Ramire

our last supper; the scent of roasted duck and wilted roses hung like a shroud. I

a man energized by his own brilliance. He saw

a pet that had wandered off and final

ulders to slump, my gaze to fall to the floor. I was giving him the

ee table. "The papers are here. Our financial advisor is on standby.

two sets of documents. The dissolution of our marriage, and the dissolution of ou

spered, running a trembling f

ands on my shoulders. I had to fight the urge to recoil. His touch felt like a spider's. "Look, I know this is hard. But

dea of the tempest I

gers and radiated up my arm. My breath hitched. The room began to tilt, the edges of my vision blurring into a dark, swirling tunnel. It w

ice sounded distan

lattered from my fingers onto the glass table. My performance was becoming t

instantly evaporating, replaced by annoyance. He grabbed a glass of w

rage. I took a shaky sip of water, my eyes meeting his over the rim of the glass. I

ice thin and reedy. "It's

t done." He pushed the pa

doctor's office, the pre-arranged call I had schedul

ment, my eyes widening in feigned alarm. "Now?

er," I lied, referencing her well-known fragile heal

unforeseen variable in his perfe

it's seri

my mother's health, but on the logistical inconvenience. "Fine. Fine! Go.

anced back. He was already texting, a small smile on his face. No doubt reassuring K

didn't ask which hospital. He didn't

signature on a page. An

s asset was about to li