Meeting The One For Me

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.

can I expect your public apology tomorrow?” Audrey asked.

snapping

your

Chander 6

see me again.”

pressing him against the wall of a school

His expression

staying in isn’t safe. I said you could have the apartment, and

thank you. And goodbye,” Audrey replied curtly, also

was severed. She hoped this would

have a vacant apartment you

now.”

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,

you!”

head again, polite but distant. “No need to

pressed his lips together tighter as he watched

come to this,”

at the bus stop outside city hall, Audrey

Nathan would end. And yet, it seemed neither

his 22nd birthday: to marry her immediately, to celebrate his 26th

one had come true.

certificate after the wedding ceremony, proclaiming that there would only be widowhood between

two years of her life,

where they had registered their marriage,

and then placed the certificate into

out her phone to book a flight to Cloudmill for the next evening, a black sedan pulled up in front of her.

rear passenger window rolled down, revealing Ryan’s sharp, pale features.

phone and approaching the car. She bent down slightly and rested

driver’s seat, “What brings

City office,” he replied, motioning for Audrey to

got out and greeted her with a smile.

Audrey remained still.