Chapter 3 DARKEST DAY.

~ JANE'S POV ~

The long, sleepless night had taken its toll as I lay in bed, my eyes fixed on the clock, willing the hands to move faster. I had been waiting for Logan's return, but as the hours ticked by, his absence grew more pronounced.

The silence was oppressive, punctuated only by the occasional creak of the house. As the first light of dawn crept into the room, I tossed off the covers, my body stiff from the prolonged wakefulness.

With a mix of anxiety and hope, I hurried to say my prayers, my words barely above a whisper. My heart was racing with the possibility that Logan might have slipped in during the night, and I hadn't noticed.

I rushed to his room, my footsteps light on the floor. We had been sharing different rooms for the past months and we only stay in the same room when ever he wanted to have sex with me.

As I pushed open the door, a wave of panic washed over me. The room was empty, the bed untouched, and the silence was deafening. My eyes scanned the space, as if expecting Logan to materialize out of thin air.

But there was nothing, no sign of him, no note, no indication of where he might be. The emptiness seemed to echo my fears, and I felt a knot forming in my stomach.

Where could he be? Why didn't he come home? The questions swirled in my mind, each one more urgent than the last. I stood frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do next.

Today was the day Mom was to be laid to rest, and Logan was nowhere to be found. I rushed back to my room, frantically calling his phone, then his office line, but all my calls went unanswered.

A wave of fury washed over me. How could he? Today, of all days, the day I was laying my mother to rest and facing everyone without Logan would be a terrible signal.

Despite my swirling nerves and fear, I couldn't afford to wait for Logan any longer. I was already running terribly late and had to get ready.

I quickly got ready and headed out of the estate to go with Kate.

"Hey Jane, so you mean Logan hasn't come back home since yesterday?" Kate asked as I opened the car door. She was the one taking me to the services. The dress code was strictly black, and she'd added a dark veil to her outfit.

"Yeah, I've tried calling his line and even tried contacting his office, but none of my calls are going through," I replied, settling into the car seat.

"That's so off. You're not supposed to go to these burial services alone, but nevertheless, you still have to attend. You can't miss this for anything," Kate advised as she started the engine and drove out of the parking lot and towards the venue.

"Yeah, let's just hope he shows up from wherever he's coming from," I said in a low tone, my shoulders slumping. My mood was already sinking.

We soon reached the venue of the burial, the air hung heavy with a mix of solemn quiet and hushed condolences. Everyone was gathering; all my mom's coworkers were present, and some of her closest friends also.

Everyone was dressed in all black, a sea of sorrow reflecting the weight of the day, standing as the priest began the mass. I stood close to Kate, who held my hand in a consoling way. My eyes darted around, scanning the faces, desperately searching for Logan. Maybe he'd decided to come a bit early, slipped in unnoticed. But still, there was no sight of him.

A cold knot tightened in my stomach with every passing minute. Was he truly not coming? The thought felt like a betrayal, a raw wound on top of an already gaping one.

The priest's voice, steady and soothing, was a distant hum as I fought to focus. Just as he began the eulogy, a ripple went through the back of the crowd. A sudden, noticeable shift. Whispers began to spread, hushed at first, then growing bolder. Heads turned, and a few people even craned their necks to get a better look. My gaze followed theirs, curiosity warring with a growing sense of dread.

Then I saw her. Mrs. Rita. Logan's mother. She swept in, a formidable figure even in mourning black, her presence alone enough to command attention. Her dark, expensive suit seemed to absorb the light, and her perfectly coiffed hair was impeccable. She was the formidable head of the firm my mom had worked for, a woman who always made her presence known.

Just as the murmurs about her arrival began to settle, another disruption followed.

A second car pulled up behind her, a sleek, gleaming black vehicle that looked utterly out of place. My breath hitched. The driver's door opened, and out stepped Logan.

My heart gave a painful lurch, a mixture of relief, anger, and utter confusion. Relief that he was here, anger that he was so late, and confusion about everything. But then, as he rounded the car, a second figure emerged from the passenger side.

A tall, striking woman with cascades of glossy hair and a face instantly recognizable from magazine covers and billboards. It was Anna, the popular newest model, Logan's ex from way back. The crowd, already unsettled, now turned into a buzzing hive of stunned whispers and shocked glances.

My mind reeled, caught in a dizzying whirlwind of disbelief and a surging fury so potent it threatened to swallow me whole. How dare he? How dare he show up late, to Mom's funeral, and with her? Anna. His ex. The sheer audacity of it left me speechless, my throat suddenly tight.

I didn't know whether to scream at him for his tardiness, or for the utter disrespect of bringing his former girlfriend, especially Anna, to this sacred, somber event. My fists clenched at my sides, nails digging into my palms, a desperate attempt to ground myself.

But this wasn't the time. This wasn't the place. This was Mom's day, her final goodbye, and I wouldn't allow Logan, or his incredibly inappropriate guest, to overshadow it. The last thing I wanted was to cause a scene, to add any more chaos to a day already steeped in unbearable sorrow.

I was still trying to process the agonizing reality of my mother's passing, and now Logan was showing up with his ex. It was too much. A protective wall instantly went up in my mind. I didn't want to think about it, not now.

I pushed the burning questions and the crushing anger deep down, vowing to deal with it all, to dissect every painful detail, once the service was finished. For now, I forced my gaze back to the priest, to the coffin draped in lilies, to the solemn faces of those who truly cared about my mother.

The funeral soon ended in a blur. Logan had slipped away with Mrs. Rita and Anna, but I knew I couldn't let it go. I found him in a quiet antechamber, standing by a window, his back to me.

"Logan," I choked out. He turned, his face unreadable, devoid of emotion.

"What do you want, Jane?" His tone was flat, chilling.

My anger flared. "What do I want? What was that, Logan? Where have you been since all this while I have been calling your line yet you chose to ignore my calls? And now showing up late, to my mother's funeral, with Anna? What were you thinking?" My voice trembled.

He sighed. "It doesn't matter, Jane."

"It doesn't matter?" I scoffed, a bitter laugh catching in my throat. "Our marriage doesn't matter? What's gotten into you?"

He finally met my gaze, a cold resolve in his eyes. "I'm not acting, Jane. I've been meaning to tell you." He stepped closer, his voice dropping. "I want a divorce. I'm not in this marriage anymore."

'Divorce?' The world tilted. This was why he'd been so cold, so distant. This monstrous, life-shattering decision.

"My lawyer, will send you the papers to sign." he continued,

I stared at him, shattered, tears streaming. "No," I whispered, broken. "No. You can't be serious. This can't be happening. Not now. How could you even... how could you bring this up today?

We just buried my mother, Logan! Is it because of... her? The person you just walked in with?" My voice was barely a whisper, alien even to my own ears, like my whole world was just, you know, falling apart right there and then.

His face hardened, twisted into this ugly snarl I'd never seen. "Well, 'that person' is who I actually want to be with, not you. So get that into your skull!" He practically spat the words, his eyes blazing with a cold fury that just sliced through me.

Then he just turned and walked out, not even a single glance back.

I didn't even know when my knees gave out. One second I was standing, the next I was just crumpled on the floor.

My life was a total mess. Three years I'd held onto this belief that we had a loving marriage, and it just ended. And with my mum laid to rest just hours ago, today was definitely the worst day of my life. I still couldn't believe it.

It honestly felt like some kind of awful dream.