Her Last Name, His Claim

Five years is a long time to be forgotten by the man who once swore you were his everything, I think everyone would agree with me on that.

I was standing in front of the mirror, smoothing down the ruffles of my engagement dress, a shade a little too close to my skin tone, when my phone rang.

Blocked number...

My first thought was to ignore it. The second was to answer because my heart already knew who it was. I hesitated, then picked up.

"Hello?"

A voice I hadn't heard in so long came through the line, deep,smooth and annoyingly familiar

"Still changing your number every year, sweetheart? You were always so good at running and ignoring me."

I froze. Five years. Five long years, and yet his voice still had the power to knock the breath out of me.

"Enzo"

"Still remember my name. That's nice," he said, amused. "So should I send flowers to the engagement party, or would that be inappropriate...since you're still my wife?"

I smiled, "Ex wife"

"Not yet", came his response.

I pulled at the neck of my dress, suddenly short of air. "What do you want?"

He laughed, that low, dangerous kind of laugh that always filled me with dread.

"You know exactly what I want, love."

"We haven't had a relationship in years. You left. We've been separated..."

"I didn't leave. You gave up on us. And separated isn't divorced," he interrupted smoothly.

"Look," I said trying to steady my breathing, " I sent you the divorce papers several times".

"Oh, I got them. I just don't remember agreeing."

That voice...still calm, just as calm as I remember, yet sharp enough to get his point across.

"I don't need your agreement, Enzo. Just your signature".

"Mmm. About that. I've been thinking, Elena." He whispered my name like a secret.

"If you want my signature, you'll have to come see me. Let's discuss it properly."

"I'm not playing your games."

"Who said it was a game?" His voice dipped lower. " You'll come home, Elena. To our home. And we'll talk like adults...about us. About your little wedding plans".

My heart pounded so hard I could feel it in my throat. "Enzo, you can't just barge into my life like this."

"Oh, I can. And I just did. You're still my wife, bearing my name. That gives me certain...rights. Come see me when you're ready to talk."

The line went dead.

I stood there frozen, phone shaking in my hand, heart pounding wildly.

My reflection stared back at me, a woman trying to smile through the wreckage.

Somewhere between the anger and shock, I felt it again... the pull I had spent five years trying to forget.

And just like that, I knew.

Enzo Wayne wasn't just back.

He was coming for me.

I fixed my makeup, forced a smile at the mirror and headed out to the party, my engagement party.

When I opened the door, the first thing I saw