MY DEAD BILLIONAIRE HUSBAND WANTS ME BACK

The divorce papers had been sitting inside my bag for six hours. I had carried them through breakfast, lunch, two meetings, and the longest drive home of my life. Now they were on the table between my husband and me. Soren Kade stared at them. He had not touched them. For a man who could make billion-dollar decisions without blinking, he suddenly looked like he had forgotten how to move. “What is this?” I almost laughed. The words PETITION FOR DIVORCE were printed clearly across the first page. “You can read.” His eyes lifted to mine. “Liora.” That voice used to make my heart race. Tonight, it only made me tired. “I want a divorce.” Soren leaned back slowly. He was still dressed for work, black suit, white shirt, no tie. His jacket hung over the chair beside him. He had come home late again. I had stopped asking why. “When did you decide this?” “A long time ago.” “And you are only telling me now?” “I’ve been telling you for months.” “No. You’ve been angry for months.” I stared at him. “That is exactly the problem.” His jaw tightened. I had seen that expression in boardrooms and interviews. It was the look Soren wore when someone had presented him with a problem he intended to solve. I was tired of being one of his problems. “You think this is because I’m angry?” I asked. “What else am I supposed to think?” “That your wife is unhappy.” “You have everything you need.” The words hurt because he meant them. The penthouse. The cars. The clothes. The security guards downstairs. The bank account I barely touched. Everything. Except the freedom to make decisions about my own life. I reached into my bag and placed another paper beside the divorce documents. Soren glanced at it. It was an email. A job offer that had been taken back yesterday. His expression changed slightly. “You spoke to Nathan Cole.” Silence. “Soren.” “He called me.” “And?” “I told him hiring you would create unnecessary problems.” I closed my eyes for a second. At least he did not lie. “He offered me the position.” “The company is involved with people I don’t trust.” “That was my decision to make.” “You didn’t know enough to make it.” “Then you could have told me!” My voice rose. Soren’s face hardened. “I was handling it.” “You are always handling it.” “Because somebody has to.” I laughed bitterly. “There. That.” “What?” “That is why we are sitting here.” He stood. “Soren—” “You think I ruined your job because I wanted you sitting at home?” “I think you ruined my job because you believed you had the right to decide what was best for me.” “There is a difference.” “Not to me.” He walked toward the window. New York glittered below us. From forty floors up, everything looked beautiful. Our marriage looked beautiful from far away too. Four years married to Soren Kade. People called me lucky. They saw the billionaire husband who sent flowers for no reason and remembered every anniversary. They did not see the security officer outside the restaurant when I met friends. They did not see Soren checking my location because some unnamed threat had worried him. They did not see opportunities disappear after someone discovered Mrs. Kade was interested. And they certainly did not see the locked doors inside my husband. “Do you remember Paris?” I asked. Soren looked back. “What about it?” “You disappeared for two days.” “I told you it was business.” “And when I asked what kind of business?” “There were things I couldn’t discuss.” “Exactly.” “That was different.” “What about the men outside my office last year?” “Security.” “I know what security looks like. I wanted to know why they were there.” “There was a threat.” My stomach tightened. “What threat?” His silence almost made me scream. “Even now.” “Liora—” “Even while I am asking you for a divorce, you still cannot tell me.” “I won’t give you information that could put you in danger just because you are angry.” “I am not angry!” My voice cracked. That stopped him. I swallowed. “I’m tired.” His expression changed. “I am so tired, Soren.” He moved toward me. I stepped back. That hurt him. Good. Maybe he needed to feel a small part of what I had felt for years. “I love you,” I said. Something flickered in his eyes. “But I don’t trust you anymore.” The words landed harder than shouting ever could. Soren went completely still. I continued before I lost the courage. “I never know what is happening in your life. I never know why you are worried. I never know who you are fighting or why you suddenly decide I need more guards.” “I kept you safe.” “You kept me ignorant.” His mouth tightened. “I did what I had to do.” “And now I’m doing what I have to do.” I pushed the papers toward him. “Sign them.” He stared at my hand. Then at me. “No.” My heart dropped, though I had expected it. “You cannot refuse forever.” “I can refuse tonight.” “This isn’t one of your business deals.” “I know.” “Then stop acting like you can negotiate me out of leaving.” He picked up the papers for the first time. His eyes moved over the first page. “When did the lawyer prepare these?” “Last week.” “You went to a lawyer last week?” “Yes.” “And you came home every night without saying anything?” I almost smiled at the irony. “You don’t like secrets?” His eyes snapped to mine. For once, Soren had nothing to say. He placed the papers down. “I have to leave tomorrow morning.” I frowned. “For where?” “A meeting.” Of course. “What meeting?” His expression closed again. I shook my head. “Unbelievable.” “This is important.” “So is this.” “I know.” “Do you?” He stepped closer. “Give me until I return.” “For what?” “One conversation.” “We are having one.” “No.” His voice became quieter. “A real one. No phone calls. No office. No people waiting for me downstairs. I come back, and I answer your questions.” I stared at him. “All of them?” He hesitated. That tiny pause almost made me walk away. Then he said, “As many as I can.” I laughed sadly. “You still don’t understand.” “Then help me understand.” For the first time that night, he did not sound like Soren Kade, CEO. He sounded like my husband. And that was more dangerous. I picked up my bag. “I’ll be in the guest room.” “Liora.” I stopped. His next question came so quietly I nearly missed it. “Do you still love me?” I closed my eyes. That was the cruel part. “Yes.” Silence filled the room. I looked back at him. “But tomorrow, I might still leave you.” Then I walked away. Behind me, Soren remained beside the divorce papers. I did not know that by the next evening, everyone would be telling me my husband was dead.