THE LOST HEIRESS RETURNS AFTER DIVORCE
Chapter 77: Ride To Civil Affairs

Chapter 77: Ride To Civil Affairs

"What? No." She shook her head. "You’re going in for surgery. I can’t leave you to go get some certificate."

"Mommy, please," he whispered. "I want to come out of surgery and see you with your marriage certificate. It’s my last wish."

Heather stared at him. Her heart lurched. The phrase last wish made her knees weak.

"Alex, no." Sighed Heather.

"Please, mommy."

She wanted to keep saying no, to tell him this was ridiculous, but how could she? After everything the doctor had just said?

"Alright," she said quietly.

Knock. Knock.

Heather turned her attention to the door, a nurse walked in, pushing a small wheelchair.

Heather felt the air leave her lungs. She didn’t need anyone to tell her—it was time.

Her hands began to tremble. She didn’t know what to believe.

Her son, her baby, might not come back from the room he was about to be wheeled into.

This could be the last time she’d hold him. Or hear his voice. Smell the sweet warmth of his hair.

"I’m going to be fine," Alex whispered, reaching out and placing his hand on hers, as if he could feel the fear pulsing through her skin.

She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe in miracles. But her mind kept going back to what Caius said.

A 70/30 survival rate wasn’t something faith alone could fix.

Heather stood in the hallway, her hands clenched against her chest, watching as the nurse rolled him away.

Just before he turned the corner, Alex turned his head and gave her a small wave.

She waved back, biting her bottom lip hard to keep from crying out.

Then, the door closed behind him.

And he was gone.

...

Hangin’ ’round downtown by myself~

And I had so much time~

To sit and think about myself~

And then there she was...

Heather barely registered the music playing through the speakers at first. Her head leaned against the window, her eyes on the passing blur of buildings outside.

The city lights should have been distracting, should have pulled her thoughts somewhere else. But nothing could take her mind off where they were heading.

Her fingers clenched slightly against her bare skin. Her ruined dress felt like proof of how everything had unraveled.

The gown from the party, ripped at the side because Caius had torn it free when it got caught in the elevator doors. He had saved her life.

But in the process, destroyed the dress. Now, she looked like a mess. Like someone who had been through hell.

Her body even itched now, probably psychological, but real enough to make her uncomfortable.

I can smell the sex and candy~~

Heather exhaled sharply, shifting in her seat. "Do we really have to listen to this nonsense?" she muttered, yawning.

She hadn’t slept well and she barely felt functional.

Caius smiled slightly. "Why? You like this song."

"I would never listen to trash." She scoffed.

"Really?" Caius tapped his fingers casually against the wheel. "This is the song you picked for our wedding."

That made her stiffen slightly.

Right.

Back when she had made choices simply because Lauren made them.

Lauren had loved this song, even played it every day. And used to sing the lyrics word for word. And then, Heather used to mimic her.

She didn’t say anything, she simply turned her focus back toward the window.

They were heading to civil affairs to get their marriage certificate. Instead of being at the hospital with Alex, she was here.

Because Alex had insisted. He had waved them goodbye before heading into the surgery room, his voice filled with unwavering hope.

"I want to come out and see you with your marriage certificate. It’s my last wish." he had said.

Heather had almost cried at his optimism. At least he still had hope for his survival. Unlike her...she didn’t even know what to look forward to.

Caius pulled into the parking lot.

The car settled to a stop, but the music was still humming softly in the background.

Heather inhaled.

"If Alex doesn’t... make it..." She paused, swallowing hard. The words barely escaped. "We’ll divorce right away. I’m only doing this for him."

Caius turned off the engine. He was quiet for a moment.

"Then I hope he makes it." He said, before opening the car door and stepping out.

...

"We want to get a marriage certificate," Heather said, standing at the desk with her hands resting tensely on the smooth surface.

The woman behind the counter, middle-aged with soft brown curls and a name tag that read Miriam, offered a small smile before turning to her computer.

Her fingers moved quietly over the keyboard, searching through the system as the room filled with the soft clicking of keys.

Heather stood beside Caius, though she barely noticed him. Her mind was far from here.

She kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other, her sprained ankle still sore.

She tapped her other feet anxiously against the floor. Not to talk about wearing an oversized slippers.

She looked ridiculous and she didn’t care. Caius had offered to get a new dress and shoe, but she refused.

Instead, she wore the one he had in his car. She just wanted to get this over with and go back to the hospital to be with her baby.

The longer she stood there, the heavier her chest felt. Alex was in the hospital. He was in surgery.

Every minute away from him made her stomach twist even tighter. She didn’t care about this certificate.

She didn’t care about any of this. She just wanted to be with her son.

Miriam’s typing slowed. Then it stopped.

She squinted at the screen and leaned forward a little, her brow pulled into a puzzled frown. "Hmm."

Heather looked up at her quickly. "Is something wrong?"

The woman tilted her head slightly, scrolling through the page again. "According to the system... you’re still married."

There was a small pause.

Heather blinked slowly, as if she hadn’t heard right. "I’m sorry?"

"You’re still legally married," the woman repeated, her eyes still on the monitor.

Heather shook her head. "No. That can’t be. We divorced five years ago."

Miriam turned the screen slightly, not enough for them to read, but enough to show that she wasn’t making it up.

"There’s no record of a divorce in the system. No final filing. No court approval. Nothing."

Heather’s mouth opened, but no words came out. Her mind was trying to make sense of what she was hearing.

This had to be a mistake. A paperwork issue, or even something small. Something that could be fixed in a few minutes.

She turned to Caius slowly, her heart had already began rising with confusion. He was calm, of course.

Not surprised or confused. Just... still.

"Didn’t you—" she started, but stopped herself. Her voice felt dry.

"Can I see that?" she asked, looking back at the woman.

"Thank you." Caius interrupted swiftly. He rose from his seat. "We’ll be leaving now."

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