Semua Bab Not His Wife Anymore: Bab 21 - Bab 28

Naya's pov“Adrian?” I called out, running my eyes.The room was empty and strangely enough the other side of the bed was neatly made.The first thing I noticed was the quiet.Not the soft, lazy quiet of a Saturday morning. This was different, it felt hollow.Maybe because Adrian was not making breakfast and listening to his daily workout playlist.The sheets were cool beside me, the faint dent in the pillow already fading. Adrian was gone. No note, no message. Just the faint scent of his cologne lingering like an afterthought.Something in my chest tightened, and before I could tell myself not to overthink, my phone buzzed. And then buzzed again. And again.I rolled over, grabbed it from the nightstand—and froze at the screen lighting up like fireworks.Thirty-seven missed calls. Dozens of texts. Push notifications from gossip sites I didn’t even follow. My stomach dropped before I opened a single one.The first headline hit me like a fist: RIVERA’S LEGAL STRATEGY? SPREAD HER LEGS AN

The hotel room had been too quiet for too long.Naya sat cross-legged on the bed, her phone a block of cold glass in her palm. She scrolled and scrolled, like she could find one post—just one—that didn’t cut. Instead, her own face stared back from a dozen angles, grainy stills from the lobby, her mouth open mid-scream.Unhinged!...Slut for hire...A lawsuit and a lap dance in one convenient package...She’d muted words, blocked accounts, but they multiplied. People she’d thought were friends—people who’d once sent her You’re so brave messages—were now posting memes about her with crying-laughing emojis.She tossed the phone onto the bed like it had burned her. The TV was already on, the volume low, but the ticker at the bottom scrolled her name, over and over.“…Rivera’s erratic behavior continues to spark debate—”She grabbed the remote and turned it up.“—some legal experts question whether her latest outburst signals desperation. Others believe—”“Others believe you should all shu

“Lawsuit girl! Come with me!!”A nurse with a clipboard led Naya down a hallway that smelled faintly of disinfectant and overcooked vegetables. The walls were painted the color of chewed gum, the doors numbered in plain block print, as if any trace of beauty might somehow be dangerous here.“This is the day room,” the nurse said, pushing open a door.Naya stepped inside to a blast of fluorescent light and low, constant noise. A television in the corner played a game show. A woman in a sweatshirt with frayed cuffs rocked in her chair, mumbling the same phrase under her breath. Two men were hunched over a puzzle table, not speaking.“Group starts in ten minutes,” the nurse added, then left her there.She felt eyes on her before she even sat down.“You’re the one from the lobby video,” a thin man in a plaid shirt said from across the room. His hair stuck up at odd angles, like it had given up on being tamed.Naya stiffened. “And you’re the one who doesn’t mind his own business.”He grinn

The mop handle was already sticky when Naya took it.She eyed the bucket beside her — gray water, a rag that looked older than her trial date. Across the hall, a nurse barked instructions to the group of patients assembled for “ward maintenance duty.” It was the next day, and Naya was finding it hard to concentrate on cleaning, especially when all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep.Naya hadn’t volunteered. Nobody here really did. But refusing meant losing “privileges,” and she had none to spare.“Stay on your side of the hall,” the nurse said. “Bathrooms are off limits unless you’re assigned.” She glanced toward two orderlies, then left, her rubber soles squeaking on the tile.Naya dipped the mop, wrung it out, and started on the far corner near the vending machines.That’s when the shouting started.It came from the other end of the corridor — sharp, sudden, like a door slamming inside a voice. She froze, hand tightening on the mop handle. A man’s voice, low but dangerou