Husband In The Shadows - Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Jefferson froze. "At the bar, I thought he was just some guy chasing after you.
"I got close on purpose to scare him off. I had no idea he was your husband."
Everything suddenly made sense—and felt completely wrong.
Jefferson realized he'd messed up while trying to do the right thing. Regret hit him hard. And in that moment, he finally realized why I'd looked at him the way I did that night.
Nydia bit her lip. "But I can't find him. I've tried everything."
"Why'd you hide your marriage?" Jefferson asked, frowning.
Nydia went pale but didn't say a word.
Jefferson rubbed his forehead, thinking back to the things he'd said to me. His face darkened. "Nydia, that's not fair to Emerson."
Had he known Nydia had a husband, he would've never said anything that could be misunderstood.
He felt like he had only made things worse—like he had pushed our marriage even closer to the edge.
"If you still care about him, go find him," he said.
Nydia pressed her lips together. After a long pause, she whispered, "I can't. I've looked everywhere."
Jefferson didn't hold back anymore. "Nydia, people don't just disappear for no reason. If you really can't find him, maybe it means you didn't pay enough attention these past four years."
His words hit like a slap.
Nydia lowered her head, her chest tight with pain. "I hurt him. It's all my fault."
Jefferson opened his mouth, but then stopped. Thinking about how he'd acted, he felt like punching himself. He hadn't meant to cause any damage, but he did.
Without another word, he left.
Nydia crouched down and stared at the divorce papers scattered across the floor. After a while, she slowly gathered them up.
She thought maybe if she refused to sign, she could force me to show up. After all, I'd have to appear in court eventually.
Meanwhile, I had settled into life in Jaford City. The new job was chill, and the coworkers were easy to get along with. No drama. No stress.
Two weeks later, I got a call from the judge.
He said that since Nydia refused to sign the divorce papers, I needed to appear in court.
I frowned. "Can I just send my lawyer?"
"She won't agree to anything unless you're there," the judge said. "If you don't show up, the case will drag on."
I didn't think she'd go this far.
I frowned and said coldly, "Fine. I'll come when I finish work."
After wrapping things up at my job, I made the trip back to Ecirie City. A friend picked me up at the airport, and I stayed at his place.
When he heard why I was back, he nearly choked on his drink. "Wait. When the hell did you get married?"
It was a long story, but I gave him the short version.
After I explained, he nodded. "Bro, you better get that divorce. No guy in his right mind would put up with a wife like that."
Back in town, I still refused to see Nydia.
I'd already told the realtor not to sell the old house to her. Yet she offered double the price.
Hesitant, the realtor called me again and asked, "Your wife really wants the place. You sure there's no chance you'll work things out?"
Of course, I refused. I even told the realtor firmly not to share my contact information with Nydia.
I came back to finalize the divorce and sell the house. I'd already found a place with a yard in Jaford City. If I sold this one, I could buy that one outright.
So I wanted to move fast.
I told the realtor to list it at a lower price to speed things up. As I expected, more buyers started coming to check it out.
But when I saw one of them, I froze. It was Nydia's brother, Russell.