Chapter 4

• It took a few days for Adams and Alicia's divorce to finally be finalized, and Alicia had to wait until the divorce was finalized before she could leave Adams home.
• On the day that she was finally leaving, the joy Mrs. Bridget felt knew no bound, she even came over that day because she wants to watch Alicia leave, the woman they consider a disgrace.
• As Alicia struggled to bring down her suitcase, Mrs. Bridget was just standing at the door watching her every move, she was impatient to see her leave her son's home and kept on clicking her tongue in discomfort due to the time she was taking in bringing her suitcase down.
• "Can you just hurry already!" She snapped. "How long will it take for you to finally get yourself out of here!?" She questioned with an eye roll.
• Alicia heaved a deep breath, it wasn't like her suitcase was that heavy, but the little act alone seems to have tired her out. She waited a while to catch her breath before finally bringing it down.
• She slowly dragged her suitcase out, when she got to where Mrs. Bridget stood, she paused to look at her, to stare at the same woman who had once loved her dearly; the same woman she once considered her own mother. Her heart was in so much pain and all she wants to do at this moment was cry, but no, she's promised herself not to shed a single drop of tear on this day.
• "If you're done staring you can get your barren lowlife self out of this house!" Mrs. Rose voice jolted her out of her thoughts.
• Alicia shook her head, her eyes holding nothing but pain and disappointment. For the few days that she stayed here while the divorce was getting finalized, she had thought she would see Adams, but he hasn't even been home for days, it's like he's avoiding her, like he really doesn't want anything to do with her anymore. The only person that came home was his mother, and she didn't fail to hide her joy that they were finally getting divorced. She made sure to shower her with so much insults, while calling her barren and a failure, only that this time, Alicia didn't fold her hands and take in everything, she stood up for herself, after all, she'll be divorcing her precious son, so there's no need to give her any respect when she doesn't even deserve it.
• "Get going already, Alicia!" Mrs. Bridget snapped. "You're wasting time and I hate it." She added.
• "I truly never expected this from you or your son, but mark my words. I will prove it to you that I'm not the weak woman you and your son think of me to be, I'm not weak and I'm going to be successful. The career you keep mocking me about, I'll excel in it and one day, you all will be on your knees begging me to forgive you!" She said with gritted teeth, glaring at Mrs. Bridget with so much hate in her eyes.
• Mrs. Bridget couldn't help but laugh at her words. "We'll see about that, Alicia. I wish you a good life, and sorry to any unfortunate man who will eventually choose to pick up the trash my son has throw away." She fired.
• "No, sorry to you and the unfortunate woman that'll choose to be with a man like your son. A man who can't even do anything by himself, and would rather send his mother to do his own bidding!" She retorted, staring deep into her eyes.
• Mrs. Bridget face was red with anger, she couldn't even stand her presence anymore. "Get lost!" She barked. "And take this with you." She brought out a little brown envelope from her purse and threw it at her. "Adams last parting gift to you.'' She smirked.
• A part of Alicia wanted to leave it on the floor, but another part was curious to see what was in it. She looked at Mrs. Bridget, then the paper, as if contemplating on what to do.
• "Go ahead and pick it up, I'm pretty sure you'll want to know what's in the letter." Mrs. Bridget urged.
• Alicia heaved a deep breath before slowly bending to pick it up. She opened the envelope and brought out the letter in it. As Alicia read the content of the letter, tears welled up in her eyes, and no matter how hard she tried to hold back her tears, she just couldn't do it. She didn't want to believe that Adams would write such a thing to her, but this was his handwriting, so it's useless not to believe that he wrote this letter.
• The letter was filled with so much insults, he told her how he regrets marrying her in the first place, how happy he was to finally be able to get rid of her, he also said the sight of her disgust him, and that's the reason he didn't even come to see her. He himself called her a failure, and also mentioned that no one would want to ever be with a woman like her. So much was said in the letter that she almost couldn't believe that Adams would say such things to her.
• That letter was the final straw that shattered her heart. That letter filled her with so much pain, regret and hatred. The tears in her eyes continued to flow uncontrollably.
• "I'm pretty sure Adams already made everything clear to you, so shu away." Mrs. Bridget waved her hands to her like she was chasing away an animal.
• Alicia didn't bother to say anything else to her, she just grabbed her suitcase and left, not bothering to take one last look at the place she once considered her home.
• That same day, she decides to leave the country, she wanted to be so far from Adams and everybody, she didn't want to continue living in a place that's only brought her so much pain and heartache, she's going to leave Seattle and start her life afresh in another country. She used part of the money she's been saving to create travel documents and left the country for London.
• She made a promise to herself never to return until she was successful, the child in her womb only fueled her determination to work hard until she was successful, just so she can give her baby the better life her baby deserves and also prove to her ex-husband and his family that she can be successful without their help.
• All this she vowed to achieve no matter how long it takes.
• ***
• The day Alicia left was the day Adams returned from his business trip, and he came to meet an empty house, he searched everywhere for Alicia, but she was nowhere to be found.
• Adams immediately went to his parents home to inform them about Alicia's disappearance, and Mrs. Bridget told him that Alicia already left after signing the divorce papers.
• "Divorce papers? What divorce papers?" Adams asked in confusion.
• "The ones you signed." Mrs. Bridget stated the obvious.
• "I didn't..." Adams trailed when he suddenly remembered. His eyes widened with shock as the realisation hit him hard.
