"Alright. I'm here, sweetheart. No matter what happened, I'll always be right behind you."
The second I hung up, the tears broke free.
So that was the truth of my last life. Every bit of it had been one-sided. Every tender moment, every loving gesture—all of it performed. Love really could be faked.
When the ambulance arrived, Xavier rushed to carry Tilda onto the stretcher, hovering over her as though she might shatter.
He never once looked for me.
I stared at the place that had once held all my happiness. Now it was rubble. Just like what Xavier and I had been—reduced to nothing.
I didn't hesitate. I turned and walked away.
By the time Renata came to pick me up, I was barely holding it together. The look on my face startled her.
"Maggie?"
I glanced up at her but said nothing. She didn't push. She just took me home.
Once we were inside, she handed me the divorce papers she'd already drawn up.
"Take a look. See if there's anything you want to add."
I shook my head, signed my name, and set the papers on the table.
"Send them to Xavier. Get his signature."
Renata opened her mouth, closed it, then spoke anyway.