Chapter 3
Chapter-3
“My husband is suspected of illegally transferring joint marital assets. ”
The staff member read it, and their attitude immediately changed. “Please wait. ”
Half an hour later, the account was successfully frozen. And the $100,000 transfer? A recall request had been initiated. Stepping out of the bank, I sent Mark a SnapChat message:
Account frozen. $100,000 recall initiated. After meeting Sarah at 3 PM, I’m seeing a lawyer. See you at the courthouse the day after tomorrow. After sending it, I blocked him again. My phone immediately rang. It was Brenda. “Amelia, how could you freeze the account?! ” She yelled into the phone. “That’s my money. ”
“That’s your joint marital property! ”
“Exactly. So he can’t unilaterally dispose of it. ”
“But if you do this, how will he live? ”
I laughed. “Mom, are you worried about how he’ll live, or are you worried he won’t be able to transfer money to Sarah anymore? ”
“Amelia, how can you talk like that? ”
“How am I talking? Mom, I ask you, these six years, have I ever wronged your family? ”
She fell silent. “I haven’t, have I? Every holiday I give you money, I take care of your daily needs, I gave you a grandson, and I still have to work to support the family. Have I ever complained? ”
“No, but…”
“But what? But I shouldn’t have found out about his illegitimate daughter? But I should have pretended not to know and continued to be a fool? ”
“That’s not what I mean…”
“Then what do you mean? Mom, just tell me directly. ”
A long silence on the other end. “Amelia, can you please, for Leo’s sake, give him another chance? ”
“I can’t. ”
“Why not? ”
“Because he’s not worth it. ”
I hung up. Back at the hotel, my mom had already packed Leo’s things. “Honey, how about going to the amusement park with Grandma today? ”
“Yay! ” Leo jumped for joy. “What about Mommy? ” He suddenly asked. “Mommy has something to do, I’ll pick you up tonight. ”
“Is Mommy going to see sis? ”
I froze. “No. ” I crouched down, looking at him. “Honey, how much do you remember about sis? ”
“I remember! ” He tilted his head, thinking. “Sis lives in a very beautiful house, and there’s a very gentle auntie there. ”
“What does the auntie look like? ”
“Very pretty, long hair, and she speaks softly. ”
“Dad and the auntie…” I gritted my teeth. “How do Dad and the auntie interact? ”
“Dad hugs the auntie. ” Leo said naturally. “And he kisses her cheek. ”
My heart felt like it was being sliced by a knife. “Just like Daddy used to kiss Mommy. ” He added. Used to. Yes, used to. Now he barely touched me. I thought it was because of work. Turns out, there was someone else. “Alright, honey, go have fun with Grandma. ” I stood up, trying to keep my voice normal. “Mommy, are you crying? ”
“No, something got in my eye. ”
After seeing my mom and Leo off, I started to get ready. Makeup, change of clothes, organize my purse. The woman in the mirror looked perfectly calm. But only I knew, my hands were shaking the whole time. 2:30 PM, I arrived at Starbucks early. Ordered a coffee, sat in a corner. Every second of waiting felt like a year. Exactly 3 PM, a woman walked in. She was young, looked no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Long hair, white dress, carrying an LV bag. She saw me and walked over. “Mrs. Miller? ”
“Ms. Harris. ”
She sat down and ordered a latte. Then, she looked at me and smiled. “You’re calmer than I expected. ”
“You’re younger than I expected. ” I smiled back. We stared at each other for a few seconds. “So? ” I spoke first. “What did you want to talk about? ”
“I think we need to talk. ” She was very calm. “About Mark. ”
Mark was my husband’s name. “Talk about what? ”
“His allegiance. ” She was direct. “Mrs. Miller, you must know that Mark is in a lot of pain right now. ”
“Oh? ”
“He’s stuck between us, it’s very difficult for him. ”
I laughed. “He’s finding it difficult? He didn’t find it difficult when he was secretly keeping another woman and child from me, did he? ”
“That’s because he hadn’t figured out how to tell you yet. ”
“Hadn’t figured it out? For five years, hadn’t figured it out? ”
She fell silent. “Ms. Harris, I don’t want to beat around the bush. ” I looked at her. “What exactly do you want? ”
“I want a complete family. ” She said. “I want Chloe to have a father. ”
“Chloe is the daughter’s name? ”
“Yes. ”
“Pretty name. ” I nodded. “But, that’s not my problem. ”
“What do you mean? ”
“Your daughter needs a father. That’s between you and Mark. It has nothing to do with me. ”
“But Mark is your husband. ”
“Yes, so? ”
“So you divorce him, and he can marry me. ”
I finally understood. “You want me to initiate the divorce? ”
“Yes. ” She was very frank. “Mrs. Miller, I know this sounds impolite, but we’re both adults. Let’s just be straightforward. ”
“Fine, let’s be straightforward. ” I leaned back in my chair. “What do you want to say? ”
“Mark says your marriage has been a sham for a long time. ”
“Oh? ”
“He says you haven’t had marital relations for over a year. ”
“And? ”
“And he says he’s always wanted a divorce, but you wouldn’t agree. ”
I chuckled aloud. “I wouldn’t agree? ”
“Yes, he says you threatened him that if he divorced you, you’d make him leave with nothing. ”
“What else did he say? ”
“He said you’re very materialistic, and you only married him because of his house. ”
My smile froze. “He said that? ”
“Yes. ” She was serious. “Mrs. Miller, I have no ill will, I just want you to know that your marriage is meaningless.