The Don Tore Up Our Divorce (Gemma and Cassian) novel Chapter 514

< The Don Tore Up Our Divorce

Chapter 514

Zina’s POV

The men aren’t scared of us.

Two women, one holding an empty bottle? Please. But the word he threw out

there himself, AIDS… that’s a different

kind of weapon. It’s not about fists, it’s about fear.

A fear of invisible contamination, of blood and risk. I can see it in their eyes now, the bravado cooling into a wary calculation. Is a stupid public fight worth a hypothetical, terrifying disease? The answer is clearly3:57

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Seeing the momentum shift, they decide to cut their losses. They throw some cash on the table, grumbling but mostly relieved, and shuffle out, throwing last, dirty looks over their shoulders.

I’m still vibrating with fury. “You’re the ones who are sick!” I yell after their retreating backs. “I bet your pockets are full of that medicine! Liars! You think

can just say whatever you want?!”

you

My anger feels too big, out of proportion maybe, but it’s been building. All of Gemma’s weirdness today–the flinching, the separate plates, the quiet terror—it’s all been winding me up like a spring, and that disgusting man just pulled the pin.

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A waiter finally pries the wine bottle from my white–knuckled grip. “Ma’am, this is dangerous. You need to put it down.” I shoot him a look that could melt steel, but the fight’s gone out of me with the men. I let go.

The whole time, Gemma… Gemma was just still. Standing off to the side, a statue of anxiety. She looked like she wanted to vanish into the floor, not like she wanted to back me up. It was weird. Wrong.

Outside, the fresh air does nothing to cool me down. “Can you believe that guy?” I fume, stomping down the sidewalk. “He’s the one with issues! His whole gross table probably shares one diseased brain cell! He’s projecting!”

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Usually, after I blow up like this, Gemma gives me a look—a mix of ‘you’re ridiculous‘ and ‘but I love you‘–and says something dry that makes me laugh. This time, there’s just silence. A thick, heavy şilence that feels like walking through fog.

“Gemma? Did you hear me?” I ask, turning to look at her.

She’s a million miles away, her face pale, eyes staring at nothing. Lost. I reach out and give her shoulder a gentle, playful push. Just a nudge to bring her back.

She jerks away as if I’ve burned her. Her eyes fly open wide, terrified. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” she shouts, the sound sharp and raw in the quiet street.

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People turn to stare. Gemma seems to realize it too, her face flooding with color. “I’m sorry, I just—” she starts, flustered, but the damage is done.

I’m not interested in apologies. A cold, sick feeling is spreading in my gut. Until this second, I thought that man was just hurling the vilest insult he could think of. Nonsense. But Gemma’s reaction… the way she’s been acting all day… it’s a key turning in a lock I didn’t want to acknowledge.

“Let me see your bag,” I say, my voice flat.

No more games.

She clutches the strap to her chest, her knuckles white. “There’s nothing in it. 13:57

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“If it’s just normal things, then show me.” I don’t move. I won’t back down. We stand there on the sidewalk, a foot apart, locked in a battle of wills we’ve never had before.

The silence stretches, awful and telling. Finally, I can’t take it anymore. The question comes out, quiet and hurt. “Gemma… are you keeping something from me?”

We’re best friends. We’ve missed things in each other’s lives, gotten busy, but the foundation has always been solid steel. We tell each other everything. Or we’re supposed to. But now she’s building a wall, brick by strange brick, and she won’t even admit she’s holding the morta 13:58

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She presses her lips together, a sure sign she’s lying. “What could I possibly be hiding from you? You’re imagining things. It’s nothing.”

If I’d known this dinner would unravel

like this, I would have dragged her out for

ice cream instead. I can almost see her

thinking the same thing, blaming herself.

“Gemma, do you think I’m an idiot?” The words burst out, all my observations tumbling together. “I’ve seen it all! You dodging me, you freaking out when I almost took a bite from your plate! I’m not blind!”

All the odd pieces from the last hour slam together in my mind. A horrifying pictures

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starts to form. I shake my head violently, trying to dislodge it. No. It’s impossible. She’s not that kind of person. How could she have… that? But if it’s not that, then what is it? Why is she a terrified ghost of herself? Why does my touch seem to poison her?

She just stands there, silent, shutting me out. It’s the silence that breaks me. I step closer, my voice dropping to a pleading whisper. “Gemma. What is going on?”

I just want the truth. Whatever it is, we’ll face it. I won’t abandon her. But I can’t stand this… this polite exile.

She takes a deep, shuddering breath, like she’s about to dive into deep water. Her3:58

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