My Husband Faked His Death Chapter 03

My Husband Faked His Death Chapter 03

The next morning, I went to the Social Security Administration and filed the paperwork to have Jake declared dead.
After that, I went to Lily’s house.
Her door was shut tight. I rang the bell again and again before she finally answered.
She was wearing a silk robe, leaning against the doorframe.
Love marks trailed from her neck down to where the fabric covered.
“Oh, it’s you. What do you want?”
My gaze moved from her neck to her face, meeting her contemptuous eyes.
“Jake’s memorial service. I hope you’ll come. After all, you’re his best buddy.”
Lily rolled her eyes, her voice sharp.
“Mia, you’re Jake’s wife! He’s missing—no body found. Instead of looking for him, you’re holding a memorial? What if he’s not dead? You’re cursing him. What kind of wife are you?”
I pulled out the freshly issued death certificate and smiled. “Buried in the snow for three months. I couldn’t find him, so I had him declared dead. Weren’t you the ones telling me to move on?”
When the news first came, I had fainted. When I woke up the next morning, all of Jake’s buddies were gathered around my bed.
“Mia, the place where Jake went missing is treacherous. It’s nearly impossible to find him. Maybe just let it go.”
“Yeah, that place is too dangerous. You really shouldn’t go.”
I struggled to my feet, bought a ticket, hired a search team, and rushed into the mountains.
I searched for half a month without sleep.
Back then, I hadn’t noticed that none of Jake’s so‑called buddies had any worry in their eyes—only mockery.
As I finished speaking, a loud crash came from inside Lily’s room.
Her face changed. She threatened me, “Mia, don’t pull any stunts. Otherwise, when Jake comes back, he won’t let you off.”
I ignored her, just like last night.
Lily glared at me and slammed the door.
Muffled arguing drifted out from inside.
Now that the death declaration was done, Jake couldn’t sit still anymore. But I wouldn’t let him find me.
He had been missing for three months. It wasn’t unfair for me to disappear for a few days too.
I grabbed the suitcase I had packed earlier and asked my best friend Emma to book a hotel room for seven days under her name.
Over the next few days, I either bought things for the memorial or stayed in the hotel.
When Emma came to visit, she looked gleeful.
“I heard someone’s going crazy looking for you. Turning half of Los Angeles upside down.”
I glanced at the missing person report playing on TV and smirked.
“So what if he turns it upside down? If I don’t want him to find me, he won’t. He said he’d only show up after I’d gone crazy looking for him. Why can’t he sit still now?”
“Serves him right. I don’t know how someone like that exists in this world.”
She was getting worked up. I stopped her. “Stop cursing. Today’s my husband’s memorial. I should be grieving.”
I pulled out my makeup bag and covered my healthy glow with cosmetics, painting on a look of unbearable sorrow.
After confirming with Emma that I looked appropriately haggard, we headed to the memorial together.