Shadows Gathered Under Fading Lights by Nyx Rowan novel Chapter 6

“Fiona, why did you end up withdrawing the report?” Henson asked once the plane had leveled off. “Have you truly made your peace with what happened?”

Did I? I asked myself the same question, quietly, because what else was there to do.

Years of sincerity, and it turned out the whole thing had been a staged illusion. Of course I wasn’t okay with it.

But I’d been the one who chose to take that chance in the first place, and a loss is still a loss.

I stared out at the dark window. “It’s over.”

Henson draped a light blanket over my legs. “That’s for the best. Try to get some rest.‘

I nodded. “Thank you… Uncle Henson.”

“You and Tristan are divorced now,” he said calmly. “You don’t have to call me ‘Uncle‘ anymore, if you don’t want to.”

I didn’t argue, I just closed my eyes, and for the first time in a long time, I slept like my body finally believed it was safe.

Tristan, on the other hand, didn’t even remember me until two days later, after he’d settled Natalia and gotten her to sleep.

He called me, once, then again, but nobody picked up.

His brow furrowed. Once, I’d always responded right away, to his texts, his calls, everything, like my world revolved around him.

He opened our chat and saw the last message I’d sent.

[No. Let’s get divorced.]

Only then did he remember signing the divorce petition, and something cold and uneasy rose in his

chest.

After hesitating, he called Henson.

No answer.

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He sent me a message instead.

[Fiona, where were you? I’ll come explain.]

He told himself he was giving me an out, so I ought to stop being so stubborn and reply already.

Three minutes passed.

Nothing.

Tristan grabbed his jacket, ready to leave, when Natalia’s startled cry came from the bedroom.

He rushed in, and she threw her arms around him, trembling dramatically. “Tristan, I just had a

nightmare.”

She clung tighter. “I dreamed Fiona was chasing me with a knife. I’m so scared, please stay with

me.”

He lifted her back onto the bed and lay down beside her, arms around her shoulders. “Okay. I’m not

going.”

Out of his sight, Natalia’s expression shifted into quiet satisfaction.

Over the next two days, Tristan still couldn’t reach me.

For the first time, he even contacted the few friends I barely had, but no one knew where I’d gone.

Just as his temper started to snap, Natalia walked into his office with a cup of coffee.

“Mr. Royston,” she asked softly, “Fiona still hasn’t replied?”

She dropped her voice, as if sharing a secret. “Do you think she’s hiding from you on purpose, now that she knows I’m still here with you?”

Then she sighed like she was about to make a huge sacrifice. “Maybe I should leave, it’s just…”

Tristan looked up sharply. “Just what?”

Natalia’s hand fluttered to her lower belly. “I just feel so sorry for our baby, having to be born

without a father.”

Then she started to cry.

Tristan shot up so fast his chair scraped the floor, and he gripped her shoulders with sudden

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excitement. “Are you serious?”

Natalia nodded, eyes shining with practiced

Cars “Yes,”

She swallowed, then added, her voice sweet, “To celebrate this little life, I was thinking of inviting everyone out tonight, just a small get–together. Would that be all right?”

Tristan agreed immediately, and whatever urgency he’d felt about me vanished into thin air.

That night, in the private room at the bar, Tristan greeted every toast with a wide grin and drained his glass each time.

When one of his longtime friends came over to clink drinks again, Tristan slung an arm around his shoulder. “Brother, thanks for helping me with the police situation.”

His friend blinked. “Tristan, there’s nothing to thank me for.”

He frowned. “By the time I got there, Fiona had already withdrawn it.”

His eyes narrowed with confusion. “You didn’t know?”