Chapter 1 · My Divorce On The Internet

Chapter 1

My husband, Steve Bradley, knelt on the floor in the city hall and begged me not to divorce him when I arrived arm in arm with my new love, Neil Barrett.

"Honey, what did I do wrong? We have been in love for years. Do you really forget that?" he asked.

People in the city hall paused and watched us. Some of them took out their phones and began to shoot videos.

With contempt, I, Jane Thompson, withdrew my hand from Steve and snapped, "Cut the crap! We will get a divorce today."

Kneeling on the floor, Steve gripped my trouser leg and pleaded with despair in his voice, "You have my forgiveness if it is about your infidelity and domestic abuse. I forgive you no matter what you do to me. Just don't leave me."

With all my strength, I flung his hand off. As a result, he lost his balance and slammed onto the floor.

With embarrassment, I hurried away because the divorce papers would be officially approved in one month.

To my surprise, the farce had been recorded by some onlooker and was posted online with the hashtag, [A man was abandoned after his humble plea to his wanton and violent wife].

I became notorious on the Internet.

That night, a reporter, David Obiri, called me and said, "Madam, I am a reporter. I watched the video online. I understand that you are under great pressure. I won't judge you, and I am keen to know what you think and how you feel now. Will you share your feelings with me?"

With a triumphant smile, I responded, "Do you want the truth? Come and record my life with my husband before our divorce is finalized."*****

"Based on my investigation from the past few days, you and your husband got married five years ago. You two have been in a good relationship till you have an affair. Now, you insist on a divorce. You don't love him anymore, do you?"

I responded with a mocking laugh. "David, you have written a lot about love. Do you really believe that there is a perfect marriage?"

David breathed faster than one minute ago. Obviously, he didn't expect such a sharp question from me.

He hesitated for a moment before he answered, "I believe what I see. To get you back, Mr. Bradley even got down on his knees in the city hall. There were witnesses."

I chuckled. "Are you interested in the things that those witnesses failed to see?"

David was taken aback. With doubt in his voice, he asked, "Ms. Thompson, are you sure about that?"

Over the phone, I heard his heavy breathing. It seemed he was trying to figure out the meaning of my question.

"About what?" I shot back, my voice steady.

"To show your real married life to the netizens."

"I understand. It sounds a bit crazy to you." After a pause, I articulated, "It will be a public trial of me."

David fell silent.

I could imagine how he kitted his eyebrows on the other end of the line. I continued, "I'm offering you a shot at a scoop."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"In short, I want a bet with you," I explained word by word. "You do live streams on my married life every day. Let's start from tomorrow and go on for one month."

Confusion was replaced by contempt as David thought that I was insane.

"Will Mr. Bradley agree?" After quite a long time, he asked the key question.

"He will," I said confidently.

"Why?"

"Because he can tell the whole world via this livestream how devoted he is and how heartless I am. There is no reason for him to say no. He's been dying for sympathy lately. I try to help."

David let out a long breath. "I see. Ms. Thompson, I'll reach out to Mr. Bradley right away."

"Alright." After the call, I quickly logged into my social media account.

I updated my social feed with a photo of my divorce agreement attached.

I had deliberately circled in red the key clauses that all the properties and cars belonged to me, and that 70% of the shares Steve owned would be transferred to me for free.

My explanation was concise. [It's all settled.]

When I pressed send, I knew that my post would soon cause a stir on the Internet.

As expected, my name became the No. 1 trending topic in less than ten minutes.

The trending hashtags about me were more eye-catching than ever, such as [Ms. Thompson got all the earthly possessions from the divorce], [Ms. Thompson, a bloodsucker], [Poor Steve].

Those harsh comments overflowed with contempt and anger. [Damn! This isn't a divorce, but a legal robbery!]

Chapter 1

My husband, Steve Bradley, knelt on the floor in the city hall and begged me not to divorce him when I arrived arm in arm with my new love, Neil Barrett.

"Honey, what did I do wrong? We have been in love for years. Do you really forget that?" he asked.

People in the city hall paused and watched us. Some of them took out their phones and began to shoot videos.

With contempt, I, Jane Thompson, withdrew my hand from Steve and snapped, "Cut the crap! We will get a divorce today."

With all my strength, I flung his hand off. As a result, he lost his balance and slammed onto the floor.

With embarrassment, I hurried away because the divorce papers would be officially approved in one month.

To my surprise, the farce had been recorded by some onlooker and was posted online with the hashtag, [A man was abandoned after his humble plea to his wanton and violent wife].

I became notorious on the Internet.

With a triumphant smile, I responded, "Do you want the truth? Come and record my life with my husband before our divorce is finalized."*****

I responded with a mocking laugh. "David, you have written a lot about love. Do you really believe that there is a perfect marriage?"

David breathed faster than one minute ago. Obviously, he didn't expect such a sharp question from me.

He hesitated for a moment before he answered, "I believe what I see. To get you back, Mr. Bradley even got down on his knees in the city hall. There were witnesses."

I chuckled. "Are you interested in the things that those witnesses failed to see?"

David was taken aback. With doubt in his voice, he asked, "Ms. Thompson, are you sure about that?"

Over the phone, I heard his heavy breathing. It seemed he was trying to figure out the meaning of my question.

"About what?" I shot back, my voice steady.

"To show your real married life to the netizens."

"I understand. It sounds a bit crazy to you." After a pause, I articulated, "It will be a public trial of me."

David fell silent.

I could imagine how he kitted his eyebrows on the other end of the line. I continued, "I'm offering you a shot at a scoop."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"In short, I want a bet with you," I explained word by word. "You do live streams on my married life every day. Let's start from tomorrow and go on for one month."

Confusion was replaced by contempt as David thought that I was insane.

"Will Mr. Bradley agree?" After quite a long time, he asked the key question.

"He will," I said confidently.

"Why?"

"Because he can tell the whole world via this livestream how devoted he is and how heartless I am. There is no reason for him to say no. He's been dying for sympathy lately. I try to help."

David let out a long breath. "I see. Ms. Thompson, I'll reach out to Mr. Bradley right away."

"Alright." After the call, I quickly logged into my social media account.

I updated my social feed with a photo of my divorce agreement attached.

I had deliberately circled in red the key clauses that all the properties and cars belonged to me, and that 70% of the shares Steve owned would be transferred to me for free.

My explanation was concise. [It's all settled.]

When I pressed send, I knew that my post would soon cause a stir on the Internet.

As expected, my name became the No. 1 trending topic in less than ten minutes.

The trending hashtags about me were more eye-catching than ever, such as [Ms. Thompson got all the earthly possessions from the divorce], [Ms. Thompson, a bloodsucker], [Poor Steve].

Those harsh comments overflowed with contempt and anger. [Damn! This isn't a divorce, but a legal robbery!]