Chapter 7
773 Words
The next morning, Rivka found the divorce papers, signed her name without hesitation, and made a clean break from the marriage.
Then she took the signed papers downstairs and headed straight for Jayden's study.
She knocked twice.
"Come in," Jayden said from inside, his voice low and steady.
Rivka stepped in and placed the papers on his desk. "The divorce papers are signed."
Her gaze remained calm, and her voice was so cool and distant that it seemed to come from the other side of a wall.
Jayden studied her for a long moment. She was not fighting him. She was not crying. She was not asking for anything. For reasons he could not explain, unease tightened in his chest.
When he finally spoke again, his voice had softened without him realizing it. "Rivka, I was too harsh yesterday. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you like that."
Rivka gave a faint smile edged with quiet self-mockery. "Mr. Lindsey, you run this house. Of course you have the right to do whatever you want."
Calling him "Mr. Lindsey" made the distance between them unmistakable.
Jayden froze for a second, clearly caught off guard by her coldness. "Rivka, you don't have to do this."
Then he opened a drawer, took out an elegant gift box, and slid it across the desk toward her.
"Consider this my apology. Don't take what I said yesterday to heart."
Rivka looked down at the box. Inside was a watch.
In the past, whenever she got upset, Jayden would buy her something and expect the hurt to disappear. This time, she felt nothing.
Before she could refuse, he was already speaking again, slipping effortlessly back into giving orders.
"Just be understanding for a little while. Once Willow gets better, I'll make it up to you properly."
'Wait? Jayden, there is no later for us.'
Rivka laughed bitterly to herself. Her heart had hurt for so long that it had finally gone numb. "Do whatever you want, Mr. Lindsey," she said quietly.
Then she turned to leave.
At that moment, Willow's voice floated in from the doorway, tinged with obvious provocation. "What's that in your hand, Rivka? Let me see."
She walked into the study as she spoke, her eyes moving between Rivka and Jayden.
Rivka dropped the watch back into the box, her tone casual and dismissive. "It's just a watch. If you want it, take it."
By then, the sight of the two of them was enough to make her sick. Besides, Jayden had only given her the watch because of Willow in the first place.
Willow glanced at it and smiled smugly.
"Oh, that one? It came free with the sports car he bought me. Never mind. Jayden's already given me plenty. You can keep it."
Rivka turned to Jayden, hatred flashing coldly in her eyes.
"A promotional freebie. How thoughtful..."
Jayden's expression tightened, his pride clearly wounded. He was about to speak when Willow spoke again.
"Rivka, Jayden and I are going for our wedding fittings today. Will you come with us?"
At that, the fury in Rivka's eyes faded into something emptier.
Willow immediately turned to Jayden with a sweet, pleading expression. "Jayden, let her come with us. Please?"
Jayden, who had stayed silent until then, gave the order as though it meant nothing. "Rivka, go with Willow."
Rivka had thought she was already numb. She was wrong. She had not imagined Jayden could still find new ways to be cruel.
He actually expected her to stand there and watch him go through a wedding fitting with another woman.
A bitter ache spread through her chest. Was he really going to spend even these last few days tearing her apart piece by piece?
Her heart hurt, but at the same time, she almost wanted to laugh. 'What else did Willow have planned?'
"Fine," she said.
*****
At the bridal boutique, Willow moved excitedly from one wedding gown to the next, each more expensive than the last.
Jayden was being fitted for tuxedos in the adjoining section.
Rivka sat off to the side and waited. The three of them occupied the same room, yet it felt as though an invisible wall stood between them.
Then Rivka broke the silence.
"Do you remember the first time you tried on a tuxedo for our wedding?"
Her voice was quiet, but there was a sharp chill beneath it.
Jayden paused before answering. "Rivka, let the past stay in the past. Once Willow gets better, we can start over."
"Start over?"
Rivka laughed, and the sound held no humor at all. "Jayden, did you forget? We just got divorced."
- Writer
