Shadows Of A Forgotten Spring

The smile froze on Emma's face as the breath caught in her throat. The room seemed to tilt, her mind struggling to process the words. Divorce? The word rang in her head like the peal of a cracked bell, cruel and sharp. All these years, she had braced herself for many

things-his distance, his coldness, his silence-but not this.

Her hands were shaking, and she quickly clasped them together in her lap to hide the shaking. A wave of nausea washed over her, and her vision blurred as tears welled up in her eyes. She had fought so hard and waited so long for even a glimmer of hope in their

marriage, only to have everything taken away in one single, devastating moment.

Annie. The name was like a dagger thrust into her heart. The woman who had always been a shadow between them, a ghost from the past whom Emma just couldn't compete with. Now she was back, and with her, she had taken whatever small hope Emma had clung to. Emma felt a tightening in her throat, her speaking suddenly very hard to do, but she willed herself to swallow the growing lump down her throat. "A-Are you serious?" she managed to whisper, her voice barely audible, as if speaking louder would make a nightmare more real. The look in Alexander's eyes, though, told her all she needed to know. He was serious. And in that moment, Emma felt her heart shatter into a million pieces, the weight of his words crushing her beneath their finality.

"Kevin is preparing the divorce papers. I will send you a copy tomorrow," Alexander added, as his voice was cutting through the thick silence strumming in the room.

Emma turned her eyes at him, brimming her eyes with full containers of unshed tears. But she quickly blinked them away, refusing for them to fall. Her body was so weary, her heart in pain, but she willed herself still to speak, when everything in her never wanted to. She had spent years trembling at his words and his presence, always trying to be the perfect wife, all for him to never be satisfied. But now, after all she had given, all she had endured, this was how it ended a divorce paper as his final act.

"Okay," she said, a little steadier this time, but hollow, her fists clenched hard at her sides, under the table, where he couldn't see.

more weighted than before. Alexander watched her face with his eyes, trying to find something more, possibly. But Emma had nothing more to give. More than a moment passed before he finally

one to break the news to my mother. She'll take it better if it comes from

void of warmth that she once tried so

piercing and intense, before he continued, "Regarding alimony, I'm ready to pay you

feet, his decision made, and began to walk away, his footsteps echoing

her mind was in a whirl at all that was happening. Then she pushed her chair back and stood up, her voice cold as she spoke, "All I need is a week to find a new apartment. Bring the papers

and turned towards her, his face unreadable as if he wanted to say something more. Something flickered in his eyes-something she hadn't seen in them before, but she was too

There was a firm heaviness in her steps. She was walking towards her room-a haven where, at last, she could let go of the pretence. Upon the door closing behind her, the tears that she had held back all night began to spew forth; they were silent but relentless. Her shoulder shook with soundless sobs as she

in. The woman who had fought so hard to be loved by a man who had never truly seen her now

was no refuge for Emma. The words of Alexander-that Annie was back-echoed in her mind like a cruel refrain that just would not let her rest. Every time she closed her eyes, the reality of all that crashed over her like some relentless wave, threatening to drown in despair. Annie. Here was the name that haunted her marriage, the woman who had always been at the center of Alexander's heart. If only she could go

to a personal battle that had raged all

a deep breath, she then wiped her face of residual tears and stepped into the shower, hoping the hot water might help wash away some

which spoke of dignity, which she refused to lose whatever the shreds it was in, inside. As she came out of the house, she met Alexander in the dining room, having his breakfast. She didn't spare him a glance. There was nothing left to say,

a flower shop and bought a bunch of white lilies, her father's favorite flowers. The thought of that was what brought her renewed tears, yet she was resolved to