Chapter 8: Point of No Return

The scanned document glowed on his phone screen, a stark, black-and-white monument to his failure. The legalese was cold, precise, and utterly final. Irreconcilable differences. The date stamped at the top was today. Melissa hadn’t just been upset. She’d been talking to a lawyer. She’d been planning this while he packed his bag, while he read to the kids, while he sat in church feeling sorry for himself.

The victory of the negotiation, the text from Joe Brian—it all turned to ash in his mouth. The Texas sun, once a comfort, now felt like a judgmental eye. The roar of a truck engine pulling into the lot made him flinch. He fumbled with his phone, shutting off the screen, trying to stuff the reality of it back into a digital box where it couldn’t hurt him.

The ride to the airfield was a blur of dust and despair. He sat in the back of the car, the signed divorce petition burning a hole in his mind. He thought of calling her, of begging, of explaining. But what could he say? I’m sorry I c