• Due to how things were, he had prepared he and Alicia's divorce documents and signed them, but he had kept those documents in his office at home, so he has no idea how his mother was able to get her hands on those documents.
• He hasn't even talked to Alicia about this because he wasn't sure about wanting to divorce her, and now that this has happened, he's now sure of what he wants. Having those divorce papers was a mistake, he never should have done them, and he should have destroyed those papers before going on his business trip.
• Rage flashed in Adams eyes. "What have you done, mother?" He asked, staring at his mother with so much anger in his eyes.
• "I've helped you." Mrs. Bridget replied in an isn't it obvious tone. "It's a good thing I and your father visited your home after you left, and that's how I was able to see the divorce papers you kept in your office, and I've done you a huge favor by giving them to Alicia."
• "But I don't want this divorce!" Adams thundered. "I don't want to divorce, Alicia. What the hell have you done, mother? What right do you have to do this? Couldn't you have mind your business and leave things the way they are?"
• Mrs. Bridget furrowed her brow in confusion. "I...I don't understand." She scoffed in disbelief. "If you didn't want to divorce her then why have the divorce papers made, and you even signed them!"
• "I..." Adams ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I wasn't sure what I wanted, but now I know that I don't want to divorce Alicia. Having those divorce papers was a huge mistake, and I should have destroyed them before leaving."
• None of this matters to Mrs. Bridget, all that matters to her is that she's finally managed to get rid of Alicia. "Well, it's useless crying over spilled milk. What's done is done and we can't change it. You should be happy because you did the right thing by getting rid of that barren woman.''
• "Don't call her that!" Adams fumed. "I swear to God, mom. If you hadn't been my mother, then I would have made you regret your actions in the worst way possible." He balled his fist in rage, trying so hard to control his anger.
• "I'm going out there to look for my wife, and you better pray I find her." He turned to leave, but his mother stopped him.
• "You should at least see what she left you before leaving." She went to grab her purse and brought out a letter from it. "Alicia wanted this divorce, and she didn't even hesitate to sign the papers." She said as she gave him the letter.
• Adams snatched the papers from her hand, and hurriedly opened it. The handwriting was Alicia's, and when he read the things she wrote, his heart broke, he never knew Alicia despised him this much, he never knew she regrets getting married to him.
• Adams couldn't afford to break down in front of his parents. He glared at his mother, shook his head in disappointment before leaving.
• Mrs. Bridget kept on calling out to him, but he completely ignored her. All he needs right now is a private space where he can express all his emotions.
• So this is how it all ends; his marriage with Alicia.
• Who would have believed that the woman he loved dearly harboured such hatred for him.
• ****
• A month later....
• It's been a month since Adams and Alicia's divorce; a month since Alicia left without a trace.
• His parents didn't want to waste anytime in getting him a new bride. They already found a lady who was perfect in their eyes and they've even started making the wedding preparations for Adams and his new bride who they had full confidence in her fertility.
• Although Adams wants nothing to do with this wedding. He clearly told his parents that he wasn't interested in getting married to anyone, but they completely ignored his refusal, and began preparing for a wedding that Adams had sworn to not even participate in.
• Adams soon caught a terrible flu and had no other option than to visit the hospital to get checked and given proper treatment. The hospital he went to was the same hospital Alicia had visited a month ago since that's more like a family hospital, it's the hospital everyone in his family gets treated.
• He's already made an appointment with the Doctor, so when he arrived, he simply made his way to her office. He got to her office and knocked on the door, few minutes later, he was ushered in.
• "Welcome Mr Adams." The Doctor greeted with a bright smile on her face.
• "Good day Doc." Adams replied while taking a sit.
• "How are you feeling?" The Doctor asked.
• "Sick." Adams replied, he instantly covered his mouth with his handkerchief and coughed into it.
• "So sorry Mr Adams, I assure you that you'll be fine since you'll be well taken care of." The Doctor said, and Adams nodded in reply.
• She was about asking him more questions when Alicia crossed her mind.
• "Pardon my manners Mr Adams, I forgot to ask about your wife Mrs Alicia."
• Adams was about correcting the Doctor and telling her of his divorce, but she beat him to it.
• "And yes, how's the baby too? Hope she's taking good care of herself and being extra careful with things?"
• Adams frowned deeply. "What? What are you talking about Doctor?" He asked, confusion written all over his face.
• He was surprised to hear her ask of a baby when he knew his ex-wife wasn't even pregnant.
• "You didn't know?" The Doctor asked in surprise.
• "Know what?" Adams asked, his heart already beating so fast.
• "Mrs Alicia came to me a month ago to take a pregnancy test and it was confirmed that she was 2 months pregnant. She was so excited that day, I've never seen that kind of happiness before and she was going to tell you about it, so....I'm quite surprised at your reaction to my question."
• Adams couldn't believe his ears, it felt like he was in a dream or maybe he must have heard wrong.
• "I...I...I don't get it Doctor, what are you saying? I'm certain that you must be mistaken, Alicia? Pregnant?"
• "Yes Mr Adams." The Doctor confirmed. "I know what I'm talking about and I'm not mistaken because I took the test myself."
• "Your wife Alicia is pregnant."
• "She's carrying your child!"
• At this moment, it felt like a bucket of ice has been poured on Adams, he sat there frozen, the Doctor's words repeatedly ringing in his ears.
• "No....this can't be possible."
• "It isn't possible!"