When She Ended It With Divorce (Chiara and Titus) novel Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Chiara returned to her room, settling onto the soft bed with her tablet in hand. The quiet hum of the evening outside filtered through the window, but her focus was locked on the screen. She was methodically reviewing the Lynch Group’s major projects from recent years, determined to absorb every detail. To her, mastering these documents wasn’t just an academic exercise—it was the key to truly belonging within the family business, to carving out a place for herself in a world that had always been just beyond her reach.

The door creaked open quietly, but Chiara barely paused. She didn’t lift her eyes, choosing instead to keep scrolling through the files.

“What’s caught your attention?” came Titus’s voice, calm and casual.

“Just catching up on company projects,” she replied evenly, her tone guarded.

He moved closer, the soft sound of his footsteps on the wooden floor filling the space between them. “And you’re really following all that?”

Chiara held her silence for a moment, her heart beating a little faster as she finally looked up to meet his gaze. His raised eyebrow silently invited her to explain.

She inhaled slowly, words forming on her lips only to retreat once more. She wasn’t inclined to open up, not now. “Forget it,” she murmured, the words barely audible.

“You were about to say something. Just say it. What’s the worry?” Titus pressed gently, his curiosity evident.

But Chiara felt no need to justify herself. It wasn’t fear holding her back—just a profound indifference. Her silence seemed to pique his interest further. With a quiet sigh, he reached out, took the tablet from her hands, and skimmed the screen. In an instant, he understood.

“Well? What was it?” he asked, nudging her for an answer.

Chiara frowned, a flicker of frustration crossing her face. “You’ve never been this interested in my business before. Since when do you ask so many questions?”

To be honest, they had always maintained a comfortable distance, respecting unspoken boundaries. She had never forgotten her place in their arrangement, but it seemed Titus sometimes did.

When he fell silent, Chiara reached out to retrieve her tablet. She glanced at the clock on the wall, then finally asked, “No plans tonight?”

It was unusual for him to be home at this hour; the only time it had happened regularly was during the first month of their marriage.

Titus’s gaze settled on her, calm but penetrating. “Does my presence make you uncomfortable?” he inquired softly.

Chiara hesitated, unable to deny the truth. His return home had once been something she eagerly anticipated, a bright spot in her day. Now, it was something she found herself quietly dreading.

“When did this start?” Titus asked, his eyes searching hers.

Though he didn’t say it outright, she understood exactly what he meant.

“I’m not sure,” she answered quietly.

Just as Titus thought she was shutting down the conversation, her voice returned, steady but low. “Maybe it was all those times I needed you and you weren’t there. Or when I found out where you were from some news report.”

She looked him squarely in the eyes, her expression calm but her words sharp. “But I know this isn’t how a marriage should be. There’s nothing healthy or normal about it.”

Titus studied her closely, about to respond when his phone suddenly rang, breaking the moment.

Chiara immediately looked away, her face betraying her disinterest in whoever was calling.

Titus glanced at the screen, then met her eyes again. “Aren’t you curious who’s calling?” he asked unexpectedly.

The question caught them both off guard.

Chiara stared at him, disbelief flickering across her face. In that brief moment of eye contact, a shared memory surfaced between them.

Back in the early days of their marriage, when Titus still came home every night, Chiara had once answered his phone while he was in the shower.

That call had been her first encounter with the other woman in his life, though she hadn’t realized at the time that the caller was Elaine herself.

Hearing the woman’s soft, intimate voice speak his name, Chiara had panicked and hung up without thinking.

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