Chapter 2

He moved with brutal force, as if unleashing years of pent-up hatred. The only sounds in the room were ragged breaths and the creaking of the bed.

Stella Valentine bit her lip until it bled. Tears mixed with blood trailed down her chin. Her fingers clutched the sheets so tightly her knuckles turned white.

When it ended, she collapsed onto the mattress, trembling violently.

"Had enough?" Adrian Roland's voice was glacial.

A coughing fit wracked her body, the metallic taste of blood flooding her mouth.

"Sign the papers and get out."

Stella pushed herself up weakly. "How much did you drink?"

"None of your business."

"Your stomach—"

"I needed to be drunk to touch you." His laugh was cruel. "The thought of it makes me sick."

She wiped blood from her lips, her voice feather-light. "No traffic on the way here?"

Adrian lit a cigarette by the window, the flame illuminating his sharp jawline. "Divorce waits for no one."

"So eager to be rid of me?"

Smoke drifted toward her, triggering another coughing spell. Her thin shoulders shook uncontrollably.

"You know exactly how eager." He blew a smoke ring directly at her, watching with satisfaction as she curled into herself. "Nine a.m. tomorrow at the courthouse."

"It's not over yet." She lifted her gaze. "I said a full night."

Adrian crushed his cigarette violently. "Have you no shame, Stella?"

Memories flickered through her mind like an old film reel.

She couldn't remember when Adrian hadn't been the center of her world. Their families were close—they'd grown up together.

Young Adrian would bring her star-shaped candies, secretly throw away love letters she received, spend months folding jars full of paper stars.

"These are fake. I want real stars," she'd once pouted.

"Then I'll pluck them for you," the boy had laughed, tweaking her nose.

"Liar! Stars are in the sky."

"When you marry me, I'll bring you the whole galaxy."

Staring at the bloodstained sheets, Stella suddenly smiled. Fate's cruelest joke was taking what she loved most and grinding it to dust before her eyes.