CHAPTER 9: The Ring Comes Off Quietly

Mara walked to the piano bench and picked up the gold pen.
Camden watched with a flicker of hope so ugly it almost made her pity him.
The ring made almost no sound when it touched the wood. Still, Camden flinched as if she had struck him.
Mara wondered how many women before her had mistaken a man’s fear of losing comfort for love.
He thought fear had finally found her.
Instead, she crossed the first page with one clean line.
Then the second.
Then the third.
The sound of paper tearing was soft, but it traveled through the foyer like thunder heard from far away.
Camden stepped forward. Arthur’s security did not need to touch him. They only shifted their weight, and he stopped.
Mara removed her wedding ring last.
She held it in her palm for a moment, remembering the man who had placed it there with wet eyes and impossible promises.
Then she set it beside the torn documents.
“This marriage did not fail tonight,” she said. “Tonight only made it visible.”
Camden looked at the ring.
Sloane was already gone.
For a man who had wanted two women watching him, he suddenly had no one left to perform for.