Chapter 8 Let's Get A Divorce

Aurelia leaned her chair in the waiting room as Sarah stepped into the examination room of the clinic. She closed her eyes, taking inventory of everything that had happened. Merely a few hours had passed since she was reborn, and it felt like a lifetime worth of events had transpired.

Her head lolled to the side as weariness took over. Still, she felt a presence staring at her intently. She sighed at the familiar intensity and slowly opened her eyes. Sure enough, Luther stared down at her.

“May I help you?” she asked after a beat.

He leaned down and grabbed her hand. “Follow me,” he said gruffly, tugging at her. There was never meant to be a choice, so Aurelia stood up without protest and trudged after him.

She scrunched her nose as he led her out the back and into an alley. A nurse, who was smoking in the dim corner, noticed them and dropped the cigarette to the ground before snuffing it. She rushed past them with an apologetic look, leaving Luther and Aurelia alone.

It had been a long time since the two of them were left alone.

His scorching hand tightened around her thin wrist, squeezing until she was sure he meant to snap it off. She wriggled in his grasp before he finally threw her hand away in disgust.

“Explain,” he grunted.

Aurelia rubbed her thumb over her wrist, trying to will the ache away. “Explain what?” she countered.

“Don’t play dumb with me,” Luther hissed threateningly.

“What should I explain that I haven’t already proven?” She tilted her chin up defiantly.

“What is your relationship with that Conrad boy?”

Aurelia cocked a brow. “What could my relationship with him be, husband?” she paused to think. “He is the neighbor's son, and I have never spoken to him before today.”

Luther lowered his head and licked his lips, a sign that he was restraining his anger and the need to explode on her. “Never spoken to him before? He didn’t seem to think the same. He made it clear that you were in love.”

Aurelia rolled her eyes. “You really think I would cheat on you?” she questioned with a hint of pretend-incredulity. “You know well that I married you out of my own will, going as far as to replace my sister to stay in your life… how could I possibly look at another man?” she threw his logic back at him.

If he was so sure she was a villain, she would act the part of the crazy, clingy woman to the end.

Luther wrinkled his nose in disgust. “You could do anything to attract my attention. What is a little flirting?”

Aurelia nodded in understanding. “Why ask when you have come to the conclusion already?”

Luther gritted his teeth, wondering how this woman had changed so much in the year he had not seen her. From the reports, she was unusually silent, keeping to her room and doing nothing else. When did she inculcate this sharp mouth?

“Just because I have come to a conclusion doesn’t mean you can keep me in the dark. What were you doing at the hotel?”

Aurelia pinched the bridge of her nose. “Sarah said you would be at the hotel and wanted to meet me. As your wife, I am at your beck and call, so I followed her to the hotel. I had no idea that I would be given a drug to knock me out. I also didn’t know Kevin would be in that room,” she explained. She hated to do it, but being tainted once again was a punishment worse than death.

“You want me to believe that Sarah orchestrated everything, and you knew nothing? You clearly knew that drink was drugged, but still had it. Almost like you wanted an excuse to cheat!” he hissed. It was clear from his tone that he didn’t trust a word that she said.

Aurelia leaned against the grimy wall, a laugh bubbling at her throat.

“So, you could tell the drugged water was handed to me by Sarah. But you chose to protect her,” she said calmly.

“So, you admit to pushing Sarah into the room to ruin her?” he asked. “You simply wanted to pin the blame on her so that you weren’t caught cheating. And you used Uncle Casper as a shield, knowing I won’t go against him. Disgraceful!” He slammed his fist against the wall. The thump landed right beside her head.

Aurelia shuddered and shrank into herself, the vibration travelling down her body like he had punched her instead.

“Have you thought about what would happen if I hadn’t figured it out and I was raped by Kevin?” Her voice rose a pitch, cutting through the otherwise silent alley. “You would have killed me, and not even given me a chance to explain. Even worse than now.” She gulped and shook her head. “I was fortunate enough to meet Uncle Casper and took the opportunity to help you out.”

Luther threw his head back and laughed. “You’re just a girl who knows nothing about how dangerous the world is. What advantage could you take from a hardened boss like Uncle Casper?”

Aurelia pressed her lips together, eyes burning with determination. “I might not know how dangerous the world is, but I wanted to help you gain control over the Beckett family businesses. I thought that by getting close to him, I could get some useful information. Was I so wrong?” she yelled.

Luther was taken aback. He paused for a moment as something in his heart stirred. No sooner did he sense a tugging at his heartstrings than he dashed it away. “You expect me to believe that?” He cocked his head to the side.

Aurelia raised her clenched arms from her sides and placed them on Luther’s chest, pushing him back, trying to create some space between them.

Seeing his cruel face and knowing that he would kill her again in the blink of an eye, she couldn’t bring herself to pretend any longer. Now that she had a new lease in life, why should she waste it away explaining herself at every turn and believing the result would be different? Wouldn’t that be madness?

“Mr. Beckett,” she started, steeling her resolve.

Luther’s brows furrowed with dissatisfaction at the formality in her body language.

“You can’t trust me in the most basic aspects, and I find myself tired of living in the shadows and begging for your affection. Since we don’t have any reason to stay together, let’s get a divorce and find our happiness elsewhere.”

Aurelia gritted her teeth and waited for Luther’s response. She raised her expectant eyes to him and didn’t notice how they turned red with emotion. Her shoulders sagged with relief when she realized the weight was taken off it. She had finally said what she wanted to for so many years.

She was so tired.

So tired.

“What the fuck did you say?”