A thousand good-byes

chapter 4

ALISA'S POV

I pushed the glass door open and stepped into my restaurant. For a moment, I just stood there, looking around like it was the first time. It was quiet, clean, and expensive.

Jeff had helped me set it up, and just thinking about that made my chest hurt. “This is mine,” I said softly. But I knew the truth. Everything in my life had his name on it.

The restaurant, the apartment, the money. It all came from him, and it made me feel like I was suffocating. “I’m taking it back,” I muttered, dropping my bag onto a table. “Even if I have to start from scratch.”

Before I could sit down, my phone rang. I saw the screen and sighed. “Of course,” I muttered, answering it. “Hello, Mom.”

“What are you doing?” Her voice was sharp and loud. “Do you want to ruin everything?”

I pulled the phone away from my ear. “Good morning to you too.”

“Don’t play smart with me, Alisa!” she snapped. “Jeff just called. He said you walked out on him. Have you lost your mind?”

I let out a slow breath. “Did he tell you why I left?”

“I don’t need reasons,” she said immediately. “I need you to fix this right now.”

I closed my eyes. “So you’re not even going to ask me what happened?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied. “What matters is your marriage.”

That did it. My anger flared. “It does matter, Mom! He cheated on me.”

“So?” she shot back. “Men make mistakes.”

I went quiet, completely shocked. “He didn’t cheat with a woman,” I said slowly. “He cheated with a man. Jeff is gay.”

There was silence at the other end of my line immediately she heard those words. For a second, I thought she finally understood. Then she sighed. “Alisa, stop being dramatic.”

My grip on the phone tightened. “I saw it myself, mum. He is gay. He was sleeping with Aiden.”

“And even if it’s true,” she continued, like she hadn't heard me, “that is not something you throw your marriage away for. Do you know what a divorce will do to our family name?”

I let out a bitter laugh. “So my feelings don’t matter?”

“You are being irrational,” she snapped. “Go back home and apologize to your husband.”

“I’m not apologizing to him,” I said. “I’m divorcing him.”

Her tone went ice-cold. “If you walk away from this marriage, don’t bother coming back to this family. You are completely on your own.”

The line went dead. I stared at the phone, my chest rising and falling. “No one cares,” I whispered. Not Jeff and definitely not my mother. I straightened my shoulders. “Fine. I’ll do it myself.”

I scrolled through my contacts and called Callum. He was the lawyer who handled my marriage documents. “Alisa,” Callum answered. “This is unexpected.”

“I need your help,” I said quickly. “I want a divorce.”

There was a long pause. “You’re not thinking clearly. Go home and rest. You’re just emotional.”

“I’m serious, Callum.”

“Alisa, you have a good life,” he said calmly. “You

want to throw it away because of one misunderstanding.”

“It’s not a misunderstanding,” I snapped. “Are you refusing to help me?”

He hesitated. “I’m saying you should think this through.”

I let out a short laugh. “You work for him, don’t you?”

“That’s not relevant.”

“It is to me. Goodbye, Callum.” I cut the call.

I was alone. Completely alone. But instead of fear, I felt a deep determination. “I’m done being used,” I said firmly.

I stayed at the restaurant that night, sleeping on the small couch in my back office. It was uncomfortable, but it was safe.

The next morning, I called my friend Melissa. I told her everything about Jeff, Aiden, and how my mother had turned her back on me. “That is messed up.” Melissa exclaimed. “Good for you for wanting a divorce. You should.”

I felt a huge wave of relief. “Everyone else thinks I’m overreacting.”

“Then everyone else is wrong,” Melissa said firmly. “Listen, you need a serious lawyer. Not the ones tied to Jeff. I know a firm. They are expensive and hard to get, but they never lose. They don't bow to pressure.”

“What’s the name?” I asked.

She told me the name but if came with a warning. “Be ready,” Melissa warned. “They are not cheap.”

“I don’t care,” I said firmly. “I’ll spend everything for my freedom.” I used my phone to book an appointment immediately. Luckily, they had an opening for that very afternoon. I got dressed quickly and hailed a cab to the legal district.

The law firm was in a huge, expensive building. Inside, everything looked professional and powerful. I walked up to the front desk. “I have an appointment,” I told the receptionist. “My name is Alisa Moretti.”

The woman checked her screen and smiled. “Yes, you are expected. Your appointment is with Mr. Kael Draven, our senior partner. Please go right in.”

My heart started beating fast. I walked down the hall, knocked once, and pushed the door open.

Then, I froze. Sitting behind the massive desk was the man from last night. The stranger from the bar.

He looked up at me and smiled. It was a slow, knowing smirk. He stood up, his tall, muscular frame moving gracefully as he walked toward me.

Before I could even speak, he reached past me, grabbed the edge of the door, and pushed it shut.

He stood incredibly close, trapping me between his body and the hard wood.

“Surprised?” he whispered near my ear, sending a wild shiver down my spine.

“You?” I whispered, my mind racing.

He chuckled, enjoying my shock. “Yes, me. You saw my card on the table this morning, sweetheart. Did you honestly not check the name of the firm?”

Suddenly, the receptionist's words clicked in my head. Mr. Kael Draven. Last night, I had been too drunk and upset to connect the dots.

“Did you know I would be coming here?” I asked, looking up into his dark eyes.

“Of course I did,” Kael smiled, leaning in a little closer. “After you left my bed this morning, I had one of my men follow you, Alisa Moretti. You are not a hard woman to find. But that brings me to the question that has been bugging me all day. Why did you run away?”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. His gaze turned intense, staring straight through me. “Was the s*x not up to your standards, sweetheart?”

My face burned with hot embarrassment. “How… how can you say that out loud in your office?”

Kael laughed softly, backing away a few inches. “You are so beautiful when you blush,” he murmured. For a second, his smooth voice almost made me forget everything.

But then I remembered why I was here. I cleared my throat and forced myself to look professional.

“I didn't come here for that, Mr. Draven,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I came because I need your professional help.”

Kael noticed the change in my attitude. His playful smirk vanished, replaced by the sharp, serious look of a lawyer. He nodded and gestured to a chair.

“How can I help you, Miss Moretti?”

I took a deep breath. “I want a divorce. And I heard you are the only one who can help me win.”