Chapter 223

She was probably still waiting outside the courthouse, Haynes thought to himself with a hint of detachment. He remembered a similar situation. They had planned to visit a bridal shop to try on wedding dresses, but then Rachel had suddenly fallen ill. It was an emergency, and in the chaos, the dress fitting had completely slipped his mind. His phone had died at the worst possible moment.

By the time he remembered what he was supposed to be doing, it was already evening. He called Stella, only to find out that she had stayed at the store waiting for him all day. At the time, he thought she was a little foolish. If he was a no-show and unreachable, why didn’t she just leave?

But now, he felt something different. It was comforting, in a way, knowing that someone would be there waiting, no matter when he showed up. The day was still young, and heading over in the afternoon wouldn’t hurt, he mused.

“Haynie, Haynie? Are you even listening?” Rachel’s voice broke through his thoughts.

Haynes turned his gaze to her. Up close, he noticed how pale she still looked, a sickly shade of white.

“Yeah,” he murmured in a low voice. “I know.”

Rachel felt a pang in her heart. If Haynes really didn’t want to leave, he wouldn’t have said just “I know.” She bit her lip. He was still thinking about going to see Stella.

She glanced at Jasper, who caught her look and gave her a reassuring nod. Jasper stood behind Haynes. “Hey, Haynie, why don’t you keep Rachel company for a bit? I’ll go check with the doctor and see how she’s doing.”

Haynes nodded absentmindedly. About ten minutes later, Jasper returned with the doctor.

The doctor had a serious expression. “Ms. Pearce’s vitals are off. We need to run some more tests.”

Haynes frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Her initial test results were inconsistent. We need to verify with further testing to be sure.”

“Alright, let’s go ahead with that,” Jasper said to Haynes. “You’re taking Rachel to see that specialist tomorrow, right? Having a detailed report will help him understand her condition better.”

Jasper made a good point, and Haynes nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Stella frowned at her phone. The call had gone to voicemail. Why did Rachel’s condition have to worsen today of all days? Was it deliberate or just bad luck? If it was deliberate, it didn’t make much sense. No one wanted Haynes and Stella to divorce more than Rachel did. She had overheard that Rachel was stable after the emergency treatment. Even if they couldn’t finalize things in the morning, the afternoon was still an option. She just needed to reschedule her rehearsal with Antoney.

After making the necessary calls, Stella settled into a café across the street from the courthouse, sipping coffee while waiting for Haynes. She could have run errands or done other things, but she was eager to end this marriage. If Haynes showed up and couldn’t find her, he might just leave. So she stayed put. But as noon approached, there was still no sign of Haynes. Her phone was devoid of any texts or calls from him. She sighed and dialed his number again.

No answer! Haynes often didn’t answer when he was dealing with Rachel’s issues. Stella wasn’t too concerned. She patiently redialed his number, over and over. She had agreed to leave with nothing, and she was determined to finalize the divorce today, no matter what!

She didn’t know how many times she called, but finally, after what seemed like forever, the call was answered.