The Divorce Agreement

"So you're really going through with this?" Damian's voice echoed in the cold, expansive living room as he glanced down at the stack of papers Serena had left on the glass coffee table. The divorce agreement.

Serena stood near the window, her hands trembling slightly, though she fought to steady them. The rain had stopped from the night before, but the storm in her heart raged on. She didn't turn to face him; she couldn't. If she did, she feared her resolve might crumble. Not out of love, but out of the exhaustion that came from enduring too much pain.

"Yes," she whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. "It's over, Damian."

The weight of those words filled the room. The finality of it hit her as much as it did him. For three years, she had lived in the shadows of his neglect, his cold indifference, and his obsession with another woman—her own sister. Now, finally, she was taking the steps to reclaim her life, no matter how broken she felt inside.

Damian walked toward the papers, picking them up with a smirk, as though this was all some elaborate joke she was playing. He skimmed over the words quickly, his eyes narrowing as he reached the signature line. "You really think you can walk away from this?"

Serena's jaw clenched. She turned to face him, her eyes blazing with anger and pain. "I KNOW I CAN," she said, her voice louder now, filled with all the emotions she had kept bottled up for far too long. "You've taken everything from me, Damian. Everything. But you won't take my freedom."

He stepped closer, his expression hardening. "Freedom? Serena, you've always been free. You had everything here—a home, wealth, status. What more could you possibly want?"

"Respect," she shot back, the word slicing through the air like a knife. "Dignity. A husband who doesn't sleep with my sister."

Damian's eyes flickered with annoyance, his smirk fading. "Elara? Are you still hung up on that?" He scoffed, shaking his head. "You knew what this was when we got married. It was always a contract. You get the Vale name, and I get my life. You agreed to that."

Serena's chest tightened, her heart aching at his words. He still didn't get it. He never would. "I agreed to a partnership, Damian. But what I got was betrayal." Her voice softened for a moment, the exhaustion seeping into her tone. "You don't love me, and you never did. I wasted three years hoping you would. But I'm done. I'm done hoping. I'm done fighting for something that was never real."

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I've already signed the papers. You just need to sign them too."

For a moment, Damian was silent, his eyes narrowing as he studied her. Then, he laughed—a bitter, humorless sound. "You think you can just leave? Just like that?" He threw the papers onto the table, the sound of the pages hitting the glass making her flinch. "This isn't over, Serena. Not by a long shot."

Serena crossed her arms over her chest, her body shaking from the effort of holding herself together. "Yes, it is." Her voice was firm, though inside, she was crumbling.

Damian took a step toward her, his eyes darkening. "You think you can survive out there without me? Without the Vale name to protect you?" He sneered, his arrogance shining through. "You're nothing without this marriage, Serena. NOTHING."

Those words hit her like a slap, but instead of breaking her, they only strengthened her resolve. "I'd rather be nothing than stay in this prison with you." The words came out in a low growl, her hands tightening into fists. "At least if I leave, I'll have my self-respect. Something you'll never understand."

Damian's face twisted with anger, but before he could respond, the sound of heels clicking against the marble floor interrupted them. Serena turned just in time to see Elara strutting into the room, her smile smug, her eyes filled with malice.

"Oh, what's this?" Elara's voice dripped with mockery as she sauntered over to Damian, sliding her arm around his waist. "Is the wifey finally giving up? I always knew you couldn't last long."

Serena's blood boiled at the sight of her sister draped over the man she had married. The man who had promised to protect her, only to betray her in the most unforgivable way. "Get out," she spat, her voice trembling with rage. "Both of you."

Elara laughed, tossing her head back dramatically. "Oh, darling, you're not in a position to make demands." She glanced at Damian with a smirk. "Besides, you can't seriously think you're going to leave this house and walk away with your head held high." Her eyes gleamed with malice. "Not after everything you've stolen from us."

"Stolen?" Serena's voice rose in disbelief. "You took everything from me, Elara. You stole my husband, my family, my life. And now you want to make ME the villain?"

"Villain?" Elara echoed, her lips curling into a cruel smile. "You're nothing but a pathetic fool. A charity case Damian pitied enough to marry." She stepped closer, her face inches from Serena's. "You never belonged here. You never will."

Serena's heart pounded in her chest, her nails digging into her palms as she fought the urge to scream. But she refused to let them see her break. She wouldn't give them that satisfaction.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Damian's mother, Marjorie Vale, enter the room, her expression cold and disapproving. The older woman stood beside Elara, her gaze sweeping over Serena with disdain.

"You always were ungrateful, Serena," Marjorie said, her voice clipped. "We took you in, made you one of us, and this is how you repay us? By walking away?"

Serena clenched her teeth, her body trembling with anger. "I repaid you by staying in a marriage that broke me. I repaid you by putting up with all of this." Her voice cracked, but she refused to stop. "But I won't do it anymore."

Marjorie's lips curled into a sneer. "You're weak, Serena. You never deserved my son." Her eyes glittered with malice. "And now, you're running away like a coward."

Serena's heart pounded in her ears, the weight of their insults pressing down on her. But as she looked at the three of them—Damian, Elara, and Marjorie—standing there, united in their cruelty, something inside her snapped.

"NO," she said, her voice stronger than it had been in months. "I'm not running. I'm walking away from the mess you created. And you'll never control me again."

With that, she turned on her heel, her heart pounding as she made her way toward the door. She could hear Elara's mocking laughter behind her, and Damian's low, angry mutterings, but she didn't care.

Serena stepped out of the house, the cold air biting at her skin as she stood at the threshold of a new beginning. The weight of everything—the betrayal, the lies, the heartbreak—pressed down on her, but it didn't crush her. It freed her.

As she stood there, the divorce papers clutched in her trembling hands, she whispered to herself, "This is the last time I'll let them hurt me."

And with that, Serena Vale took her first steps away from the nightmare that had consumed her life for far too long.

But as the door slammed shut behind her, Damian's voice rang out, his words dripping with venom.

"You'll be back, Serena."

Serena paused, her hand resting on the handle of her suitcase, but she didn't turn around. Instead, she whispered to herself, "No, I won't."

And for the first time in years, she believed it.