New Beginnings, Old Wounds

ROGERIO

The sun had just begun to set when I arrived at the penthouse. The movers had completed their task of hauling the properties I had brought from the estate. Once they finished, they dispersed as swiftly as they had gathered, leaving me with the staff members who had packed up their things and moved with me. I studied them for a few minutes, waiting to see if anyone would speak up, but none did. It dawned on me then that my decision to divorce Charlotte had brought about unforeseen consequences.

First on that list was her refusal to sign the papers. She claimed to love me, but I doubted it. Our relationship was built on different terms—love was never one of them. We both knew it, so I couldn’t fathom her delusion. It was pointless, considering we both acknowledged that our union wasn’t working. I attempted to push the encounter out of my mind and focus on what I could currently control, but the expressions on the faces around me made it futile.

I stood in the corner of the room,