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The day she checked out of the hospital, she had her attorney's divorce papers in her bag.
Back at the townhouse, Damien was getting ready to pick Vivienne up from her shift.
"You're back." He paused, caught by how bloodless she looked. Something like pity flickered in his eyes. "You look awful. Why are you so pale?"
Her mother was a vegetable. Her brother was in prison.
How did he think she should look?
She didn't answer. She just pulled out the documents and handed them to him, face blank.
"Sign."
He blinked. "What is this?"
He was about to flip it open when his phone buzzed in his hand. He glanced at the screen and grew agitated. Without reading a single clause, he scrawled his signature on the last page.
"Vivienne's waiting. If it's a contract, just leave it in my study next time."
He was already gone.
Seraphina looked down at the signed divorce agreement. The corner of her mouth curled into a sharp, ugly smile. She didn't say anything. She turned and went straight to the county clerk's office to file.
When she got back, she found Damien sitting with Vivienne, massaging her hand. Vivienne had just come off shift.
"Vivienne's being followed by some of that family again. I don't feel safe sending her home. She's staying here until it's dealt with."
He said it like an announcement.
She was about to be divorced. This wasn't her house anymore.
She didn't have the energy to argue.
"Fine."
He hadn't expected her to drop it that easily. The flat calm on her face made him frown. He was about to say something else when Vivienne cut in.
"Sera, I haven't had dinner yet. Would you make me something?" She smiled sweetly, but her eyes were sharp. "Damien says you're a great cook. I've never actually gotten to try."
"Call the housekeeper."
She turned to walk away.
Vivienne gave a wounded little sound. Damien caught her arm.
"Sera."
He didn't say anything else. He didn't have to.
She didn't have the right to refuse. Even as Damien's wife, the second his childhood friend said she was hungry, Seraphina was supposed to transform into the help.
She couldn't afford a fight right now. She forced the corner of her mouth up and dragged herself into the kitchen.