Twelve Years Of Salvation, Six Months Of Betrayal Chapter 08

Twelve Years Of Salvation, Six Months Of Betrayal Chapter 08

He stopped just short of me, hesitant to step closer.

I looked at him calmly.

“Have you seen the papers? If there’s no problem, sign them. Anything you want to negotiate, talk to my lawyer.”

“I’m not signing!” His voice was urgent.

“Emily, please don’t leave me. I admit, I did a lot of things wrong these past six months. But those things Sophia said I told her? I never said any of that.”

“I pulled the security footage. The night I was with her, she drugged me.”

He looked at me, his voice cracking. “I was set up, Emily. It was never about her. My heart has only

ever been yours.”

A gust of wind blew through, scattering dry leaves.

I listened quietly to his confession. I just felt like laughing.

“Are you done?”

He froze, then nodded slowly.

“James.” My voice was soft, almost carried away by the cold wind.

“Do

you think that as long as you can prove you didn’t cheat, didn’t want the child, didn’t say those awful things, that makes you the innocent victim and I should just forgive you?”

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

“But so what? The truth doesn’t matter. What matters is that for four years, you were secretly

taking care of another woman. Being a father to another woman’s child.”

“What matters is that when I was shaking with fear because you were late, you thought I was just being dramatic.”

“What matters is that you brought that woman to my door and gave her the chance to use my deepest wounds to humiliate me.”

I paused and looked at his ashen face.

James swayed on his feet like he’d been gutted.

“You see?” I smiled slightly. “You never even gave me basic trust. The only reason you feel bad now

is because you realized you were used. That’s when it hit you, you were a fool.”

I turned away from him, pulled out my keys, and swiped my building pass.

“Sign the papers, James. Keep whatever dignity you have left.”

The gate clicked

hind

me, leaving him standing there, tears unseen.

My lawyer told me that

He took nothing.

fter that meeting, James finally signed.

He transferred every cent, savings, the house sale, everything, into my account.

The day I got my divorce papers was sunny.

Outside the court, James stood at the bottom of the steps.

He held the certificate in his hand, not looking at me, his head down.

“I requested a transfer to a remote rescue station,” he said quietly. “It’s dangerous. Maybe one day

I won’t come back.”

I tucked my copy of the papers into my bag and zipped it shut. I felt light, unburdened.

“Okay. Take care of yourself. Goodbye.”

His shoulders flinched. He finally looked up, his eyes red, and gave me one last look.

“Emily, I’m sorry. I hope… I hope you find happiness.”

I didn’t answer. I turned and walked toward the taxi I’d hailed on the curb.

Some roads, once you reach the end, there’s no reason to look back.

After the divorce, my life found its rhythm again,

No more anxious waiting, disinfectant smells, or constant emotional drain.

Six months later, I was leaving work when someone blocked my path.