Chapter 11
ג
Jairus’s refusal to sign the divorce papers was the last straw.
I had given him time. I had given him space. I had played the part of the composed and indifferent soon–to–be ex–wife, even when he deserved nothing but my disdain. And yet, he still clung to me like a ghost refusing to be laid to rest.%
When the papers were returned unsigned, I didn’t bother confronting him at first. I told myself it wasn’t worth it. That I would simply refile, escalate it legally if I had to. But when I saw the envelope sitting on my desk, unopened and untouched except for the handwritten note scrawled across the front, my patience snapped.”
We need to talk.
Those four words. The audacity of them.”
I had spent years waiting for Jairus to talk. Waiting for him to choose me, to make me feel like more than just a fixture in his life. And now, after everything, after humiliating me, after making it clear that I was nothing more than an inconvenience, now he wanted to talk??
I didn’t give myself time to think. I grabbed the envelope, stormed out of my office, and made my way to his. The entire walk there, I felt my anger simmering and bubbling under the surface, ready to spill over. By the time I reached his office, I didn’t even knock.
I shoved the door open. The sound of it slamming against the wall cut through the silence of the room. Jairus who was seated behind his desk, barely looked up. He finished typing something on his laptop before finally meeting my gaze. It was as if I was just another task on his to–do list.
“Vanessa,” he greeted calmly. “I was expecting you.”
I dropped the envelope onto his desk. “Then why didn’t you sign it?”
He leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers together as he studied me. “Because I don’t think we should rush this.“@
A bitter laugh escaped me. “Rush? Jairus, we’ve been over for months. Hell, we’ve been over for years, if we’re being honest. This isn’t rushing. This is long overdue.”
His jaw tightened. But his expression remained neutral. “Divorce is a big decision. I think you’re making an emotional choice. Not a rational one.”
I scoffed. “Oh, you mean unlike your rational decision to flaunt your mistress in front of me? Unlike your rational decision to let everyone believe I was the reason we never had kids, when the truth is, you were the problem?“>
His eyes darkened. “That’s enough.”
“No,” I snapped. I stepped closer. “I spent years feeling like I was less, like something was wrong with me, while you played the devoted husband in public and ignored me in private. And now that I’m finally walking away, you want to act like this marriage is something worth holding onto? Spare me.“}}
His hands curled into fists on the desk. “Katie-”
I held up a hand. “Don’t. Don’t you dare bring her into this. You made your choice. You don’t get to be selfish now.”
Jairus exhaled sharply. Then he rubbed his temple. “I just think we should take some time before making this official. Think it through.”
now.”
“I’ve thought it through,” I emphasized. “I don’t love you anymore, Jairus. I don’t even hate you anymore. You’re just… nothing to me
Suddenly something flickered in his expression. Regret, maybe. Or maybe it was just the realization that I wasn’t bluffing.”
He opened his mouth. But I was already done. I reached into my bag, pulled out a pen, and slid it toward him. “Sign it. Or don’t. It won’t matter. I’ll file on my own, with or without your cooperation.“}]
I turned on my heel and walked out before he could say anything else.
And because simply removing him from my legal ties wasn’t enough, I made another decision. One that severed every last thread that connected us.”
I resigned from my job.“>
I had poured years into my work, climbing the ranks, proving my worth. But every inch of that office reeked of him. Every meeting, every contract I signed, and every whispered conversation in the hallways, it was all tainted by Jairus’s presence. By the empire he had built and forced me to exist within.
So I walked away from it all.
And then I took it a step further. I booked a flight out of the city. No destination in mind at first, just an overwhelming need to escape. When I finally settled on a place, it wasn’t for any sentimental reason. I just needed distance. Needed somewhere I could breathe without the weight of his name attached to me.
My vacation leave request had barely processed before I was at the airport. My bag slung over my shoulder. And my boarding pass was tucked between my fingers.”
I exhaled as I found my seat on the plane. I settled in as the weight of the past few months began to lift. I was finally leaving it behind. Leaving him behind.
And then, just as I closed my eyes, ready to embrace the relief of solitude, a voice shattered my moment of calm.
“Didn’t think I’d see you here, Vanessa.”
My eyes snapped open.
Jared Williams.
.
Was sitting beside me.>>
Of all the seats on this plane, of all the flights he could have possibly been on, he was here. With me.
I turned to him, incredulous. “You have got to be kidding me.“>
Jared smirked, adjusting his seatbelt like he belonged there. “What? A man can’t take a vacation?”
I narrowed my eyes. “You knew I was leaving. Didn’t you?”
He didn’t answer right away. He just simply watched me with that infuriatingly unreadable expression of his. Then, after a beat, he shrugged. “Maybe.”
12:31 PM ·
My eyes snapped open.
