Chapter 5
775 Words
Celeste's POV:
Red flowers covered the land as far as I could see. The wind swept through the field, sending the blossoms rolling in waves. The fragrance was so thick that it felt as if it might swallow me whole.
My tears fell before I even realized it.
Five years ago, my mother's inheritance had included a small rose garden.
Later, when Sebastian needed capital, I sold it. By the time I had the means to buy it back, the new owner had torn it out and replaced it with a swimming pool.
Sebastian knew that had always been the deepest regret of my life.
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, his hands moving quickly with excitement.
"Do you love it?" he signed. "This entire field of roses is yours."
But I felt no joy.
I could barely hold back a scream.
Just the day before, I had received a message. Sebastian had bought a castle estate and transferred it directly into Lydia's name.
That estate was Rosehaven.
The field he showed me now was nothing more than the rose garden in front of it.
The gathered crowd began to applaud. Someone said loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Mrs. Shaw is so blessed. An estate as an anniversary gift. You cannot find another man in this city who spoils his wife like this."
I listened and dug my fingernails into my palm.
Sebastian lowered his head and brushed the tears from my cheek.
"Overwhelmed?" he signed. "Silly girl. I can bring you here anytime you want from now on."
I looked at him. I looked at that face, those eyes, and all that tenderness he wore so perfectly.
I had once loved him so deeply that I walked through life and death with him.
How had we ended up like this?
Sebastian's phone rang. He glanced at the screen and signed, "It's about work."
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he answered the call in front of me.
His first words were, "Baby, what is it?"
Sebastian was smiling, and his brow was soft.
"Almost done. I will be there soon," he said. "Yes, yes, the castle is yours. Even Mrs. Shaw has to borrow your estate for her anniversary tomorrow. Happy now? All right, I know. Take a bath and wait for me in the largest bedroom."
He hung up and gave me a perfectly untroubled smile.
"A small emergency came up at the office," he signed. "I need to handle it. Rest well tonight. Tomorrow, you will be the most beautiful woman there."
Sebastian cut a large armful of roses himself and pressed them into my arms. The petals were still wet with dew.
I looked down at the flowers and smiled.
Then I lifted my hands and signed, "All right. I have a gift for you too, but you cannot see it today. I will leave it on the vanity in our bedroom. When you come home tomorrow night, you will find it."
I did not look at him again. I turned and walked to the car.
Sebastian paused for a moment. Something in my words seemed to strike him as strange, but another call interrupted his thoughts.
It was Lydia again, urging him to hurry.
Sebastian ended the call, handed me over to Cole Bennett, his bodyguard, said something about business, and headed toward the castle without looking back.
When I returned home, the mansion was quiet.
I threw the roses into the trash. Then I dismissed every member of the household staff.
I stood alone in the vast, empty living room. The walls were covered with photographs of us from five years ago, four years ago, last year, and last month. In every frame, Sebastian's smile looked full of devotion.
I picked up a golf club and smashed the glass, frame after frame. Shards skittered across the floor.
After that, I gathered everything that belonged to me and fed it into the fireplace. Within minutes, it was all ash.
The new gown I was supposed to wear the next day was cut to pieces.
When it was done, I took two documents from my bag: the divorce agreement and the diagnosis report confirming that my hearing had recovered.
I placed them neatly on the bedroom vanity beneath the fifth anniversary diamond ring.
Then I opened the door and walked out.
The plane rose into the night.
I sat by the window and watched the lights on the ground shrink into specks. When we passed over the rose field, I could still make out scattered lights among the flowers, winking like some elaborate joke.
'Sebastian, goodbye.'
End of Celeste's POV.
- Writer
