Josh’s Pov
If someone asked me where I got the energy or motivation to work up every day, I’d tell them it’s because of my mother. She had a hazy memory and couldn’t remember me, but her care home was my home ever since the day I laundered our dirty skeletons in public, and I spent the majority of the day there.
She recognized my face from the television and assumed I was a celebrity or actor. As a result, she tolerated and enjoyed my visits, and she was always waiting for me at the door with a newspaper about our family scandal.
Hearing her describe how the media was tearing us apart was heartbreaking, but it was the price I had to pay if I wanted to spend time with her. The good news was that she supported me and believed my father and Jessica were the bad guys. Which was only fair for anyone who followed the story.
The owners of the home allowed me to. I could only guess they felt sorry for me and pitied me. Every morning she would read me every newspaper on the face of the country that carried my story. She had no idea the old man that impregnated my wife was her husband or my father. At first, I would make her aware of that fact but she would think I was joking or trying to ruin her fun so I gave up.
But there were days when she remembered me and asked me about my life. Those were the special days, and I would just cry on her lap. I guess that was the main event for me though it was rare that she ever snapped out of it. One day she once asked for Thalia and whether I was ever going to ask for forgiveness from her and ask her back. I once saw that same question on social media but I had ignored it.
That was a question that I never wanted to ask myself. What would I say if Thalia stood in front of me? Did I have any regrets or remorse for what I and my father did to her? Was she to blame for my mother’s condition? Did her father’s success play a bigger role in my mother’s condition? A year ago I had clear answers to those questions but now I did not want to ask myself or anyone asking me those questions.
But there was a question that always resurfaced every night in my one-room apartment. Before I closed my eyes I asked myself if it was karma that I found myself in such a situation.
Yes, I was reduced into a one-room house, a small TV where I kept updated with the stock market. I had no idea why but I was waiting for Gentex to pop up or Thalia to buy it. But she had disappeared off the face of the earth.
There were some days when I was walking in the streets with my hood covered over my head and I could imagine her popping up and laughing the hell out of me. I always had such nightmares and woke up all sweaty.
So I decided I needed to move out of the city and start afresh but I had no money. The last money I had, I paid Kim for her services. I also needed money to keep up with my mother’s stay at the care home. But there was nowhere in the city that I would get a job without turning heads so I was caught in a rock.
My only option was selling the house but that was where the b*tch lived. My father had dumped her and was nowhere to be seen. He knocked her up and ran away, I had no idea where he was, and neither did I care. I think he knew if he showed his face I would finish him off.
I was going to sell the family house but first I needed to free myself.
I was in talks with Kim who for unknown reasons was on my side and ready to give council. I made it clear to her we were never f*cking or getting together. She was part of my toxic past that I needed to get rid of.
Not like I was not grateful for her help but I needed to start afresh. The surprising thing was that she understood and linked me up to one of her friends who was a divorce lawyer since she could not handle such cases.
I had a hundred percent advantage of getting everything and being granted the divorce because of the nature of my case. I was going to leave Jessica with nothing. There was nothing much to even take anyway, the only available thing was the house.
All of our other properties, cars were all gone, most of them before the bankruptcy. Whatever was left was taken by the banks. The house was the only thing that survived. I wanted it, I needed to sell it for my new life with my mother. I was going to be living with her. Something that I should have stuck with before those two devils convinced me otherwise.
With Kim’s connection, my case was already presented to a judge and even though Jessica was summoned she absconded and just decided not to show up. But on a brighter note, the divorce was filed in the courts.
What only remained was her signature which she refused to grant me. I knew she was playing hard and trying to get the world’s attention but I was going to put her in place. She wanted my attention and I was going to give it to her. My lawyer suggested we get a court official to serve her so that we could have physical proof that she received the papers and was only going against the court. But I went against him and took the papers myself.
I was told she was always found in the house so I was sure to find her home. I walked up to the door, the reporters seemed to have gotten bored of trying to get a story from her and had deserted the premises. The last time I passed through the area, I found them all swapped with reporters. I was surprised she never gave an interview considering how she always wanted to be the center of attention.
I knocked on the door but got no response, I knocked for the fourth time but got no response. I was left with no option but to call her, I had deleted her line but my brain somehow was able to recall it.
She answered it in seconds and came running to the door. She looked so terrible when she opened the door and her pregnancy bump was already showing. My skin crawled but I told myself to control my emotions. I could barely recognize her, I guess she had run out of all the cosmetics she hid behind.
“ooh my G*d, Josh, I knew you would come back for me,” she said and tried to hug me but I pushed her way and walked into the house. In my left hand were a pen and a recording phone while in my right hand were the divorce papers. I placed them on the table and asked her to sign them. I was in a hurry and needed to speak to a buyer soon.
She walked up to me and let out a mocking laugh, “I’m not signing anything,” she replied.
“Jessica, do not make things difficult for yourself, sign these papers and vacate this house by tomorrow.”
“Are you mad! Where am I supposed to go?” she asked.
“That’s none of my business, I am selling the house so do not embarrass yourself when the new owners come to throw you out,” I replied.
She moved away and walked to the kitchen like she had not heard what I said. I followed her with the papers, “Jessica be reminded that the Judge won’t go easy on you should I summon you,” I warned her.
“Do whatever you want! She yelled at me. And walked to the counter to pour herself a glass of water “You think im s*upid, you think after all the s*it I took from you, I am going to be homeless!”
“Get a f*cking job or better abort that s*it growing inside of you!” I replied.
She raised her eyes on me viciously and threw the glass she was holding at me without warning but I quickly ducked.
“That is the reason why you will never feel how it feels like to have your own child!” she yelled at me.
The words cut deep, I knew exactly what she was doing and I was not going to fall for it.
“Jessica there are other ways for me to get this divorce with or without your signature,” I replied but she only rolled her eyes and wished me luck. The good part was that she was an illiterate prostitute.
I walked out of the house and took the evidence to my lawyer who handed it to the judge who agreed with the recording and began the process of divorce with no consent. It was going to take longer than I planned but I was given the house since there was no contest. It was a win-win situation for me since the house was the major thing that I wanted.
