughed.

the

know, how much I

him who, just a few days ago, stood in that hospital room,

that door, we're really

And yet

He's here.

I'm sorry. Let me

I didn't answer.

-

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

have

I didn't move.

guilt and sincerity, so close to

time, I've been playing

and arrogant. They expect me to be

softened. "When I was with you, I was just

I stared at him.

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

when you found out the truth, I panicked." His hands clenched into fists at his sides. "I didn't know which version of me should

Ah.