Chapter 7M
Nigel’s POVE
Luella’s face shifted between pale and ashen, and I could tell all she wanted was to disappear.”
But the searing pain in her ankle kept her rooted in place. She couldn’t move even if she tried.
Meanwhile, everything from the past few days played on a loop in my mind. The more I thought about it, the more it broke me.” ‘What the hell have I done?‘
‘First, I got another woman pregnant behind my wife’s back.‘
*Then I planned to secretly raise the child.‘”
‘As if that wasn’t enough, I brought that woman into our home–into our bedroom. Our bed!‘}]
‘And worst of all, I laid hands on Rianne. I swore never to hurt her. I swore never to make her cry!‘
‘Shit. I’d done all of it. What was I thinking?!‘{
I shoved past the people around me, and I could feel fury and panic rush through my veins as I grabbed Joseph by the collar.
“Find out! I want the truth about that invitation! Now!” I barked. “And find out where she is. I don’t care how you do it–I need to know where my wife is! Immediately!“}
In my mind, it was simple.
If I can just find her, I’ll beg. Once, twice, a hundred times if that’s what it took. I’ll change. I’ll fix everything.”
Ten years of love–there was no way I’d throw that all away.
But Joseph came back too soon. And what he said made my blood run cold.§
“S–Sir, the county clerk confirmed it. You and Ma’am Rianne finalized your divorce. The marriage was dissolved not long ago. And she got a new…” He paused. “M–Marriage license.“}
I froze. The words kept ringing in my ears, over and over.
Divorced? How? When?‘
“I never divorced her!” I snapped. “I would’ve known! I never signed anything! How could we be divorced?!“>
Joseph pulled out a document and handed it to me.
It was a copy… of the divorce agreement. My signature… was right there.
That handwriting–I knew it too well.
And then it hit me. ‘That day, when I insisted Luella stay at the villa… I signed something. But it was a blank sheet! How the hell had it turned into divorce papers?!‘!
‘Wait–no.‘ Another realization popped into my head. ‘Even if I had signed something, I never went to the courthouse to get the divorce certificate. Without that, how could they possibly say my marriage is legally over?!‘
That sparked a tiny shred of hope. ‘Maybe it’s all just a clerical mistake
Quickly, I dialed Drew Morales, the same friend who’d helped us pull strings to get married after hours.”
The call quickly connected.
“Nigel! I’ve been meaning to congratulate you–new girl, new baby. You’re killing it, man!”
My face darkened. “What are you talking about? I’m calling about the divorce papers. What happened?”
He sounded confused. “Didn’t you say you agreed to it? You were at the hospital with your new girl–I called, and you said yes.”
He explained further, “You weren’t coming in person, so I just went ahead and stamped everything for you.”
Suddenly, it all came back.
Two days ago, while Luella had been pouting about how uncomfortable the hospital bed was, Drew had called.
I vaguely remembered hearing something like, “Do you agree to this?“}
And without thinking, distracted by the whining woman beside me, I’d said, “Yeah, yeah, I agree–just busy right now, okay?”
I never imagined… I had agreed to a divorce!!
The weight of it all crashed down on me. I slumped into a chair, hollow and dazed.§
‘I can’t… I can’t believe it! Rianne and I… We’re actually divorced?!‘
Tears welled up in my eyes–the same eyes that once ruled the business world without blinking.
I murmured, over and over, “Honey… Honey… Where are you? Let me find you, please…“)
