Page 22 of Shattering

Her crystalline eyes darkened, her pupils swallowing the icy pale blue.

"Then I continued to bring Callum over. Probably also christened all the horizontal and a few vertical surfaces in the house."

Gray's fist clenched.

"All the while, my husband was slaving away."

Her lips curled slightly, but it wasn't a smile. It was more like the snarl of a wild animal.

"And if that wasn't diabolical enough, I somehow managed to pass my 'secret love child' as yours."

She tilted her head, her expression blank.

"Have I got this right?"

A hollow silence filled the room.

Then Cadi arched a fine brow, her voice cutting through the tension like a blade.

"Have I missed anything? Any detail?"

Gray clenched his jaw. He felt self-righteous—he had every right to be angry, didn't he?

And yet...

Somehow, without realizing when or how, the ground had shifted beneath him.

He had started this, fuelled by certainty, by betrayal, by the need to finally lay it all out. But now, sitting across from her—watching her, listening to her—he wasn't sure who was in control anymore.

And that unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

Chapter 16

Cadi collapsed back onto the couch, her limbs heavy, her body drained of everything but the sharp, aching emptiness that had settled in her chest.

She tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling.

The chandelier was beautiful even when it wasn't lit up, its iron frame encircling flickering candle-like bulbs, the ropessuspending it adding a rustic elegance. It was the kind of thing she and Gray had once loved picking out together—things that made their home feel warm, lived in. Safe.

But nothing felt safe anymore.

A chair scraped against the floor.

Gray was fidgeting now, shifting in his seat, his knee bouncing. She didn't have to look at him to know he was growing restless. Irritated. He had never been good at sitting in silence, at waiting.

He leaned forward, inhaled like he was about to restart the conversation—

"You can have your divorce."

Her voice sliced through the room, calm and precise.

Gray went still.

Cadi didn't move, didn't lift her head from where she was still gazing at the ceiling. "I will contact my lawyer, and you will contact yours."

There was a beat of silence.

Then Gray scoffed. "That's it, then? Just like that?"

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