After the Last Tear: Rising from the Ashes of a Broken Marriage novel 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.

As if nothing had happened.

As if he wasn't standing before someone he'd been deceiving for two years.

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

"What 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 I had no interest in.

His jaw set, the casual mask slipping in an instant. "Do you have to talk to me like this?"

I almost laughed.

Didn't he always decide the rules of our conversations?

Who decided how much I could know, how much I could see, how much I could believe?

Wasn't it him who, just a few days ago, stood in that hospital room, looking at me with cold, distant eyes, and said -

"If you walk out that door, we're really done."

And yet

He's here.

"Cecilia, I'm sorry. Let me explain."

And other days he was cold, distant, and cruel.

Why he whispered love one day and turned away the next.

"But I've been thinking about it for the past two days," he said, his eyes firm and unwavering. "I love you. I'm willing to change."

Put aside the arrogance, put aside the bravado.

Be your Pax Brown.

I was silent for a moment.

Then, slowly, I held out my hand. Palm up.

"Your phone."He blinked in surprise.

But he didn't hesitate. He handed me the phone without hesitation. "You are"

I entered the password.

The password was incorrect.

There was silence.

I tried again.

Still wrong.