Chapter 6
Melted snow pooled on the uneven cement road, trampled into a messy slush by passing pedestrians.
“Wait here. I’ll go in,” Audrey said, pushing open the car door.
Nathan unfastened his seatbelt in the passenger seat. “I’ll come with you to ensure you don’t run away.”
Nathan and Lucas followed Audrey, carefully avoiding the muddy water collected in the potholes. They frowned as they surveyed the crowded and chaotic shantytown.
“Why are you living here?” Lucas asked, his gaze shifting away from a pile of garbage on the street, his brow furrowed with concern. “Even if you don’t want to stay in the dorms, you could’ve come to Jen’s. This place is dirty and unsafe for a lady like you.
“It’s okay,” Audrey responded. She didn’t want to claborate.
Staying in a hotel was too expensive, and she couldn’t afford to spend her savings from part–time jobs.
She hadn’t planned on staying in Sheysea City for long and didn’t want to sign a long–term contract for an apartment.
Despite the poor conditions, the place was the quickest and cheapest short–term rental option she could find after moving out of the apartment two days before.
They walked deeper into the secluded area, eventually stopping in front of a wooden door with a lock.
Nathan’s frown deepened.
Audrey didn’t invite them in. She unlocked the door then quickly retrieved the documents she needed from a drawer.
The wooden door seemed flimsy, and the interior was small. It had a bed, a simple wardrobe, a pile of books neatly stacked on a table, a chair, some old kitchenware, and no bathroom. Yet, the bedding was tidy, the old headboard and table were clean, and the floor shone from being freshly mopped.
Audrey locked the door and turned to them, “Let’s go.”
The ride from the neighborhood to city hall was silent. Everyone was lost in their thoughts.
At city hall, the staff noticed both Nathan’s and Audrey’s injuries. Before issuing the divorce certificate, they uttered the same advice they gave all couples.
As he looked at the certificate in his hands, Nathan found the process unbelievably smooth.
“We got the divorce certificate. Nathan, can I expect your public apology tomorrow?” Audrey asked.
“Okay,” Nathan responded, snapping back to reality.
Audrey stood up and said. “After r your apology I’ll leave Shares in immediatel
Chander 6
will never see me again.”
Nathan’s grip on the certificate tightened. The image of Audrey pressing him against the wall of a school building flashed through his mind.
He stood up, shoving the certificate in his pocket. His expression was dark as he spoke, “The place
u’re staying in isn’t safe. I said you could have the apartment, and I won’t take it back. You
“No, thank you. And goodbye,” Audrey replied curtly, also putting the divorce certificate into her coat pocket.
With the certificate, her final tie to Nathan was severed. She hoped this would never meet again.
Seeing Audrey refuse Nathan’s gesture, Lucas offered, “I have a vacant apartment you can use for
now.”
She shook her head. She pulled her scarf over her mouth and nose, leaving only her clear, cold eyes visible. “I’ll withdraw from the case shortly. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.”
“I’ll take you!” Lucas said.
Audrey shook her head again, polite but distant. “No need to trouble yourself. It’s out of your way.”
Nathan pressed his lips together tighter as he watched her swift departure,
“I never thought it would come to this,” Lucas remarked.
Sitting at the bus stop outside city hall, Audrey gazed at the divorce certificate, lost in thought.
She never imagined this was where her journey with Nathan would end. And yet, it seemed neither of them was to blame.
She vividly recalled Nathan’s wishes on his 22nd birthday: to marry her immediately, to celebrate his 26th birthday with their child, and to grow old together.
Only one had come true.
Audrey still remembered Nathan’s intention to burn their marriage certificate after the wedding ceremony, proclaiming that there would only be widowhood between them, not divorce.
To Audrey, who had lost two years of her life, it felt like it had happened yesterday.
Standing outside city hall, where they had registered their marriage, holding their divorce certificate. felt too ironic.
Audrey rubbed her sore and swollen eyes and then placed the certificate into her bag.
As she took out her phone to book a flight to Cloudmill for the next evening, a black sedan pulled up in front of her.
The rear passenger window rolled down, revealing Ryan’s sharp, pale features.
Audrey glanced around before locking her phone and approaching the car. She bent down slightly and rested her hands on the edge of the window.
She asked Ityan, seated behind the driver’s seat, “What brings you here?”
“I was visiting the Sheysea City office,” he replied, motioning for Audrey to get in the car.
Sitting in the front seat, Ryan’s assistant got out and greeted her with a smile. He moved to open the car door for her.
But Audrey remained still.
Gazing at Ryan’s distinctly defined features, she said cautiously, “Mr. wiser to pretend we don’t know each other in the future.
bert, I think it might be
“Given your frequent appearances in the media, there’s a risk. If the press spots us together, our similar last names and looks could draw unwanted attention from the Yeomans family, maybe even drag the Lamberts into it. It’s better to avoid complications, don’t you think?”
She noticed an approaching bus and added, “The bus is almost here, Mr. Lambert.”
“Get in the car,” Ryan said, his voice deep and commanding.
Audrey’s fingers curled slightly.
The bus driver honked impatiently, urging the sedan to drive ahead. Yet, Ryan remained calm, seemingly content to wait as long as it took. His gaze on Audrey was steady.
At the last second, as the bus pulled into the bus stop with its horn blaring, Audrey finally conceded and got to the car.
Once inside, someone called Ryan about work before Audrey could tell the driver where to drop her off. She noticed that he still had an incomplete document on his lap. She turned on silent mode on her phone, trying to stay quiet and not disturb him.
But news of her and Nathan getting a divorce had already spread. Her phone buzzed with messages, vibrating continuously.
After hanging up the phone, Ryan uncapped a pen from his suit pocket.
He turned to Audrey, who was busy deleting contacts on her phone. He asked, “Why aren’t you at the hospital?”
Without looking up, Audrey replied, “Nathan is going to make a public apology to me tomorrow, so I came to get the divorce certificate.”
Ryan’s hand paused.
Were they divorced? This was an unexpectedly swift development.
He remembered the first time he sensed the budding relationship between Nathan and Audrey. He had told her that Nathan was suitable as a friend but not fit to be part of her future.
Audrey, 17 then, had her hair loosely tied in a high ponytail. She wore a loose, off–white batwing shirt, slim–fit black jeans, and white sneakers. She carried a backpack on her shoulders.
Looking up at him with clear, bright eyes, she resembled a cautious yet stubborn hedgehog
