Chapter 98

Aria’s POV

“What do you wear to a divorce ceremony?” I asked Cathy as we both stood outside of my closet, looking in.

“Black, right?” Cathy asked.

“Funeral attire?” I replied. That didn’t seem right. Although, maybe for a divorce, as this was the end of a chapter of my life, black would be appropriate.

“Right?” Cathy asked, frowning. “I have no idea. I’ve never been to one before.”

“Me either,” I said. I couldn’t even remember seeing one portrayed on television. Maybe in a movie? I tried to think.

“Well, it definitely has to be something conservative,” Cathy said.

“Yeah,” I said. “Here. How about this.” I pulled out a rather plain gray dress with a high collar and a skirt that came down to the knees. It was sleeveless, but I could wear a cardigan on top.

“That’s very respectable…” Cathy said. “Did you always wear clothes like this?”

When I lived with Lucian, yes, I had. “I was trying to be a respectable Luna,” I said. “I didn’t want to do anything shameful to reflect badly on Lucian.”

“Lot of good that did,” Cathy scoffed. “You might as well have been invisible to him.”

“Yeah,” I said softly. We’d had some good times, early on, but mostly I’d had dreams of what life could be like with Lucian, the person who had said those passionate things to me that very first time I had met him, when he saved me against those attackers.

After years, those dreams slowly slipped away. The clothes, I didn’t think, were to blame, though perhaps the drab gray did not help him think of me at all.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I said. “Not now.” Not with us attending the divorce this very afternoon.

“I’m going to wear black,” Cathy said. I already asked her to come with me, to help support me by standing with me. She stood beside me at the wedding as my maid of honor. It made sense for her to stand near me at the divorce too.

I didn’t have many friends anymore, but Cathy had always been the best of them all. With her beside me, maybe I could make it through today.

“I’ll protect the baby,” my wolf, Luna, said in my mind. “Focus on making it through this event. Be strong…”

“We both need to be strong,” I reminded her. Luna was still mourning the loss of our mate. I wondered if the pull was even stronger for werewolves, though it was already misery for me.

Cathy left the room and I pulled on my gray dress. In the mirror, I styled my hair and makeup more conservatively, as I often did while married to Lucian. This didn’t feel like the kind of event where I wanted to stand out.

I hoped to be in and out of it in a hurry, without much fuss or fanfare. If the reporters needed to take pictures or film, I wanted to blend into the background so much that people might forget I was even there.

Dressed and ready, I walked to the door and met Cathy who had also gone without her usual stylish flare.

“Ready?” she asked me.

I wasn’t, but I didn’t have any choice. “Yes.”

The walk from the parking lot to the front of the courthouse felt like an eternity. This was where the bulk of the reporters were now, ready to snap pictures, their flashbulbs blinding, and shout questions as I walked by.

Cathy, with one arm around my shoulders, used the other to direct people out of the way. “Make room!” she called. “Make way! No comment. She has no comment!”

I was incredibly grateful for her presence as she pushed through the line of reporters. Finally, at last, we made it through the front doors of the courthouse. Inside, the security was tighter. Only certain members of the press could be there, and I could already see them setting up inside the nearby courtroom.

Their focus seemed to be more solely on capturing the actual event, than on any thoughts Lucian and I might have felt about it.

Inside the courtroom, Julia was the first one I saw. When she spotted me, she rushed toward me and pulled me into a tight hug.

“Harold wasn’t feeling up to coming today,” she explained. “But he sends his support to you and Lucian both. As do I. Along with my love.”

I was glad he wasn’t there. The stress of this event might have been too much for him. He should be at home, resting.

“Thank you,” I told her.

As we hugged again, she whispered in my ear, “Remember what I told you. No matter what happens, no matter where you go, you will always be family to Harold and me.”

“Thank you,” I said, tears welling once more in my eyes. I didn’t want them on camera so I blinked them back, hiding them away as best I could.

Breaking the hug, Julia gave me a sad sort of smile. She had tears in her eyes too. Seeing them almost made me lose it. She must have known that, or felt the same, because after squeezing my shoulder, she turned away.

In her absence, Jasper slide into the new hole she made. “How’s my girl doing?” he asked me. He was grinning but it was more pitying than wicked like usual.

“Don’t call me that,” I said lightly, though it did make me laugh a little, just once. “Thank you for coming.”

He winked. “I had to be the first in line.”

Just like that, another laugh forced its way out of me. It too was short lived, but felt like a blessing while it lasted.

“Well, I suppose it’s good that someone is in high spirits,” Sheila said from my right. I hadn’t even seen her slink in, I’d been so distracted with Jasper. “Though hopefully you know just how serious this is.”

“I know how serious this is,” I said, glancing at her.

“Do you? Because once this is over, you lose Lucian forever. He’s done, and free to move on with whoever he wants.” With the elongated way she enunciated whoever, it was clear she meant herself.

Whatever. Those two could have each other, I thought bitterly, even as the jealousy still pierced through me.

“Back off, Sheila,” Jasper said, stepping closer to her.

Cathy also came to my aid, walking around me from the other side. “No one asked you your opinion.”

“They didn’t need to,” Sheila said. “We all know I’m right. Why, it’s in any of the papers.”

“That’s enough, Sheila,” Lucian said harshly, appearing behind her.

She smirked at me, from where Lucian couldn’t see, before turning around. “I didn’t mean anything by it, Lucian. Honest.”

“You promised you wouldn’t cause trouble,” he said to her.

Odd that he wouldn’t know better by now. But I supposed love was blind. Sheila was the one he had decided to give his heart to, and that couldn’t easily be undone.

As Sheila moved to the side, Lucian and I looked at each other. He was handsome in a black suit with a dark gray tie.

“Aria,” he said.

Maybe he meant to say more. His eyes seemed to hold something that I’d never really seen in them before. Yet, before I could figure it out, or hear him out, the judge cleared their throat from the front of the room.

“Everyone, take your assigned places, please. It’s time to begin the divorce ceremony.”