After the Divorce, A New Love Blossomed

It was a single reckless comment from Wilder Alexander that led Alessia Owens to pull off my prosthetic leg and hand it to him as if it were a mere plaything. Unbalanced and off-kilter, I toppled awkwardly to the ground. Wilder chucked the prosthetic aside, smirking. "Without your leg, Lukas, what are you even?" He nudged the leg carelessly under the table.

Choking back tears, I begged Alessia to help retrieve it. She shot me a frosty, dismissive look. "Why the waterworks? It's Wilder's birthday; don't be a buzzkill." She seemed to forget it was her actions that led to my losing the leg. In that moment, nine years of love withered into nothingness.

Around the table, I could feel the weight of judging eyes. Someone mumbled, "So it’s true, Lukas Kennedy really does have a prosthetic." "I knew he walked funny, but I never guessed…" I crawled under the table, trying to fix my leg amidst their stares, feeling an unparalleled sense of humiliation.

Alessia didn't spare me a glance. She was busy toasting with Alden Castro, gifting him something she’d selected with care. Amid cheers, she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Half-dragging my leg, I left the restaurant, each step heavier than the last, hoping for a cab that wouldn't come to this secluded hillside villa.

After ages, Alessia emerged from the restaurant. Her displeasure at seeing me still waiting was clear. "Why are you still here?"

"There are no cabs," I said, my eyes burning as Alden linked arms with her.

"I shouldn't have brought you. You're killing the mood," Alessia scoffed from the steps, watching me limp to the parking lot.

As she reached for the passenger door, her eyes met mine coldly, and she indicated the backseat with a tilt of her head. "Sit in the back. Alden has had a drink; you know how queasy he gets."

I glanced at the backseat, packed with Alden's gifts, no room left. "There's no space. Maybe he could ride with someone else—"

Before I finished, Alessia swung the door open, ushering Alden in without a word. Her impatience was palpable. "Remember, I'm just giving you a lift because I'm passing by. Don't act like you deserve it."

I said nothing, squeezing into the cramped space among the packages. After five years of marriage, riding in her car felt like begging for scraps.

Alden turned, grinning wickedly as I settled into the cramped spot. "Hope you don't mind, Lukas."

His words were hollow; the cramped back seat was no accident. Alessia’s look was scathing. "What is there to mind? He should be grateful. You invited him out of goodwill, and he ruined the fun. He hasn't the right to complain."

Ignoring them, I clenched my fists, nails digging into the soft flesh of my palms. The bitterness was consuming. As we drove down, Alden lit a cigarette, smirking as he turned to Alessia. "Mind if I smoke, Sandy?"

She despised smoking. I recalled the time I