Chapter 3
During our first year of marriage, Zachary would bring home lilies on his way back from work because I told him I liked them.
The second year, Diana was born, and he cried harder than I did outside the delivery room.
The third year, he started traveling for work.
The fourth year, his trips got more frequent.
The fifth year, the lilies were gone, and he no longer ate dinner with me.
The sixth year, he didn't even say "you've had a long day" anymore.
"Alright, let's eat," Zachary finally said, his tone indifferent. "Let Leila think it over."
"Why bother thinking?" Selena set down her fork. "Zachary, you indulge her too much."
The table fell silent for a few seconds.
I stood up and picked out the fish bones for Diana.
Then I grabbed my phone and opened my budgeting app.
Six years, 2,190 days.
It had records of every single day's groceries, utilities, Diana's formula, tuition, insurance, maintenance fees, and all the social expenses.
Every transaction had a date, an amount, and a category.
Some even had photos of the receipts.
The total came to 624,774 dollars.
All of it was spent by me, and I never got a single cent in return.
I locked my phone so no one would see.
Now was not the time.
*****
At two o'clock in the afternoon, I arrived at Yvonne's law firm on time.
She was in a black suit, a far cry from the ponytailed volleyball player I remembered from college.
"You've gotten so skinny," Yvonne said as she poured me a glass of water. "Sit down and let's talk."
I laid everything out on the table: the divorce papers, the Family Agreement, the export from my budgeting app, screenshots of Zachary's spending on his phone, and the transfer records for Yolanda's apartment.
Yvonne flipped through each page, took off her glasses, and looked at me. "It's like you've been at war for the past six years."
"I'm used to it," I smiled. "Being a stay-at-home mom is a lot like being a product manager. I have to keep records, manage budgets, and track progress."
Yvonne picked up the Family Agreement from 2018. "This is crucial. It's got Zachary's signature, the date, and clear terms. Even though it's not officially notarized, the court will accept it."
"And this," she said, pointing at the expense screenshots. "The 160 thousand he sent to his mistress is unauthorized use of marital assets. You have the right to recover it."
After a brief pause, she asked, "You know about that investment property he owns, right?"
I froze for a second.
"Have you ever checked what properties are under his name?"
I shook my head.
Yvonne opened her laptop and started typing.
"Last month, he transferred the two-bedroom apartment you bought together in Sunrise Estates to Miranda. On the paperwork, the price listed was 30 dollars," she said.
30 dollars? That place was worth at least 900 thousand.
"He's moving assets," Yvonne said, closing her laptop. "And he's not even being subtle about it. The court will easily recognize this as a malicious asset transfer."
I sat there, saying nothing.
Zachary sold the $900,000 house to Miranda for just $30.
He was not stupid; he simply looked down on me.
In his mind, I was nothing more than a housewife who couldn't even afford a lawyer.
Yvonne leaned back in her chair. "Anything else you want to tell me?"
I paused for a moment, opened another app on my phone, and showed her the screen.
Yvonne's face went from calm to shocked, and then her lips curled into a sly grin.
"Leila, you're really ruthless," she said.
I turned off the screen. "Let's wait for him to make his next move."
*****
Over the next two weeks, Zachary started ramping things up.
On the first day, he froze his credit card's supplementary card.
When I tried to pay at the supermarket, the machine said there wasn't enough money.
The cashier gave me a strange look.
I quietly pulled out my own debit card and paid 104 dollars for the groceries.
On the third day, he took away my car keys.
"I need the car. You barely go out anyway," he said.
I started taking the bus to pick Diana up from school.
On the seventh day, Yolanda came over.
She didn't sneak in.
Zachary brought her in, saying they were here to pick up some clothes for the new season.
Yolanda was dressed in a beige trench coat, makeup perfect, wearing high heels.
She stood in the living room, scanning the place with a critical eye.
"This sofa should be replaced," she said to Zachary, making sure I could hear her.
Zachary smiled, saying nothing.
He went into the bedroom to grab the clothes, leaving me alone with Yolanda in the living room.