Chapter 1 - THE DIVORCE PAPERS AND THE DIAGNOSIS
"I'm sick."
Two words.
That was all Alicia Darks said before returning to the hospital bag on the floor.
Valyrian stood frozen in the doorway, the divorce papers pressing against his chest like something suddenly alive.
"What kind of sick?"
Alicia folded a blue cardigan and placed it beside her medication.
"The kind that requires a hospital."
"Don't do that."
She looked up.
"Do what?"
"Answer me like I'm a stranger."
For the first time, something sharp crossed her exhausted face.
"Aren't you?"
The question struck harder than any accusation he had prepared for.
Six months ago, they had stopped sharing a bedroom. Three months ago, they had stopped eating dinner together. Two weeks ago, Alicia had stopped answering his calls.
Valyrian had assumed she was punishing him.
Now he noticed the faint bruises along her forearm.
The trembling in her fingers.
The way she occasionally pressed a hand against her ribs as though breathing required concentration.
He crouched beside her.
"Alicia. Tell me what's wrong."
She closed the bag.
"I have a medical procedure tomorrow morning."
"What procedure?"
"One you don't need to attend."
He reached for the documents beside her knee.
She caught his wrist.
"Don't."
That single word carried more fear than anger.
Valyrian released the papers.
"Are you dying?"
Alicia looked away.
The silence was unbearable.
"Answer me."
"I'm trying not to."
He felt the room shift beneath him.
Outside, thunder rolled across the estate.
Alicia pulled herself upright using the bedframe. Her knees nearly buckled.
Valyrian caught her around the waist.
She was frighteningly light.
He remembered holding this woman on their wedding night, laughing as he carried her across the threshold because she'd insisted that tradition mattered.
Now he could feel the bones beneath her sweater.
"How long?" he whispered.
"Long enough."
"How long, Alicia?"
She finally looked directly at him.
"Seven months."
Seven months.
He had spent six of them believing she no longer loved him.
He took the medical folder from the bed.
This time, she didn't stop him.
The first page contained an oncology department heading.
The second held a treatment summary.
The third showed a diagnosis.
Aggressive lymphoma.
Valyrian read the words three times.
He understood violence. He understood enemies. He understood how to make powerful men disappear from his territory without leaving unanswered business.
But this was something he couldn't threaten into submission.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Alicia gave a tired laugh.
"I tried."
"When?"
She stared at him.
"January ninth. At breakfast."
He remembered that morning.
Caleum had called about a security breach. Valyrian had left before finishing his coffee.
"You told me you needed to talk," he said.
"I told you the doctor found something."
His stomach tightened.
He remembered dismissing it as another routine appointment.
Alicia opened her hospital bag again.
"You said we'd talk when things calmed down."
Valyrian couldn't speak.
She continued quietly.
"Then your adviser told me you didn't want to hear about my personal problems anymore."
His eyes sharpened.
"Caleum said that?"
Alicia nodded.
"He also told me you had already contacted a divorce attorney."
Valyrian looked at the papers inside his jacket.
He had contacted that attorney three days ago.
Not seven months ago.
And suddenly, the silence inside their marriage no longer looked accidental.
Before he could ask another question, Alicia's phone lit up.
May you like
A message appeared from an unknown number.
You have until midnight to keep your husband away. Otherwise, he learns what really happened to his father.
