Elena stood ramrod-straight, fingers carving crescents into her palms as restrained fury pulsed beneath her tailored sleeves. "Nathaniel is my son. If your heart feels nothing, mine does. Keeping him tethered to that old fox Robert only cuts him deeper each day."

Across the room, Wren tasted humiliation like iron on his tongue. With Nathaniel, Cecilia, and the children present, pride slipped from his shoulders andnded on the polished floor for everyone to see.

He waved his hand. "Enough. The children are here-stop this. You were never like this before."

A pauseter, he added, "Lately, you sound like some unreasonable shrew who lives to scold."

Elena''s blood seemed to freeze. Only the children''s wide eyes kept her from unleashing words sharp enough to draw real blood.

Nathaniel finally spoke, calm yet resolute. "Dad, Mom makes sense. If Uncle Robert and his family attend the next dinner, don''t invite us."

Wren blinked, stunned that even his son had taken Elena''s side.

"You and Mom are divorced now. Please watch your words," Nathaniel added.

Elena''s eyes glimmered. The earlier sting vanished, reced by a rush of grateful warmth. All those years of raising him and taking care of him were worth it.

Wren rubbed a hand over his mouth, suddenly lost for any answer.

"Mom, Dad, if there''s nothing else, Cecilia and I will head home."

"Go on then," Elena said softly. "Spend some time with Pa while you can."

Wren managed a mute nod.

"Grandpa, Grandma, goodbye!" Jonathan and Elliot waved their small hands, voices bright as bells.

"Goodbye," their grandparents echoed, the word hanging heavier than it sounded.

After Nathaniel''s family disappeared down the corridor, Elena no longer wished to linger in a house thick with unfinished arguments.

"Elena, how long will you keep this up?" Wren called, desperation cracking through hisposure.

She stopped mid-stride, turning back with an arched brow. "Keep what up, exactly?"

"We have spent a lifetime together. I know you don''t really want this divorce," Wren said, voice low yet pleading. I have thought about. everything. Leaving you alone all those years was wrong. From now on, I will stay home-or return quickly if I must leave."  s

Only after the papers were signed had he grasped how essential she was to the rhythm of his days.

Elena looked at him as if he were an idiot. The disbelief in her gaze was almost tender.

"Don''t really want this divorce? What fantasy fed you that illusion?"

She motioned for the servants to send Luke and Gabe back, then faced Wren again, her smile carved from frost. "Honestly, I''m curious."

Hearing the scorn beneath her words, Wren stepped closer. "How long do you n to keep acting?"

They had spent so many years together. He refused to believe Elena could ever truly walk away.

Elena pressed her lips together, a bubble ofughter trembling inside her chest. The urge was almost unbearable, yet she forced it down letting it dissolve into a chilly silent smile instead.  s

"Wren Rainsworth, why don''t you take a look in the mirror? You''re already over fifty now. Your face is full of wrinkles Do you

you si think

you''re that young, handsome guy

you used to be?"  s

There had been a time when Elena adored him for that face-every elegant line, every rakish grin.

In their stratosphere of cocktail parties and power marriages, finding a partner who matched both pedigree and genuine affection felt like winning the lottery.

So she indulged his endless adolescence for years, ying the patient wife. But tonight her patiencey in shards. She wanted the second half of her life back- on her terms.

"You''re an old geezer. If it weren''t for your money, those young girls wouldn''t even spare you a nce. Do you think I would be interested in you?"

Wren''s eyes widened, stunned, yet Elena kept going until her anger finally emptied itself. Then she turned on her heel. Heels clicked across polished marble. She did not look back.

At the threshold, she paused, letting onest sentence fall like a verdict.

"If it weren''t for the fact that we have children together, we''d just be strangers. Don''t tter yourself."

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