Chapter 14 - The Signed Annulment Papers & A Heart Shattered in Silence
That evening, the penthouse was quiet. A celebratory bottle of vintage wine sat
on the kitchen counter, but the atmosphere felt strangely heavy with tension.
On the dining table lay an official legal document: Petition for Absolute
Annulment and Dissolution of Marriage.
I stood by the window, staring out at the sparkling lights of the Chicago
skyline. Graham had promised me freedom from the very beginning. He had promised
that once the war was won, I wouldn't be trapped in a marriage born out of
chaos.
Graham walked out of his study, holding a pen. He walked over to the table and
looked down at the paperwork.
“Our original agreement,” Graham said quietly, his voice tightly controlled.
“You fulfilled every part of the contract, Avery. You saved the company. You
saved my life. You have your COO position, and the ten million has been
transferred to your private trust.”
I looked at the annulment papers. My chest felt like it was being crushed under
ten tons of concrete.
“So… this is where we sign?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
Graham looked at me, his jaw set in a hard line, his gray eyes unreadable. “Only
if it’s what you want, Avery. I promised I would never hold you hostage to my
world. You deserve a real life. A real romance. Not a marriage that started with
a gun to your head and a drunken night in Vegas.”
He picked up the pen, stepped forward, and signed his name on the line marked
Petitioner.
He held the pen out to me.
I looked at the pen, then looked down at the heavy platinum ring that had stayed
on my left hand through every battle, every kiss, and every storm.
I took the pen from his hand.
Graham turned his head away, his chest heaving, bracing for the final blow.
Instead of signing the document, I gripped the legal papers in both hands,
looked Graham straight in the eye, and ripped the annulment contract clean in
half.
May you like
Then I ripped it again, and let the white shreds of paper flutter to the marble
floor.
