Later that night, June sat in Carson’s office with a straight face. Luis has gone to bed and she decided to meet with Carson regarding Rafael’s case.
Carson was happy to explain. “We tried everything to resuscitate him all to no avail. It’s concerning as the more he remains asleep, the slimmer his chances of waking up.”
“He will wake up,” June said with a determined look. “I believe he will.”
“Of course,” Carson said. “The fact that you are awake is a testament that hope is not lost. We will continue to try our best.”
“In the meantime, there are some things I’d like to run with you.” He cleared his throat. “Luis has been with me ever since the accident. Rather, I have lived with him in Rafael’s house, considering Mrs Beatrice is on house arrest.”
June’s eyes widened. She had almost forgotten that little fact. Her heart wrenched at the thought of Luis’s plight in all of this.
With Rafael and his grandmother out of reach, these past few months must have been gut-wrenching. Even Carson seemed affected by it. Stress lines could be seen on his forehead.
“I didn’t say that to make you feel bad,” Carson said, reading her disposition. “I just wanted to keep full transparency with you.”
He pulled out a drawer and picked a file. “I was going through some documents sent by Rafael’s lawyer.” June’s brows narrowed.
“Rafael wrote a will in case of his demise when he was diagnosed with cancer.” June’s throat felt parched and she could feel something coming.
“In this will, he clearly stated you as his wife and allocated something to you and Luis as a family.”
June frowned. “We got divorced.” She pointed out, “Unless this was done before the divorce, then-”
“I thought so too.” Carson interrupted politely. “I thought so too and did my research but the lawyer explained that this was done a day before he began his cancer treatment.”
June stiffened. She was certain. At that time, they were separated. She’d signed the divorce papers and left the house with her mother.
Why would he still state her as his wife?
“I know you have questions,” Carson said. “I thought the same when I saw it.”
“Is there something you want to tell me, Carson?” June asked, feeling sceptical.
“Rafael never filed for the divorce.”
June felt her jaw drop to the ground. “What do you mean? I signed the papers and handed them to him.” She recounted. “He already signed his part on the papers too. We divorced.”
“Did you receive notification from the court concerning your divorce? Or some proof that he filed for the divorce?” Carson asked and June shook her head.
She’d been so busy crying her eyes out and mourning her destroyed marriage. That was the last thing on her mind at the time.
“From my finding, his lawyer wasn’t even aware of the divorce. He didn’t draft the papers.” Now June couldn’t keep still.
“I’d appreciate it if you go straight to the point.” Her tone was impatient, and Carson sighed.
“Rafael never filed the divorce papers. His lawyers never drafted them nor were they aware of the case. I bet he got his assistant to draft something and made you sign it.”
June felt her world explode. “Why ever would he do that?”
“For starters, because he didn’t want to divorce you. I have pondered this for a long time. My best bet is that he never wanted to divorce you but didn’t want to have you around.”
Now June was upset. “That makes no sense.”
Carson nodded, “think about it, he suddenly decided to divorce you as soon as he was diagnosed with cancer. A piece of news he conveniently didn’t tell you.”
June could finally see the dots connecting, her heartbeat increased as she followed Carson’s theory.
“He probably didn’t want you to watch him go through that path. He thought he was going to die but held on hope that if he one day managed to beat the cancer, he could return to you.”
“He never divorced you, June. You are still his legal wife. This might be a tough pill to swallow but with Luis still tender and Mrs Beatrice serving her time, you are the only family member who can decide on Rafael.”
June was short of words while Carson let her process his words. He hoped that things wouldn’t come to this point but if they were going to move forward, there was a need for transparency.
“I am still his wife…” She muttered and Carson nodded.
“Unless you want to get a divorce right now, you are the first lady of Ambrose Corporation and Rafael’s wife.”
June was almost moved to tears. All this while, he let her hate him. Rafael accepted everything and took responsibility for the fact he had hurt her.
He never divorced her… Neither did he have anything to do with Clarence. He loved her. He never stopped. The thought brought tears to her eyes.
“There will be no need for that,” June said, surprising Carson who asked why before he could stop himself.
“I will not be divorcing my husband.” She said, “Not now. Not ever.” One could see she meant every word.
Although Carson was shocked at her words, he hid it perfectly. “Thank you.” He said after a while of silence. The rest of the conversation went smoothly and June decided to visit Beatrice’s confinement house.
If she was to return to being Rafael’s wife, she needed to make sure everything was in order and no one would come between them again.
They wrapped up the conversation and June returned to the ward where Luis lay deeply asleep. His features matured over seven months, and his eye bags were prominent.
Unknown to her, ever since the incident, little Luis barely slept. He spent his days and nights thinking, attending school or playing games. A routine that brought him to a deplorable state.
There and then, she made a decision. Luis would never know a day alone moving forward. She would see to it that he was taken adequate care of no matter the cost.
The next day, June informed Lucy of her decision to return to Rafael’s house to look after Luis. The decision was not taken well by Evelyn who looked forward to having her daughter back home but there was nothing anyone could do to change her mind.
Liam left for North City on pressing matters the night before, making it impossible to weigh in. After a long and tiring conversation, they agreed under the condition that Evelyn was to accompany her.
Soon enough, June returned to Rafael’s house, surprising Luis who was playing a jigsaw puzzle in the living room. Some things never change after all.
“Auntie?” Luis said with widened eyes when he saw Carson drag in her luggage. “You came back.”
June felt her heart squeeze at the uncertainty in his tone. “Auntie will never leave you again, baby.” She said with her arms wide open. “Come here,”
June remained in her spot, urging Luis to come to her. It took a while for the young lad to make a move, but she remained steadfast with an encouraging and loving smile.
Soon enough, Luis walked up to her in an embrace and she carried him like a child and kissed him on the forehead.
“We’ll be fine, baby.” She muttered, “I promise.”