Husband In The Shadows - Chapter 10: Chapter 10

At the hospital, Nydia finished her shift and stepped out of Jefferson's ward.
She started to message me but saw she was blocked on WhatsApp.
She called me. Once. Twice. Over a dozen times. But nothing went through. Her heart skipped a beat.
Panicked, she rushed to our old house. But the locks had been changed. Her key didn't work anymore.
Just right, she ran into the realtor showing the place. "This house isn't for sale. How—"
"You're not the owner, are you?" the realtor cut in. "The owner asked me to handle the sale. I have all the necessary paperwork."
Moved by Nydia's pleading, the realtor unlocked the door and let her in. The house was empty and quiet, completely void of anything left behind.
There was no sign of us ever living there. Not even a photo left behind.
Nydia ran to the new place, hoping to find something. There, at the door, she found an envelope from the court. She frowned, and her chest tightened.
She stepped inside. The rooms were full—but only with her things. Nothing of mine. Not in the study. Not in the bedroom. It was like I'd never been there at all.
Something inside her gave way. Her hands shook as she opened the envelope. Inside were the divorce papers.
My name was signed at the bottom. All the evidence was attached—nothing she could fight.
Then the judge's name caught Nydia's eye. She quickly reached out to a colleague at the hospital—the judge handling the case was her boyfriend. As it happened, he was at the hospital at that very moment.
Without hesitation, Nydia rushed back to the hospital, heart racing.
She stormed into the office, her voice shaking. "Why did you take Emerson's divorce case? Why didn't you tell me?"
The judge already knew about our marriage. He didn't argue and said, "Aren't you single? If you won't acknowledge your relationship with him, then divorce is the best option."
After a beat, he added, "He skipped mediation. He doesn't want to talk anymore. Just sign the papers and leave him alone, and you'll finally be single."
Nydia froze. She didn't want this. She didn't want a divorce.
But I was already gone. She couldn't find me anywhere.
She flipped through the divorce papers again. Inside was a letter I'd written to her.
The moment I filed, I'd already let go. My tone was calm, even cold.
"Nydia, I loved you for six years. Two years chasing you, four years as your husband. When you finally agreed to marry me, I thought I had the whole world.
"After the wedding, when you started pulling away, I thought maybe you just weren't used to being a wife. So I gave you time. I tried to help.
"But I realized later. You weren't distant from everyone, just me. You were always gentle with your patients, kind with your friends.
"But with me? You held back. You stayed cold. I don't blame you for not loving me. But Nydia, people only have so much love to give. I'm tired.
"We're divorced now. I wish you and Jefferson the best. He's your light, and you are his salvation. I only hope my future is quiet, peaceful, and truly mine."
Her hands trembled, and her eyes turned red.
She would've preferred I yelled, fought, cried, or even begged. But instead, I just left her with a divorce petition and disappeared.
She finally realized. All that calmness the past month... it was just me getting ready to leave.
Nydia couldn't accept the divorce. No way.
She rushed back to the judge.
The judge was surprised by how determined she still was. He said, "But mediation's off the table. He made that clear. And his evidence is solid. Do you have any way to fight it?"
Nydia stood there, pale and cold.
"I didn't do anything wrong," she bit down hard and said. "He misunderstood. Everything is twisted."
The judge gave her a cold look. "Are you sure about that?"