Page 54 of Wife Unwanted
Carey
ENDINGthe marriage was a good idea, I told myself at least a thousand times throughout the weekend to Monday morning. We should finally end this farce and live freer lives. But I didn’t feel free. I felt like I was making a huge mistake and I didn’t know why. She lied to me. Conspired with my father. She’s a gold digger and a social climber. I should be happy to be rid of her.
Frustrated with myself and my conflicted feelings, I threw myself into work as soon as I arrived at the office. The workload helped me forget about my crumbling marriage for a couple of hours until my lawyer barged into my office.
"Is this real?" he said, waving his iPad. Harrison was the family attorney of the firm and I had sent him an email yesterday asking him to represent me in my divorce. He threw the gadget onto the table and sank into one of the two guest chairs. His bulky frame overspilled in the chair as his muscles threatened to tear his suit at the seams. Harrison looked more like a bouncer than a lawyer and took his bodybuilding a little too seriously. "You're leaving her?" His eyebrows shot up and remained there.
"Actually, she's leaving me and I need representation."
He folded his arms. "Wow. Looks like I lost a bet."
"A bet?" It was my turn to be surprised.
"Me and the boys had a bet going on about how long your marriage would last. I bet ten years minimum. Thought you two were the real deal."
"Whatever gave you that impression."
Harrison looked stumped. "I don't know. Seemed like you two were in love. Weren't you?"
"You guessed wrong. Were all the partners gambling on the outcome of my marriage?"
"Nah. Just me, Caldwell and Stimpy. Stimpy bet a year." The junior partners. It was a little comforting that it was only them who were immature enough to do something like that. He clicked his tongue. "I can't believe that fuckward Caldwell won."
"Whatever. Can you look over the papers? I have looked over them myself, but I'm not a family lawyer."
Harrison frowned. "You want me," he pointed at his chest, "to represent you?" and then pointed at me. I nodded. He might be a bit of a douche with immense frat boy energy, but he was good at his job. "Are you sure you don't want one of the old geezers on the case?"
"I could do tricks on your dick if that's what you want, but I am not going to waste my time glazing you," I said, handing him the print version of the document I sent him.
"Fine. I'll take the ringing endorsement." He took the papers and immediately flipped to the settlement clause and his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets, reading it. "She wants that!"
"That's what she says."
"That's what they all say until they remember the sweet life they've been living will no longer be possible and then all of a sudden the rules change and they want half. Are you sure this is real?"
I nodded.
"Does she have her own money or something?"
"No."
He looked even more flummoxed. "Then why?"
Before I could speculate, my assistant knocked on my door and popped her head in. "Sorry to disturb you sir, but your brother is here, and I wasn't sure if this meeting is…" she left informal unsaid. I hadn't told her about it.
"Tell him to wait for a few minutes, Lauren."She nodded and closed the door. I turned back to Harrison. "So, what do you think?"
"I think you know your wife better than I do. Did you two have a prenup?"
"Yes. It’s in the other email I sent you. She gets a million for every year of our marriage plus an extra five million if the marriage lasts for five years, which it did. But she wants only a million."
"Wow, yeah. You either got the most selfless wife in the world or she has another trick up her sleeve. Are you sure she's not cheating with someone richer than you? She could be rushing to snag him."
Jack looked like he could barely afford the shirt on his back, and he's the only guy that came to mind. But wasn't she a consummate liar? She could have been with several men already, without me being the wiser.
I shrugged.“You don’t care, do you?”
He shook his head. “I was so sure you two were, I don’t know, in love.”
