Chapter 8 - The Legal Battle
Of course,
it couldn't stay peaceful forever.
The divorce papers were served,
and Martha wasn't going to let me go without a fight.
She hired a cheap lawyer who tried to claim I had 'stolen' family assets.
They wanted the dowry back.
They wanted the 'stolen' cash back.
They even tried to claim I owed them for the food I ate while living there.
I met them in a sterile conference room.
David sat there,
looking smaller than I remembered.
Martha sat next to him,
clutching her purse like a weapon.
Her lawyer started talking about 'marital duty' and 'theft'.
I let him finish.
Then,
I pulled out a folder.
In it were receipts for everything I had bought for the house.
The groceries.
The cleaning supplies.
The furniture I had paid for with my own savings.
I also had a recording.
On the night Martha gave me the rules,
I had accidentally left my phone voice memo running on the counter.
I played it.
The room filled with Martha's voice.
"Hand over your salary card."
"The person who cooks must sit at the table last."
"You will wait on the whole family."
The lawyer's face went pale.
David looked at the floor.
Martha tried to speak,
but her voice failed her.
"This is evidence of financial abuse and domestic servitude,"
my lawyer said calmly.
"If you proceed with these claims,
we will file a counter-suit for emotional distress and unpaid labor."
The room was silent.
I looked at David.
"Is this what you wanted?"
I asked.
"To sit here and listen to your mother humiliate us both?"
He didn't answer.
He looked like he wanted to disappear.
Martha finally found her voice.
"We just wanted a good wife for him!"
"A wife is a partner,"
I said,
standing up.
"Not a servant.
You didn't want a wife.
You wanted a dishwasher that you didn't have to plug in."
They settled within the hour.
I kept my savings.
I kept my dignity.
I walked out of that building and took a deep breath of fresh air.
The legal ties were severed.
I was no longer a 'daughter-in-law'.
I was a single woman.
I went to a nearby bar and ordered a glass of champagne.
I toasted to myself.
I had fought the dragon and won.
May you like
And I didn't even need a sword.
Just a recording and the truth.
