Chương 5
For the first time, I saw something behind the confidence.
Not remorse.
Fear of losing control.
"I love you."
The words hurt.
Because a part of me still believed them.
A person could love someone and still damage them.
I had spent years refusing to accept that.
"I believe you," I whispered.
He looked surprised.
"Then why?"
I swallowed.
"Because love isn't enough if I have to disappear to keep it."
Roman stood there without an answer.
The man who could negotiate million-dollar deals.
The man who could convince rooms full of executives to follow him.
The man who always knew what to say.
Had nothing.
Finally, he placed the ring box on the small table beside the door.
I almost believed him.
Then he added, "For now."
The old fear returned for a second.
Not because of his words.
Because of how easily they reminded me of who he was.
Roman never accepted endings.
He only accepted delays.
After he left, Lena closed the door slowly.
Neither of us spoke.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
I opened it.
There was a single sentence.
You don't know what Claire was really doing with Roman.
I stared at the screen.
My heart began beating faster.
Because the message did not scare me because of Claire.
It scared me because somewhere beneath all the pain, I knew one thing.
Roman's betrayal was only the first layer.
And someone else had been watching the entire time.
I read the message again and again, trying to decide whether to answer the unknown number.
The simplest choice would have been to ignore it.
That was what I had done for years.
Ignore the uncomfortable feeling.
Ignore the strange detail.
Ignore the small voice telling me something did not make sense.
But ignoring things had not protected me.
It had only given problems more time to grow.
I typed back.
Who is this?
The response came almost immediately.
Someone who knows Roman better than you think.
I stared at the words.
My first reaction was anger.
Not fear.
Anger.
Because after everything that had happened, I did not want another person appearing with pieces of my life like they were holding cards in a game.
I typed another message.
If you have something to say, say it.
The three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally, a message arrived.
Not over text.
You should not trust anything you find out from me either.
I frowned.
That was not an answer.
Before I could respond, another message appeared.
Meet me tomorrow morning.
No.
I almost typed it immediately.
Then I stopped.
Because the person who sent it knew enough to make me curious.
They knew about Roman.
They knew about Claire.
And they knew I had left.
That meant someone had been watching my marriage from close enough to see what was happening.
I put the phone down.
Lena was sitting across the room folding a blanket.
She looked up.
"Who was it?"
I hesitated.
That was enough for her to know the answer was complicated.
"Someone who says they know Roman."
Lena stopped folding.
"That's vague."
"I know."
"Did they say who they are?"
"No."
She looked uncomfortable.
Not because she doubted me.
Because she understood what I was finally beginning to accept.
Roman had built a world around himself.
And I had only ever seen the parts he allowed me to see.
"Don't meet a stranger alone," Lena said.
"I know."
She gave me a look.
"You keep saying that."
I smiled faintly.
"Because everyone keeps telling me things I should already know."
The smile disappeared quickly.
Neither of us laughed.
The truth was too close.
That evening, I called my attorney.
I had one.
Technically.
Roman had insisted every family needed proper representation after we got married.
The irony was that the attorney had spent more time handling Roman's business matters than anything involving me.
Her name was Evelyn Shaw.
She answered after the third ring.
"Savannah?"
The surprise in her voice told me she knew I was not calling for a holiday greeting.
"Are you available tomorrow?"
A pause.
"Is everything okay?"
I looked around Lena's apartment.
At the small table.
The mismatched chairs.
The Christmas decorations hanging slightly crooked near the window.
"No," I said.
And for once, I did not soften the truth.
"No, it isn't."
Evelyn was quiet for a moment.
Then her voice changed.
Professional.
Careful.
"Tell me where you are."
I gave her the address.
After we hung up, I sat on the couch staring at the Christmas tree.
Lena had kept it small this year.
A little artificial tree on a side table.
Three ornaments.
A string of lights.
Nothing like the massive tree Roman had insisted on every year.
Our tree at the estate was always photographed.
Always perfect.
Every decoration placed by professionals.
This little tree had a crooked star at the top.
I found myself staring at it longer than I expected.
Because it looked real.
The next morning, Evelyn arrived carrying a leather folder and a paper cup of coffee.
She was in her early fifties.
She wore practical clothes and never wasted words.
Roman respected her because she was one of the few people who did not seem impressed by him.
That had always annoyed him.
"Savannah."
She hugged me briefly.
Then she looked at my face.
"I wish I could say I'm surprised."
The words made my stomach tighten.
"How long have you known?"
She set her coffee down.
"Known what?"
"That something was wrong."
Evelyn looked toward Lena.
Then back at me.
"Suspected."
I hated that word.
Everyone had suspected.
Everyone had noticed.
Except me.
"What does that mean?"
"It means powerful people rarely hide things as well as they think they do."
She opened the folder.
"I need to ask you some practical questions."
I nodded.
The questions were not emotional.
That helped.
Dates.
Accounts.
Property.
Documents.
May you like
Access.
Things I had avoided because they felt too serious.
