Chapter 5
The room was dead silent.
The mockery on Hardy's face slowly faded away, replaced by shock and a hint of panic.
He probably never imagined that his incompetent trophy wife, who only knew how to spend money and didn't understand a thing, would one day call him out with such a calculation.
He stared at me, searching my face for any sign that I was joking. But he was disappointed.
My expression was calm and determined.
"You're crazy," Hardy squeezed out through gritted teeth.
"I'm not crazy," I replied. "I've just woken up."
"Don't even think about it!" he suddenly exploded. "Yolanda, I'm telling you, you're not getting a single dollar.
"Every dollar you spent was earned by me. What makes you think you have any claim to my money?"
"Then I'll see you in court," I said coolly. Then I turned to leave.
Behind me, Hardy's angry yelling echoed, followed by the crash of something breaking.
I didn't look back. I walked away with absolute resolve.
*****
Back in my bedroom, I locked the door and pulled out my phone.
I needed a lawyer. But I didn't know anyone who worked as a lawyer.
My social circle was pathetically small.
Besides Hardy, the only people I knew were a handful of spoiled trophy wives.
I opened my contacts, and slid up and down the screen, feeling at a loss.
Just then, a name jumped out at me. Joan Charles.
She was my college roommate and my best friend.
After graduation, she went to law school and should be a pretty badass lawyer by now.
But we hadn't talked in ages.
After I got married, Hardy didn't like me getting too close to my old friends.
He said we were in different circles now, and there was no need to force it.
Back then, I actually thought he had a point.
Looking back now, I realized he was just quietly making sure I had no one else to turn to.
After hesitating for a long time, I finally dialed the number.
The phone rang for a long while before someone picked up.
"Hello? Who is this?" Joan's voice was still bright and direct, though there was a hint of tiredness in it.
"Joan, it's me, Yolanda," I said.
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"Yolanda?" Joan sounded genuinely surprised. "Did I hear that right? Mrs. Smith actually reached out to me, a small-time lawyer?"
Her tone was a bit distant, laced with playful sarcasm.
I felt a pang of bitterness. "Joan, I..."
"Get to the point. I'm busy," she cut me off.
I took a deep breath, pushing down my feelings. "I'd like to discuss a case with you."
"What kind of case?"
"Divorce. I'm divorcing Hardy, and I want everything that's rightfully mine."
There was another long silence on the other end. It dragged on so long that I started to worry she might just hang up on me.
Finally, Joan broke the silence. "Send me your address. I'll be there in half an hour."
After hanging up, I barely had time to catch my breath before my phone rang again.
This time, it was Mark.
As soon as I picked up, he started grilling me. "Yolanda, what the hell are you doing?
"Hardy just called me, saying you want a divorce, and that you're after his assets?
"Are you out of your mind?
"He can't treat you better. What else could you possibly want?"
I stayed silent, listening as the brother who'd always cared for me was now siding with Hardy and turning his criticism on me.
Mark went on, "I'm telling you, go apologize to Hardy right away.
"Stop causing trouble and just enjoy the comfortable life you have.
"If you dare go through with this divorce, I'll be the first to make sure you pay for it!"
As I listened to his yelling on the other end, the last bit of warmth in my heart disappeared.
I chuckled softly.
"Mark," I said, my voice steady. "Do you remember when we were kids, and the neighbor's kid bullied me? You beat him up and left him bleeding."
Mark was caught off guard. "Why are you bringing that up?"
"Back then, you told me no one could ever mess with your little sister." I paused, and then went on, "But now, the ones bullying me are you and Hardy.
"You two made me into an incompetent person.
"And now you both look at me like I'm a loser.
"Well, I'm done being that."
With that, I hung up.