Chapter 5

Before I knew it, the car was already at the gate to my building.

I hopped out, waved goodbye to Olivia, and made my way home.

"Wait up," Olivia called out, jumping out of the car after me.

"You still haven't told me your name," she teased.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Kate, Kate Rivers. Honestly, I'm probably older than your mom. Do you really wanna be my friend?" I joked.

Olivia grinned, "Oh, really? You look so young."

I smiled shyly at her compliment. "Get back home. It's chilly tonight, and you're just in a dress. Don't catch a cold."

"Great. Here's my card. If you ever need anything, just give me a call, or stop by anytime. You're always welcome," Olivia said with a grin as she handed me her business card.

I smiled and nodded, watching Olivia leave.

"Mom, who's that?" Jason suddenly popped up beside me, craning his neck curiously to watch Olivia drive away.

As soon as I saw Jason, my good mood went out the window. I forced the smile off my face and grumbled, "Where did you come from?" Without waiting for his answer, I marched straight toward home.

He scurried after me. "I was at the study lounge! Seriously, Mom, who was she? Why were you getting out of her car? She was gorgeous. And that car... You've got to introduce me."

I opened the door and snapped, "Why do you always have a million questions?"

And then I caught the scent clinging to his clothes. A stale cocktail of cigarette smoke, cheap beer, and that cloying, heavy perfume you only found in those back-alley massage parlors.

I shot him a glare. "You really expect me to believe you just came back from the study lounge?"

Jason couldn't even meet my gaze, his eyes darting everywhere before he scratched his head and huffed, "Whatever. Don't tell me. See if I care."

Then he bolted, ducking into his room like his life depended on it.

I rolled my eyes and muttered under my breath, "Hopeless."

Jason's shouting brought Donna stumbling out of her room. She frowned and scrutinized, her eyes sharp. "So, where have you been? Off with some man? Couldn't even be bothered to come home and make dinner. Need I remind you, my son is still alive?"

"Alive, dead—is there much of a difference with your son?" I shot back, rolling my eyes. I didn't have the energy to waste on her. Tomorrow was too important. I turned to head to my room.

Donna looked like she wanted to clap back, but couldn't think of anything, so she just tossed out a snarky, "Oh, got yourself some new clothes, huh?"

I was about to head inside, but her words pressed all my buttons. Like hell I was letting her get away with running her mouth.

I turned on my heel, marched right back, and did a little twirl to show off the outfit. Then I held up five fingers right in her face. "Sure did. Brand new. Feel that quality? That was a cool hundred and fifty dollars."

"A hundred and fifty?" Donna's face contorted in outrage.

She glared at me, her voice a venomous hiss. "Just how old are you, prancing around in flashy rags like that? Squeezed into that thing like a stuffed sausage. Don't you have any shame?

"You waste 150 bucks on that, and you still haven't handed over this month's household money."

I put on my most innocent face, blinking slowly. "Household money? Shouldn't you be asking your son for that? After all, isn't he still kicking?"

Then I feigned a gasp, slapping my hand over my mouth. "Oh, silly me. He's not dead, is he? He's just vanished off the face of the earth."

With that, I strutted back into my room, leaving Donna standing there in the hallway, seething and helpless, practically ready to explode.

The next morning, I got up early, grabbed all the paperwork needed, and then made my way to the courthouse.

'If I can't get hold of him, let the police and the judge deal with it,' I thought wryly.

"Hi, I'm here to formally report my husband as missing," I told the clerk at the window.

After I handed over all the documents proving he had vanished, it was just a waiting game. Once the court officially declared him missing, I'd finally have the legal clearance to file for divorce.

But no way was I letting him walk away that easily.

Reporting him missing was just my trick to drag him out of hiding.