Chapter 2
The divorce went through without a hitch.
When I signed my name and got everything down, William was grinning from ear to ear, like he'd just won the lottery.
He even tried to sound courteous, asking if I needed a ride.
"No need," I said.
I slipped the documents into my bag and turned to leave.
After leaving the courthouse, I sat in my car, watching the endless stream of cars outside.
I didn't cry.
Not a single tear.
I just called my lawyer, David King. "David, he signed."
"Got it, Ms. Smith. Everything's going according to plan," David replied.
"Thanks, David."
After hanging up, I started the car.
In the rearview mirror, the sign for the courthouse grew smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared from sight.
A whole new world was slowly unfolding before me.
What William thought was the end was just the beginning for me.
*****
Less than a week after the divorce, William started putting on a show.
His social media feed started filling up with photos of a woman.
Sometimes it was a fancy candlelit dinner.
Sometimes it was her dazzling smile in some designer boutique.
Sometimes it was a picture of them holding hands tightly, with the caption: [For the rest of my life, it's you.]
That woman was Wendy Foster.
She was young and beautiful, with a fresh-faced innocence that made her look untouched by the world.
William's friends were flooding the comments, liking and congratulating him on finally landing his "true love."
Some of them were acting all concerned about me, asking how I was doing.
William would always reply in this fake-regretful, helpless tone. [Julia hasn't really moved on yet. She's a nice person, just way too boring. We broke up on good terms. I wish her all the best.]
He made himself out to be the devoted, unlucky guy, and just chalked up our five-year marriage to us not being a good match.
And me? I became the sad ex-wife who got dumped, the one who never knew how to enjoy life.
Watching all this, I felt nothing.
I even hit 'like' on a few of his posts.
My weird reaction only made William more sure he'd figured me out.
He figured the divorce had messed me up so badly that I'd gone off the deep end.
So when he decided to bring Wendy back home for Margaret's sixtieth birthday, he didn't think twice about it.
He even saw it as the perfect opportunity.
A chance to show off his new beginning to everyone he knew.
A chance to make sure everyone knew that he'd left me behind.
*****
William started preparing two weeks ahead of time.
He bought Margaret a gold bracelet for 6,000 dollars.
He even got lavish gifts for every distant relative back home.
He wanted to make a grand entrance back home, flaunting his achievements.
He wanted everyone to see how amazing his life was now that I was out of the picture, and how his new girlfriend was supposedly way better than me.
The night before he left, he called me.
It was the first time he'd reached out to me since the divorce.
When I picked up, he went quiet for a moment, like he was trying to figure out what to say.
"Julia, how have you been lately?" he finally asked.
"I'm doing fine," I replied.
My calmness caught him off guard.
"That's good," he said in a dry voice. "My mom's turning sixty next Saturday. If you want to drop by, that's fine too."
I could practically picture that smug, phony grin on his face as he said it.
He was just showing off.
And this was his final test.
He wanted to see me completely broken, just to satisfy his own ego.
He wanted Wendy to bask in everyone's congratulations, right there in front of me.
He wanted my pain to be the grand opening act for his so-called new life.
"I'm not going," I said. "Hope you all have a good time.
"Oh, and tell your mom happy birthday for me.
"And by the way, could you give her a gift from me?"
William was stunned. "What kind of gift?"
"A gift that'll really surprise her," I said, my voice soft but carrying a chill that cut right through the phone. "Trust me, bringing Wendy home is the best present you could possibly give her."
With that, I hung up before he could say another word.
William's POV
On the other end, William gripped his phone, his brows furrowed.
He just couldn't figure out why Julia didn't care at all.
She was even wishing him well and telling him to bring Wendy home.
"What the hell is she up to?" he muttered to himself.
Wendy, sitting next to him, poured him a glass of water with care.
"William, stop worrying so much," she said softly. "Maybe Julia is that kind of person. She seems distant, but she's got a soft heart.
"Maybe she actually wants us to be happy."
William looked at Wendy's innocent face, and all his doubts just melted away.
He thought, 'Yeah, that's it.
'What kind of scheme could a woman who walked away from all that money possibly have?
'She's just putting on a brave face.'
He pulled Wendy into his arms, a confident smile returning to his face. "Babe, you're right.
"Once my mom's birthday party is over, we'll go pick out your wedding dress.
"I'm going to give you the grandest wedding anyone's ever seen."