Chapter 3 - The Legal Bloodbath
Two weeks later,
the coffee shop where we had first discussed the divorce felt like a battlefield.
Derek showed up alone this time,
without Jessica,
without his lawyer,
and without the smug grin that had once defined him.
He looked like a man who hadn't slept in a century,
his clothes were wrinkled,
and he was nursing a black coffee as if it were medicine.
“I want to withdraw the divorce filing,”
he said,
his eyes fixed on the table.
I laughed,
a sound that drew the attention of everyone in the shop.
“Withdraw it?”
“You called me a liar in front of our entire community.”
“You moved in with another woman before the test results were even in.”
“You tried to force me to pay you back for 'marital expenses' while I was carrying your child.”
He reached across the table,
his fingers brushing the edge of my hand,
but I pulled away as if he were made of fire.
“I made a mistake,
Sarah,”
he whispered.
“Jessica...
she’s not what I thought she was.”
“She’s been asking for money,
she’s been pushing me to sell the house...”
“Oh,
so now that your mistress is a burden,”
“you want to come back to the wife you threw away like yesterday’s garbage?”
I pulled a new manila folder out of my bag and slid it across the table.
It wasn't the divorce agreement he had drafted,
it was a new one,
written by the most aggressive lawyer in Charlotte.
“Full custody,”
I stated,
my voice echoing with a newfound strength.
“The house stays with me.”
“Maximum child support.”
“And a restraining order for Jessica.”
Derek looked at the papers,
his jaw dropping as he realized that I was no longer the woman who would beg for his attention.
“You’re taking everything,”
he gasped.
“No,
Derek,”
I corrected him.
“I’m taking what belongs to my son.”
“You already took everything else when you walked out that door.”
The door to the coffee shop opened,
and Jessica walked in,
her eyes scanning the room until she found us.
She marched over to the table,
her face red with fury.
“Derek!
What are you doing here with her?”
she demanded.
Derek didn't even look at her,
he just stared at the papers,
realizing that he had lost his wife,
his house,
and his dignity in a single month.
“We’re done,
Jessica,”
Derek said,
his voice hollow.
“The baby is mine.”
“The math works out.”
Jessica’s face went from red to a terrifying shade of purple,
she realized the gold-digging fantasy was over.
She tried to slap him,
but the manager of the shop intervened,
escorting her out while the patrons whispered and stared.
I stood up,
feeling the weight of the little life inside me,
and walked out of the shop without looking back.
I didn't need his apology,
I needed his signature,
and I knew he would give it to me just to have a chance at being a father.
But he didn't realize that being a father is a privilege,
May you like
not a right,
and he had already failed the first test.
