Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 393

Nita’s divorce hearing with Jared was finally underway.

Her friend, Cathie Marshall, came along for support.

Both sides had brought their lawyers.

Nita filed for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences, backing her claim with evidence of Jared’s many affairs.

Jared had already made it clear he would never stoop to beg Nita to stay. He wanted to make her pay, so he agreed to the divorce.

On the surface, it seemed like an uncontested case—one that could have been settled at city hall with a simple signature. But the real battle began over the division of assets and, more importantly, the custody of their son.

Jared wanted custody.

This caught Nita completely off guard.

He’d always been cold and distant, never spending time with their child. To Layne, “Dad” was nothing more than a word, a vague concept.

Jared’s lawyer argued that Nita had been out of the workforce for years, a full-time homemaker with no means to provide for the child, and therefore unfit for custody.

But while Nita hadn’t expected this fight, she was prepared for it.

Her lawyer submitted evidence to the court showing that Nita had single-handedly raised Layne since birth, while Jared was almost entirely absent. She had chat logs to prove every time Layne was sick, she’d begged Jared to come home, and every time he’d refused or simply ignored her.

The most damning evidence, though, was a set of hospital records showing Jared had once been treated for a certain infectious disease—a clear sign of his reckless personal life and proof that he was unfit to care for a child.

Jared nearly lost his temper right there in court.

The lawyers erupted in a shouting match. Jared’s attorney insisted the medical records were private and inadmissible, that Nita’s team had violated his client’s rights.

Nita’s lawyer just spread his hands and fell silent, the implication clear: Maybe it was technically an invasion of privacy, but the facts were now on the table.

Furious, Jared decided he wouldn’t give Nita an inch.

It’s just a son, he thought bitterly—he could have as many as he wanted. After all, Cecilia was already pregnant with another.

That brought them right back to the issue of money.

Jared, as it turned out, didn’t have much to his name.

The house was purchased before the marriage, so it was his separate property. The cars—well, he owned several, but didn’t care much about them; he told Nita she could have them. They weren’t worth all that much anyway.

He even agreed to give Nita a lump sum, taken from the “gifts” he’d given his own parents—which, in reality, were just another way to move money out of reach.

Nita’s main goal had always been to get out, to put as much distance as possible between herself and her cheating, deceitful husband. She was prepared to leave empty-handed if she had to. Now, with these terms, she felt more than satisfied. All she wanted was for the judge to sign off on the divorce, and quickly—she couldn’t bear the thought of being denied the first time.

Fortunately, both she and Jared were determined to end things. The judge granted the divorce in record time.

Finally, she was free of him for good.

As Nita walked out of the courthouse, she was almost in disbelief. If Cathie hadn’t been holding her arm tight, she might have lost her balance.

To her surprise, Cathie had called Hanley to pick them up.

Right there on the courthouse steps, Hanley and Jared got into a fistfight.

Hanley, for his part, was the one who got punched. Watching his friend’s marriage fall apart, he actually felt sorry for Jared. Coming to pick up Nita felt like betraying his friend and rubbing salt in Jared’s wounds.

So when Jared stormed over and hit him, Hanley just stood there, letting him vent his anger, guilt gnawing at him.

But Cathie wasn’t about to let that go. Why did Hanley have to take the beating? It wasn’t Hanley who’d cheated or broken his vows. Why should he pay for Jared’s mistakes?