Only Smoke Remains - Chapter 5
The press conference descended into chaos. The reporters Zachary had bought off stood frozen , slowly lowering their cameras , unsure of what to do.
All of them looked to him for direction. However , Zachary just stood there, stunned. His eyes widened in disbelief , and his hands trembled .
Sensing something was wrong , Luna immediately grabbed his sleeve , her eyes brimming with tears .
“That’s not true! Zachary, she’s lying! She faked everything. She’s just trying to drive us apart!”
I let out a cold laugh and pulled out my phone .
At the top of the screen were explicit photos that she’d sent me- -her tangled up with Zachary in ways that made my stomach turn . Scrolling down , I tapped play on one of her voice messages .
Her voice came through , breathy and smug as she said , “Zachary told me you’re boring in bed. He doesn’t even want to touch you. He just wants to be with me for the rest of his life.”
The second her voice echoed through the room , both of them went Pale.
“That message was what pushed me over the edge,” I said steadily. “The emotional shock from it caused my miscarriage.”
Luna kept shaking her head, still trying to deny it, but Zachary grabbed her by the collar, his face dark and furious.
“Is this true ? Why the hell would you send that to Autumn ?”
“I – I didn’t know she was pregnant! I didn’t mean to hurt her! I just … I was scared of losing you, Zachary! I just wanted to hold on to you. Is that so wrong? Look, the baby’s gone anyway … Why don’t we just be together now? You said yourself you couldn’t stand her anymore! ”
She reached for him, tears pouring down her face, while trying to burrow into his arms like she used to.
Alas, this time, there was no pity. No warmth. He shoved her away. Luna panicked and crawled after him , grabbing at his pant leg.
He crushed her fingers beneath his shoe, making her cry out in pain.
“Get the hell away from me. The only woman I’ll ever call my wife is Autumn.”
Zachary stepped over her and walked straight to me . His eyes were filled with regret and grief.
“Babe, I’m sorry. I didn’t know … I didn’t mean to hurt you. Please don’t be too sad about the baby. We’re still young. We’ll have another chance.”
He reached for my hand.
I stepped back before he could touch me, then calmly pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared long ago.
“I’m not forgiving you . Sign the papers.”
“No ! I’m not signing anything!”
He knocked the papers away and grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. I’d never seen him this desperate. Tears rimmed his eyes.
“We’ve been married five years. Do you really think you can just throw that away ? I know I messed up, but I’ve always loved you.”
Frantic now, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a jewelry box. He dropped to one knee and opened it.
Inside was a gleaming diamond ring.
“Look, I never forgot about losing the last ring. I went to another country and tracked down this custom – made diamond … I wanted it to be the most beautiful one for you.”
He grabbed my hand to slip it on, but it didn’t fit. It was too big. His hands started shaking again.
I remembered vaguely that Luna’s fingers were a little thicker than mine.
“The jeweler must’ve made a mistake. I’ll have it resized right now.”
“Don’t bother.”
I grabbed his wrist and gently placed the ring back in his palm.
“You know,” I said softly, “the night I lost our child, I was bleeding out, calling you over and over. But you were too busy setting off fireworks with Luna. That helplessness, lying alone on an operating table – I’ll never forget it. And after that night, I decided that I’d never love you again.”
I looked him in the eye as the weight of my words settled over him.
“Our marriage was like that ring. There were too many gaps. It stopped fitting a long time ago. I’m divorcing you. If you won’t sign it, I’ll take you to court.”
Zachary stated at me for a long time. When he saw I wasn’t backing down, something in him broke. He picked up the papers and, with a heavy hand, slowly signed his name.
When I took the documents back, I noticed he’d added something.
He’d voluntarily transferred his company shares and most of his real estate to me.
Maybe it was an attempt at redemption I didn’t refuse.
I turned, divorce papers in hand, and walked out of the press conference without looking back.
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