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Chapter 6
Chapter 6
That night, Jake took the divorce papers and pounded on Sergeant Major Harris’s front door.
Bang bang bang!
Bang bang bang!
The porch light flicked on.
Mia, Harris’s wife, came to the door in her bathrobe.
“Captain Jake?”
“Come on in–what’s going on?”
Seeing how shaken Jake looked, she hurried to let him through the gate.
Jake didn’t say a word, just brushed past her and rushed inside.
Sergeant Major Harris was sitting on the couch, reading the paper.
He looked up, frowning at the sudden entrance.
“What’s going on?”
Jake’s jaw was tight as he thrust the divorce papers into Harris’s hands.
“When the hell did this happen? I never signed this!”
Harris froze for half a second–then it clicked.
He understood immediately.
“Mia, go make Jake a cup of tea.”
Mia nodded and went into the kitchen.
Jake stood stiff, still waiting for an answer.
His eyes were sharp, searching.
Harris sighed and said slowly,
“Five days ago.”
“Emily brought it to me herself. Said she wanted out.”
“I looked it over–the handwriting looked like yours.”
“So I signed off on it.”
Jake’s pupils shrank. He suddenly remembered.
The night he got back from his parents‘ place,
Emily had asked him to sign something.
But… she told him it was just a transfer form.
How could it have been… this?
“Sergeant Major, I didn’t know.”
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Goodbye, Captain: I Left the Army Wife Life–And Took His Reputation With Me
Chapter 6
“I thought it was something else.”
His voice cracked–dry and hollow, like someone lost in a desert.
Harris paused mid–sip, then set the mug down.
His expression didn’t change–he’d clearly braced for this.
Jake noticed.
His gut twisted.
“Why?”
This was a man who’d faced gunfire without blinking-
But now his eyes were red.
Harris was quiet for a long time.
Then,
“Jake, what exactly is going on between you and Jessica?”
Jake blinked.
“Jessica? She’s just a friend.”
Harris’s brow creased. He slammed the cup on the table.
“Jake Reynolds! You’re still in denial?”
Mia came back with a mug of tea.
She’d clearly heard the conversation.
Her kind face was gone–replaced by a deep frown.
“Captain Jake,” she said sharply.
“Let me tell you–other people aren’t blind just because you pretend to be.”
Jake flinched.
Finally realizing something was really wrong.
“Mia, what do you mean?”
She sat down next to Harris, crossed her arms.
“Let me ask you something.”
“Since Jessica came back, how many days have you actually been home with Emily?”
Jake frowned, thinking.
“Jessica had just finalized her divorce.”
“I figured she needed someone around for a bit.”
Mia scoffed.
“She doesn’t have other friends? Family?
It had to be you–a married man?”
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Goodbye, Captain: I Left the Army Wife Life–And Took His Reputation With Me
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Chapter 6
– Jake’s face darkened.
Mia didn’t let up.
“And when Emily went back to her hometown, you refused to go with her!
Her chest rose and fell–clearly furious.
Jake rubbed his temples.
“She told me last minute. I had things to handle.
I told her I’d go back with her once I finished.”
Mia’s tone softened–just a little.
“And what were you so busy with?”
“Did you ever explain that to her?”
Jake nodded.
“Jessica got sick. She was in the hospital.”
“I stayed a few nights to help.
I told Emily that.”
“You-”
Mia shot to her feet, pointing a finger right at Jake’s forehead.
Her whole body trembled with rage.
“Now I understand.
I finally understand why Emily chose to leave without saying a word.”
“If I had known you’d turn out like this, I never would’ve set you two up!”
“Disgraceful.”
Harris’s voice was low and tight.
His face had gone cold, eyes burning with a suppressed fury.
Jake’s hands trembled.
He could tell–something was very wrong.
Something he didn’t know.
A wave of dread crashed down on him.
“What happened?
Sergeant Major… Mia…
What else is going on?”
He clutched the divorce papers tighter.
Mia sighed. Her eyes shimmered.
“Do you know why Emily went back home so suddenly?”
with Ma
Chapter
Jake suffened.
His chest clenched.
Something happened… to her family?“.
Mia nodded, wiping her tears.
“Her father… passed away.”
“She went back for the funeral.”
Mia’s voice cracked with emotion.
“Captain Jake–that was Emily’s father.
Your father–in–law.”
“And you couldn’t even show up for the funeral.
Because you were playing nursemaid to another
Are you even a man?”
Bang!
Jake stumbled back, hitting the coffee table hard.
His lips parted, but no sound came.
All the color drained from his face.
“What…? No one told me.
Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
He remembered now-
Emily begging him to go with her.
Her face so pale when she returned.
He remembered that night when he said he’d have a drink with her dad-
and how her shirt was wet at the chest.
It all made sense now.
God. No wonder.
No wonder she left him like that.
Jake covered his face.
His whole body shook.
The guilt hit like a freight train.
Mia let out a bitter laugh.
“Don’t act surprised, Jake.
I told you.
I told you what happened.”
notation With Me
Chapter 6
Jake jerked his head up–eyes bloodshot.
“What?”
