Chapter 4

The driver parked the car close to the house and Jane looked out the window at the house she had regarded as home for two years. Tears pricked her eyes but she held back intent on staying strong.

Caleb sighed and reached for her head forcing her to look away from the window and at him. “Whatever you do, never show how much this all affects you in public.” He paused to gauge her reaction before he continued. “You can cry all you want when you come home but never show them how much their actions bother you, ever.” His tone took on a stern, hard quality but Jane nodded understanding what he meant. “I would come with you but I feel you should do this on your own.”

Jane smiled gratefully, unshed tears shining in her eyes. “Yes, I need to do this on my own but I must thank you for the support.” She brushed away the tears. “You are right, I can’t let that bastard see me at my weakest.”

“Here,” Caleb said, stretching out a brown envelope and Jane smiled accepting it from him. “This is all you need in there. Once you have handed this over to him, he’d no longer have any power over you and then you can finally move on with your life.”

Jane nodded and for the first time that morning, she smiled, the first genuine one in days. “I can’t wait to see his face when I threw this at him and walk off.”

Caleb grinned and leaned back resting his back against the chair. “I will be here waiting for you.”

***

“I haven’t been gone for two days and you have already redecorated the place,” Jane said as she walked into the living room, shocked that the door was left unlocked. “Is that how badly you wanted to get rid of me?”

Marcus walked into the living room from the kitchen and almost fell on his face in shock. “What are you doing here and how did you get in?”

Jane scoffed and took a seat on the sofa, crossing her legs in front of her. “If you don’t want random people walking in then you should take security into consideration and ensure the doors are properly locked.”

He swore and glared, pointing his finger at her. “That doesn’t give you the right to just barge in uninvited, you don’t belong here anymore. I could call the cops and inform them that you are trespassing.”

Jane laughed, a hearty one feeling pretty good for the first time since he served her the papers.

“By all means, call them. Maybe they’d be happy to know how violently you tossed me out of my own house when the divorce papers had not been signed yet.”

He blanched and she grinned victoriously. “What do you want?”

Jane leaned forward and dropped the envelope on the table without meeting his gaze. “I brought you a gift. I am ready to set you free just like you always wanted.”

At his raised eyebrows, she explained, “The divorce papers signed and ready for your lawyers to process. Please have it sent to my lawyer through email before the week runs out. I’d hate to have to come here again.”

She rose to her feet when she finished speaking and walked to the door.

“Just like that? You’ve signed the papers?” Marcus asked and Jane almost laughed at the shock in his voice.

“You made it clear that you wanted nothing to do with me so why would I stay where I don’t belong?”

Having said that, she turned the doorknob and walked out of the house feeling like she had just won the lottery.

Caleb was leaning on the car when she walked out of the gate and her heart skipped at the sight of him. she didn’t have any feelings for him and yet seeing him like that made her happy. “All done?” he asked her, opening the door for her and she nodded with a satisfied grin.

“Yes. Now I just need to get my things.”

“Drive,” Caleb told the driver once he had entered the car.

Barely an hour later, Jane let herself into Abigail’s house feeling hesitant about what she had to do. If Abigail wasn’t home then perhaps, she could take the cowardly route and pack her things without having to face her lying face.

Unfortunately, as she walked into the living room, Abigail was on her feet running towards her, a look of genuine concern on her face. “Oh, my goodness cuz where have you been?” she asked and without waiting for Jane to respond, she continued. “I have been so worried about you, where did you go? Did you go to Marcus?”

Then she gasped as if realizing something. “Are you guys getting back together?”

Jane stared blankly at her cousin, applauding her in her head, for what a great actress and pretender her cousin was. She decided to play her game for a moment.

"Oh, of course... We've gotten back together. He said he was sorry that he was deceived by a certain woman which he regrets. He begged to have me back" she folded her arms and gave her cousin a curious look.

Abigail didn't know that she had tightened her jaw and clenched her fists, a look of disappointment crept on her face which made Jane enjoy the moment.

"Why, Abby? You look as if you're going to pass out. And you're sweating too"

"Oh, me? Of course not" she gave a small laugh and started using her hand to fan her face, and all she suddenly wanted was to run to the bathroom and call Marcus and yell at him for an explanation. But she knew Jane was watching her, so she had to keep her cool.

"I'm so happy for you, Jane. This is such good news. Who knew after throwing you out like a piece of shit, that he would come crawling back to you, right?" She gave a sarcastic laugh again.

"Who knows, right? He must have seen that this new lady is nothing but a snake, a liar, a manipulative bitch and an asshole!" Jane said angrily, almost losing herself.

"You're one lucky girl." She had a smile which didn't reach her eyes and walked over to Jane, pulling her to a hug. By this time, Jane was already fed up by her cousin's pathetic display.

Jane scoffed and pulled away before Abigail could hug her. Abigail frowned, a look of confusion on her face.

“You can cut the act now Abby, You don’t need to pretend to like me or even love me because I know it’s all fake.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” She walked back to the seat she had been on and picked up her phone searching for something then she turned the phone to face Jane and told her.

"I am looking for a bar online... We'll go there and celebrate tonight. Or are you leaving immediately because he wants you back?"

“Can you just drop the fucking act? Jeez, you are so shameless. I saw you Abby, I saw you yesterday in his office.” Jane shouted and clenched her fists in anger.

“You are such a pathetic excuse for a woman. How could you do that to me? I was married to that man! If you knew you wanted him then why didn’t you say so before we got married? Why did you feel the need to go behind my back and pull a stunt like this?”

Abigail scoffed, her face devoid of emotion and remorse. “Do you really wanna hear it?.”

“What’s worse? You have been seeing him for 3 years!”

“Alright! Nothing to hide anymore right?” Abigail rolled her eyes and grinned.

“I met him first and we were madly in love but we needed you for your brains you know?”

“What?!”

Jane opened her mouth to speak but Abigail cut her off.

“I gave him the permission to marry you because we wanted you to help him build the company. But now it’s all done, you’re of no use anymore.” She smiled and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Can today get any worse?” Jane staggered backward, feeling all used and shit. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

“Anyway, its over now, Jane. Now that you know, sign the divorce papers and leave us in peace!” Abigail barked.

“You are the most shameless woman I have ever met. I just have one thing to say to you,”

Jane walked closer to her and both ladies stared at each other for a while as tears flowed freely from her eyes “You will regret this.” She turned to walk away and stopped remembering something. “Oh, I already signed the papers so you should be married in a couple of months as you have always wanted.”

"Bravado cuss, bravado" Abigail grinned.

In a few minutes, Jane packed her stuff and was able to keep her cool and composure until she was finally out of the house. Right outside the house, she stood still, unable to move, feeling worn out and devastated as the tears rolled down freely from her eyes.

Caleb who was standing beside the car and scrolling through his phone stopped what he was doing when his attention was drawn to her. Quickly, he rushed to her and carried the box with one hand and held her wrist with the other.

"Come on, let's go home. It's done"

Without muttering a word, she walked with him like a zombie, quietly and with tears rushing down her eyes.