Chapter 3
7 a.m.
The doorbell rang.
I opened the door, it was my parents.
Mom's eyes were red and swollen, she clearly hadn't slept a wink.
Dad's face was ashen, and he was holding a bag of breakfast in his hand.
"Claire," Mom said, her voice trembling as tears streamed down her face. "What on earth is going on?"
I let them in and closed the door behind us.
"Let's have breakfast first," I said, taking the breakfast from Dad and setting it on the table.
"How can you eat at a time like this?" Mom grabbed my hand, looking me up and down. "Tell me the truth, did that bastard Adam do something unforgivable to you?"
I gave her a calm nod.
"Yes," I said.
I didn't say anything extra, just handed her my phone.
First, I pulled up the video.
Then, I scrolled to the chat screenshots.
The living room was dead silent.
The only sounds were the rain in the video and Mom's breathing, growing faster and more ragged by the second.
When she finished looking at the last screenshot, Mom was trembling all over with anger.
"That bastard! What a bastard!" She slammed her hand on the table. "The Sutton family must have been blind to let you marry someone like that!"
Dad didn't say a word after he finished reading.
He just walked over and patted my shoulder.
"Don't be afraid, Dad's here," he said.
His hand was steady and strong.
The last bit of coldness in my heart melted away thanks to his strength.
"Dad, Mom, I've made up my mind," I said.
"I want a divorce," I said.
"Divorce him! You must!" Mom said.
"A man like that is disgusting, even one more day with him makes me sick! My daughter shouldn't have to suffer this kind of humiliation!" Mom said.
Dad looked at me, his eyes full of worry, but even more, there was approval shining through.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"I'm sure," I replied.
"Then go for it,
"I'll take care of whatever comes next." he said.
At 8 a.m. The doorbell rang again.
This time, it was Mr. Warren.
He was a longtime friend of my father's and the best divorce lawyer in the city.
"Mr. Warren," I greeted him as I opened the door.
Mr. Warren stepped in, took one look at the tense atmosphere, and instantly understood what was going on.
He didn't waste any time and opened his briefcase.
"I've already spoken to Mr. Sutton on the phone. Claire, I drafted the divorce agreement overnight, take a look," he said, sliding the papers across the table to me.
He pushed the document toward me.
I skimmed through it quickly.
Mr. Warren really nailed the property division part.
We'd already signed a prenup before the marriage.
The house under Adam's name was fully paid for by his parents and registered to him, so it counted as his pre-marital asset, it was off-limits for me.
But all the savings, investments, and stocks he'd built up over the years he'd been working counted as marital property.
Because we'd only gotten our marriage certificate yesterday morning.
Legally, half of everything he made yesterday was mine.
But what really mattered was that Mr. Warren had added a special clause to the agreement.
[Due to the husband's clear fault during the marriage, which led to the breakdown of the relationship, he voluntarily gives up all marital assets and agrees to pay the wife 167,000 dollars as compensation for emotional distress.]