Page 7 of Pieces of Us

May

Several Years Later

Present

“My client has made her desires known in this divorce. We won’t settle for anything less.” I sat with my fingers pressed against my mouth, brooding.

How did my life come to this?

Marriage had never been something I thought would happen for me. After losing my first true love, I had no desire to be with anyone else.

That was until Diana came along. She was everything my father wanted me to have, and everything I didn’t want. We were never supposed to get married. However, since my father and hers were best friends that wanted to keep our generations locked in, they forced us into this shit show.

Diana was cool at first. We were best friends at one point, but all of that changed when our fathers forced us into this marriage. I loathed the very day they sat us down and presented the bullshit about keeping the wealth in our lineage and creating a legacy for the next generations to come.

We were too young to make such a big commitment to one another, but our fathers couldn’t care less. Diana was Mr. Victor’s only daughter, and I was my father’s only son, so they thought it would be the best idea for us to mate. It wasn’t.

We got married young. I was fresh out of college and preparing to become a resident at Children’s Hospital. My first week of residency, my father and hers sat us down and told us what was about to happen. I was against it. Hell, we both were, but my father could be a total dickhead. He guilt tripped me by bringing up how he took care of me and that we needed to keep the money in the family.

Needless to say, we got married a few months later, and now, we were divorcing. Our fathers were livid, especially since we never bore them any grandchildren. I did everything in my power to prevent that shit from happening.

Diana had accepted the fact that she carried my last name after year two. However, I just couldn’t get with any of it, but I did try to make it work. I knew we were manipulated into this, and as much as I hated it, I did try to look at her like our marriage wasn’t of convenience.

I even tried to get her pregnant after I finally got my doctorate and became a pediatrician. I loved kids. Diana did not. She let it slip one night when she was buzzed that she hated kids and would have one because her father needed an heir.

After she said that in a not-so-jokingly way, I knew then I had to stop trying. Di wasn’t fit to be anyone’s wife, let alone someone’s mother. She was selfish, ornery, and all about a quick dollar.

When she started cheating, I knew it was time for me to bow out gracefully.

“Give her whatever she wants,” I finally spoke. Shanise, my attorney and cousin on my moms side, whipped her head over to me.

“Mr. Newson, I beg you to reconsider,” she spoke softly through clenched teeth.

“What is there to reconsider? Nehemiah knows just as well as I do that I deserve everything I’m asking for. Honestly, I’m being quite generous, considering he has way more assets and money in a separate account.”

I scoffed. “Deserve? Did you really just say that shit?”

“I sure did!”

“What you deserve is a bullet in your skull, yet you continue to breathe.”

“Nehemiah!” Shanise scolded me.

“Yeah…let that little gangsta out of the cage. You always try to pretend you’re something that you’re not. By night, one way, and by day, another.” She laughed. “I tried to make this marriage work, but you never tried. You emotionally damaged me and made me feel like I didn’t mean shit to you.”

I smirked. “You never tried to do anything. The only thing you tried to do was get access tomymoney. You put on this façade as if you were trying to make shit work, but I saw through all of that. You openly admitted that you hate children. Even if you don’t have a desire to have them, you literally don’t care for them, even if they didn’t come from you. You were selfish then, and you’re selfish as fuck now. Give her what she wants, Shanise. I’m off this shit.”

Diana’s lawyer cleared her throat, opening her folder in front of her.

“Mrs. Newson—”

“Wilson, Veronica. Just Wilson.” Diana corrected her.

“My apologies. Ms. Wilson will obtain the property in New Haven, the property in Livonia, and the property in Livingston County. She will also receive 50 percent of the 400,000 in you all’s joint account, the Range Rover SE Sport, the BMW SUV, and the 1976 Chrysler Cor—”

“She ain’t touching my shit. She can have everything else, but she’s not getting my car.”

“I bet I will.”

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