"Lois, were you unhappy last night? I'm sorry. I had too much at the family meeting. I promise it won't happen again. Don't be mad at me, okay?"
"Selene's coming over soon. Leave me a little dignity, will you? Don't let anyone see that the Godfather of Sicily can't even keep his own wife happy."
Gentle as always. Considerate as ever. But every word landed like ice against my skin.
I kept my expression blank, gave a flat murmur of acknowledgment, then turned and pulled out the divorce agreement I'd drafted the night before. I'd slipped it between the pages of a jewelry auction document.
"Sign this and buy it for me. Then I won't be angry."
Samuel was about to open the file when his phone lit up. I caught the name on the screen: Selene.
His expression shifted. Softened. Not the perfunctory warmth he usually gave me. This was real. A smile that came from somewhere deep inside him.
He flipped to the last page of the document, signed his name without reading a single word, and stood up to take the call.
I stared at the freshly signed divorce agreement. A sharp sting pierced my chest.
I thought of my mother's death. The ruin of my family. The plan I'd made with Joshua.
I steadied myself.