Chapter 23: The Ring He Chose

We went up to the top floor suite, because it was the room where I had said it.

The white roses were gone.

Someone had swept the room for microphones twice, and Rafe checked behind the curtains himself.

I stood at the window with my back to him, exactly where I had stood on the wedding night.

The divorce agreement lay open on the bed.

"You signed this the morning after," Rafe said.

"Yes."

"You woke up next to me, after everything, and you signed it."

"I woke up next to you and I was terrified," I said.

"Of what?"

"That you'd said yes because of a clause and a locked door."

I turned around.

"I wrote the numbers in myself. A year, no money. I signed at the desk while you were in the shower."

"Why didn't you give it to me?"

"You'd said you let me, and I didn't know what that meant."

I pushed my hair back.

"So I kept it in my bag for weeks. I wanted you to have the choice."

He looked at the paper.

"Tonight is different," I said. "Jarrett is in a cell. The shares are safe. The System hasn't said a word."

"Justine."

"Nothing is chasing you, and nothing is on the clock."

My voice shook.

"So I'm giving it to you now. If you want out, you sign. I won't scheme and I won't stand on a chair."

I made myself finish.

"I'll walk out of this room and I won't ask for a dollar."

The suite was silent.

He picked up the paper.

He held it in both hands and read it carefully, top to bottom.

Then he tore it in half.

He tore the halves in half again and let the pieces fall on the carpet.

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