Chapter 3

Lily looked smug and pleased with herself, all dolled up in a cute dress and heels, sitting in a fancy restaurant, flashing a peace sign for the camera.

The caption read: [At this point, all that bitter woman can do is throw a tantrum. What else can I do? Guess I have to let the middle-aged drama queen have her way.]

Among her photos, there was one of her delicate ankle. A thin silver necklace was loosely wrapped around it.

I recognized it instantly. That was the necklace I left at Willow Grove Residence.

Andrew gave it to me in our first year together. It was a simple silver necklace. Back then, we were broke, and he saved up half a month's living expenses to buy it for me. I treasured it and wore it for years.

When we moved, I put it in the bedroom drawer at Willow Grove Residence, along with some old photos, letters, and lucky charms.

Now, Lily was wearing it on her ankle like a trophy.

It was such a petty move.

Lily posted it to rub it in, to get under my skin, to score a point.

I closed Instagram. Then I faced my feelings honestly. Yeah. I was pissed.

Violence was never the answer.

Life was long. I could've played it cooler or found a cleverer way to get revenge.

But right now, all I wanted was to wipe that smug look off their faces.

I called my lawyer, George Parker, first. "Mr. Parker, rewrite the divorce agreement."

George paused. "Ms. Evans, which part do you want to change?"

"All of it," I replied.

I stared at Lily's smug, flaunting-her-victory face on my screen. "I've changed my mind. I want Andrew to leave with absolutely nothing."

George hesitated for a moment. "That's going to be tough."

"Doesn't matter," I replied, my voice steady. "I'm not the one who can't afford to drag this out."

After hanging up, I headed to my closet and picked out a solid, heavy bag. Then I drove straight to Starlight Plaza.

At the entrance, I spotted the two of them, arms linked.

Lily was looking up at Andrew, acting all sweet and clingy. Andrew looked down at her, his gaze so gentle that one would think he'd never hurt anyone in his life.

I walked over and swung my bag at him.

The corner of the bag caught Andrew's eyebrow, blood streaming down his forehead.

Lily screamed.

Andrew clutched his head, furious. "Charlotte, are you out of your mind again?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What, you gonna hit me back?"

The crowd quickly gathered, hungry for drama.

Andrew glanced at the crowd, jaw clenched. "What do you take me for?"

I nodded. "Good."

Then I slapped him again, hard.

The crowd went wild, gossiping non-stop.

"What's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious? She's beating up the mistress."

"Wait, looks like she's only hitting the guy."

"Finally, the wife knows who the real enemy is. So satisfying."

Lily, not backing down, shrieked, "Andrew's divorcing you! We already paid you off; what else do you want?"

"We?" I echoed, savoring the word. "Andrew and I haven't even gotten our divorce papers yet, and you two aren't married. So who exactly is we?"

The crowd erupted.

"Wow, the mistress is that bold?"

"She says we; does her name show up in the guy's family?"

"Quick, film this! Let's see if the cheating husband will actually hit his wife for the mistress."

Andrew wasn't completely brain-dead. He realized how embarrassing this was and tried to drag Lily away. Lily struggled, her shopping bags spilling everywhere.

The scene turned into total chaos. I took the chance to swing my bag a few more times. Sometimes I hit Andrew. Sometimes I hit Lily, who kept popping out of his arms, refusing to stay put. Everyone got a taste.

In the mess, Lily lost her shoes. The silver necklace she wore as an anklet slipped off, tripping her and sending her crashing hard to the ground. The necklace flew off, rolled into the crowd, and vanished.

Watching her sprawled out on the floor, I suddenly felt a bit of the anger in my chest loosen. This wasn't me losing it. I was taking back ownership of my emotions.

They all wanted me to keep up appearances. But when I was hurting, I bit back.

Despite Andrew's protests, Lily still called the cops. We got hauled off to Southbridge Police Station.

George showed up right away, backing me up from the sidelines.

"I'm sorry, Officer," I said, lowering my head and apologizing sincerely. "I suddenly found out my husband was cheating, and I felt so betrayed and abandoned. I was really upset and lost control for a moment. I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

The officer taking my statement paused, looking at me with a complicated expression. "First time you've ever hit someone?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "First time."

Andrew had a bandage on his forehead, his nose still a little bruised, and his mouth twitched.

George spoke up right away. "My client has been dealing with betrayal and emotional stress for a long time. She did overreact today, but this isn't something she does regularly, and no one got seriously hurt."

The officer put down his pen. "This is a divorce dispute. You guys should go home and talk it out."

Lily shot to her feet, her voice sharp. "What? She beat Andrew up like this, and she's not even getting detained?"

The officer glanced at Andrew. "It looks scary, but according to the assessment, it might not even count as a minor injury."

Lily was so angry that she looked around helplessly, then suddenly pointed at her bruised forehead. "What about me? She hit me, too. I'm not her family. Doesn't that count as assault?"

George glanced at me.

I stood up again, went along with it, and apologized sincerely. "Sorry, Ms. Hart. You happened to be in my way, and I couldn't pull back in time. It was an accident."

The officer checked the surveillance footage and reviewed the scene video. In the end, it was classified as a civil mediation.

By the book, I had to pay Lily 20 dollars for lost wages and 60 dollars for emotional distress. In total, that came to 80 dollars.

I accepted it sincerely, then called out to Andrew, who was comforting Lily. "Andrew."

He looked up.

I pointed at Lily. "Did you hear that? Transfer 80 dollars to her."

Since we hadn't split the marital assets yet, it made no difference who sent the money, him or me.

Lily's expression soured in a flash.

As I left the police station, I walked right past her. She immediately shot me a wary look.

I gave her a faint smile. "Why'd you have to pick a fight with me? Because of the process, I've got a whole month to think it over. I can back out whenever I want. Go on, try showing off one more time."