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Chapter 1
Emma
Emma Wright couldn’t stomach another bite of the Beyond Chicken® sandwich in front of her, not after seeing Chad and his new girlfriend leave the courtroom arm in arm.
“Aren’t you gonna try to eat? We have to head back soon,” Lisa said, concern etched on her face.
Emma shook her head. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke, “I don’t think I can. I just want this all to be over.”
Lisa placed a gentle hand on Emma’s arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. “It will be soon. We just gotta head back in there and listen to the judge’s ruling on the divorce. That’s it; pretty soon today will be nothing but a distant bad memory.”
Emma took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, sweeping the auburn curls away from her face. She put in an extra effort getting ready for court this morning, knowing she would see her soon-to-be ex-husband Chad and his new girlfriend Ashley, who was blonde and fifteen years younger.
Lisa stood up, picking up the red plastic basket with Emma’s sandwich in it. “I’ll go up to the counter and have them wrap this up. You can eat it later.”
Emma nodded as she walked away, barely hearing what her friend had said. She stared out the window, sipping down the last bit of water from her Styrofoam cup. Her brown eyes gazed toward a tree, where she saw two birds swoop by. She watched in envy as they effortlessly soared through the air, landing gracefully on the rooftop of the Hadley Cove courthouse. Unlike the birds, Emma’s life hadn’t been so smooth over the past few months. She never imagined this day would arrive when she took her wedding vows over a decade ago.
Lisa walked back over and placed a hand on Emma’s shoulder. “Alright. Are you ready to go?”
“I guess it’s time to get this over with.”
Back at the courthouse, Emma walked toward her lawyer and sat down next to him. He wasn’t one of the most prominent attorneys in coastal Georgia, but he was all she could afford on her own. Lisa sat right behind her in the gallery. Emma glanced back at her, sending a small smile her way.
But when Chad walked back in with Ashley hanging from his arm, that small smile faded just as quickly as it had arrived. Why did he even bring her with him? Emma thought to herself. And why did she agree to come? As she continued watching them, Emma realized why. Ashley grinned at Chad and whispered something in his ear to make him laugh. She reached up to his lapel, picking off a piece of lint and then kissed him on the lips. He slapped her lightly on her behind as she took her seat.
Emma turned around and took a deep breath, fighting off the tears that had begun to sting her eyes. Nearly twenty years with this man, the memories, and the relationship she thought she had—and this is how it all would end. She dug into her purse and pulled out a tissue quickly, turning away from Chad to dab at her eyes.
Leaning forward, Lisa’s warm hand landed on Emma’s shoulder, kneading gently to ease the tension she felt there. “Don’t let him and that floozy get to you, Em. You’re worth more than both of them put together,” she whispered, her voice laced with sympathy.
Emma looked back at her and reached up to touch the hand on her shoulder, mouthing the words, “Thank you.”
Lisa had always been protective of Emma, and today was no exception. She looked over at Chad and stared daggers at him. “I could go tell him he’s acting like a total jerk. And while I’m at it, I’ll make him tell that girl to leave.”
Emma shook her head. “Lisa, I love you, but please don’t. I just want today to be as drama-free as possible. There’s already been enough arguing and shouting between us.”
Lisa sighed. “Okay. Just let me know if you change your mind. I have no problem telling Chad exactly what I think of him.”
Despite her somber mood, Emma couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. “I know.”
At that moment, the judge walked back in from his chambers. An officer followed him out and stood to the left of the bench. “Court is now back in session with the honorable Judge Williams presiding. All rise.”
Emma stood, smoothing out the knee-length black skirt she had worn, and kept her eyes straight forward. The last thing she wanted to do was look at Chad again. She knew the tears would come right back if she did. It was bad enough her eyes were probably red and puffy-looking. If only she could run to the bathroom to fix her face, she thought. But there was no time for that now.
“Please be seated,” Judge Williams instructed the court. Emma felt her heart pound against her chest as she settled back into her seat.
“Now that we’ve had a recess, it’s time to finalize the divorce between Chad Michael Jones and Emma Leigh Wright.”
The judge shuffled through the papers in his hands and began to read. “The combined assets of Mr. Jones and Ms. Wright, acquired during the time of their marriage, furniture, jewelry, etc., shall be sold, and the profits will be equally divided. Since Ms. Wright has refused alimony from Mr. Jones, she will keep all of her personal belongings, as well as full custody of Riley, the rescue dog they adopted together. Next, their place of residence at 1422 Muscadine Drive will be sold, with the profits being equally divided between Mr. Jones and Ms. Wright. This will conclude all conjugal property...”
Emma was overcome with emotion as a solitary tear rolled down her cheek at the mention of her house. The mere thought of it selling it tugged at her heartstrings. It had been a wedding gift from her grandfather. The home had countless cherished memories as she had grown up there. She had always envisioned it as the place where she would grow old and spend her twilight years sitting on the porch and watching the sunset every evening. Then again, Chad had always been in that picture too.
At that point, Judge Williams had finished reading and banged his gavel on the wooden block in front of him, declaring the court session over.
Letting out a slow exhale, Emma glanced over at Chad, wondering how he had reacted to the judge’s decision. She felt a knot in her stomach watching the smug expression form across his face as he shook hands with his lawyer. Turning toward Emma, he shrugged his shoulders and flashed her a pitiful smile.
Emma looked away, closing her eyes, and took slow, deep breaths. She silently counted backward from ten to recenter herself. Before she could finish, Lisa came to her side. “Are you alright?”
Emma nodded. “I just need to get home. While it still is home, anyway.”
