Aria’s POV My words stunned Lucian speechless. He stared at me wordlessly for several long moments, his mouth tightly shut. A muscle at the corner of his jaw ticked. “You…” he began, then stopped himself short. He tried twice more. “Aria… How…” Each time, he abruptly quieted. I had said what I said, and I couldn’t take it back now, no matter how much the words left a sour taste in my mouth. If this was what I had to do to finally push Lucian into signing the divorce, then I would see it through, even if it hurt us both. Eventually, I reasoned, he would find words to properly express how he felt, but for both our sakes, I needed to end this before that happened. “You understand now,” I said. I attempted to be cold, but my voice still cracked. “I-I don’t want to hear from you again u

