Please Divorce Me, Alpha! {BL}

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Unfortunately, Lorenzo noticed, his fingers suddenly wrapped around mine, tightly, I looked down. His hand was warm despite the chilly rain, then I glanced up at him...but he wasn’t looking at me.

His gaze remained fixed on the priest, his expression hadn’t shifted, but his grip tightened just a bit, a warning.

Behave, I stared at the side of his face, what a killjoy. I squeezed his hand back, not out of affection.

Obviously.

I just wanted to see if he’d squeeze back harder and he did, I immediately regretted that choice.

Fine then...message received.

I turned my gaze back to the grave as the priest finally wrapped up his sermon, people started moving forward one by one...the coffin was lowered and few soft prayers were whispered.

Someone sobbed in the background and another person placed flowers by the grave, then came the final ritual.

Dirt thudded against the coffin with a dull, heavy sound.

I watched the earth cover the polished wood.

And for a fleeting moment, my humor vanished, Federick had been good to me.

Maybe not enough to rescue me...maybe not enough to erase everything that happened before I came here.

But he had been kind, I lowered my gaze.

Goodbye, Frederick...and thank you.

The rain kept falling, steady and unfeeling, as if it had other places to be and this was just a pit stop along the way.

Eventually, the funeral wrapped up.

People started leaving in quiet clusters, black luxury cars rolling away from the estate one after the other, tires hissing against the wet gravel until the cemetery transformed into a surprisingly peaceful spot.

Lorenzo’s bodyguards closed in on him and powerful influencial men approached him with quiet words, questions, condolences and business prepositions.

The new Don had barely been crowned before everyone wanted something from him...I stood a few feet away, umbrella-less and unconcerned as the rain soaked me.

It felt strange.

Just yesterday, Lorenzo was the son of Frederick Castelli, today, he was the man everyone feared...the man everyone needed to impress, the man who owned almost everything around us.

And honestly, I couldn’t have cared less.

Because unlike everyone else here, I wasn’t thinking about what Lorenzo would do with his inheritance.

I was thinking about what I would do with mine, Lorenzo’s voice pulled me back to reality. ”Go back to the estate.”

I looked at him, te was already shrugging on his coat.

”Aren’t you coming?” I asked, not because I cared or anything. But because the perfect husband was supposed to care...right?

”Something came up.” he said.

Of course it did, with Lorenzo, something always came up. I shrugged, ”Okay.”

He regarded me with a strange look, maybe he expected me to ask more questions.

I didn’t. Why would I?

The sooner he vanished into his terrifying mafia world, the sooner I could start prepping for my own escape. Lorenzo studied me for just a second before he turned away.

”Don’t go anywhere.”

I blinked, why would he say that?

Then he walked off, coat collar turned up against the rain, flanked by men who fell in line behind him like they’d rehearsed the whole thing.

The Castelli estate had never felt like home to me.

It was too vast and quiet and way too beautiful, like a museum you admire from a distance and never dare to touch, unless you want to set off an alarm or deal with a bodyguard.

The mansion sat at the center of several acres of perfectly manicured grounds, its dark stone walls soaring beneath pointed rooftops and tall Gothic windows.

Calling it a mansion was generous.

Calling it a castle was probably more accurate.

It had actual towers, who even needed freaking towers?!

People with unresolved emotional baggage and too much money, apparently.

Inside, everything was marble, dark wood, antique furniture, and portraits of deceased Castelli ancestors who looked like they’d invented disappointment.

I went upstairs, changed out of my funeral clothes, and took the longest shower of my life, standing under the water until it turned lukewarm and my fingers wrinkled, because for the first time in a year, I had absolutely nowhere to be.

When I finally came downstairs, dinner had been prepared, for one. I sat at the enormous dining table, staring at the empty chairs.

There were enough seats for twenty people, I could’ve invited a whole university department and still had space for dessert.

Instead, I had roast chicken, veggies, soup, bread, and a heavy dose of silence.

But honestly, everything tasted better tonight.

Freedom had that effect.

I was halfway through dinner when one of the servants approached, moving quietly across the marble floor like a ghost with a dress code.

”Sir.”

I looked up. ”Yes?”

”Mr. Castelli has returned.”

My heart jumped, I nearly dropped my fork. ”He has?”

”Yes. He’s in his father’s study.”

I looked at the clock, it was almost nine o’clock.

Absolutely perfect!

I pushed my chair back so quickly that it scraped against the floor, the servant blinked. ”Sir?”

”I’m going upstairs.”

”Would you like dessert?” she questioned.

”Freedom first, dessert later!”

I practically sprinted up the staircase, down the corridor and into my bedroom.

I shut the door behind me and hurried over to the wardrobe.

Then I crouched down, moved two sweaters aside and pulled out a small locked box. My hands were shaking, but not from fear.

It was excitement...I opened the box and there they were, the divorce papers.

I had set this up weeks ago while Frederick was still in the hospital.

Yes, I’d been waiting that long. Sue me...

I pulled the papers out and laid them on my desk, smoothing the top page with a palm that wasn’t quite steady. My name was already printed beneath one signature line.

I picked up the pen, for a moment, I stared at it then I signed.

Alex Sinclair.

I carefully folded the papers and tucked them into a black folder.

”Goodbye, Lorenzo.”

Then I grabbed the folder and headed for the door, tonight, I was going to collect what I’d been promised.

Tonight, I was going to walk into that study as Lorenzo Castelli’s husband.

And walk out single and definitely NOT ready to mingle for at least five goddamn years. For the first time in my life, I was finally going to be free!

I couldn’t wait!