Back at Daltonia Villa, Nathaniel wandered through the empty halls. The house felt like a shell, devoid of life. He stood before the wine cellar door, his hand reaching for the handle out of habit. It was locked.
He frowned, searching his pockets for the key before realizing he didn’t have it. Cecilia always kept the keys.
The realization hit him harder than it should have. For years, she had managed his life's small, invisible details—details he hadn’t even noticed until now.
Nathaniel stalked back to the living room, pouring another glass of wine. The divorce papers still sat on the table, glaring at him. He considered tearing them apart, dismissing the whole thing as a tantrum she’d eventually regret. But something stopped him.
Her words replayed his mind: “Contact me when you have time.” The calmness in her voice had unsettled him. Cecilia had always been emotional, desperate to please him. This time, she’d been different.
Nathaniel leaned back on the couch, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He told himself he didn’t care that she was gone. She was just another pawn in the game, someone he could control if needed.
But as the night dragged on, the empty house began to feel colder. Nathaniel closed his eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come. His mind was filled with images of Cecilia—her hands trembled when she handed him the papers, the quiet strength in her eyes, the way she used to hum softly when she thought no one was listening.
For the first time, Nathaniel felt a flicker of something he couldn’t name. It wasn’t anger or frustration. It was emptiness.
He picked up his phone, his fingers hovering over her name in his contacts. But he didn’t call. Instead, he placed the phone back on the table, letting the silence settle over him like a suffocating blanket.
Somewhere in the distance, the rain began to fall again.
Last updated on August 20th, 2025 at 11:21 pm
