Chapter 5
Lincoln looked at the divorce papers, his face stern: “Do you have to cause drama at a time like this? I told you the Hayes family can afford to keep you.”
I said nothing, just flipped through a few pages to show him:
“I don’t want any marital shit, but the jewelry, car, and house you gave me while we were dating are pre-marital property-I’m legally taking those.”
“Sign it, or your two kids won’t be able to get registered.”
As I said this, even I found it hilariously pathetic and laughed out loud.
“Though you could handle it, why create ugly rumors about keeping a mistress and bastard children? Don’t you think?”
He watched me calm down, his eyes full of suspicion: “You’re sure you want to give up being the Hayes family’s young wife? Seriously?”
Looking at the teary-eyed children and Vivian’s hopeful expression, he quickly signed the papers and handed them back to me.
“Though we won’t have the husband and wife title anymore, we have years of history. If you have trouble later, you can come find me.”
My mother-in-law smiled and took Vivian’s hand: “See what I told you-Lincoln only has you in his heart. We’re the real family.”
My father-in-law shook his head and looked at me with this genuine expression.
“Sophia, we’ve screwed you over. Go ahead and leave. If you have problems, you can come find us, but Vivian is a delicate girl, so don’t come looking for Lincoln anymore.”
Everyone seemed to think I was just playing hard to get and would soon be desperately clinging to Lincoln.
But I said nothing more and left the Hayes house.
At the civil affairs bureau, when the clerk told me I could get my divorce certificate after a thirty-day cooling-off period, I felt half the choking feeling in my chest instantly lift.
But before I could figure out how to tell my family, my brother called me to his school.
The homeroom teacher looked at me furiously: “Miss Carter, your brother not only refuses to shape up, but he also beat up another student at school. Is this how parents raise their kids?”
I pointed to the chubby kid next to my brother who barely had a scratch on his face, then gently touched my brother’s busted and purple lip.
“This is what you call him beating people up?”
‘The ‘victim’ doesn’t have a mark on him while the ‘attacker’ is covered in bruises?!”
Seeing I wasn’t as gullible as other parents, the teacher looked guilty for a second and made my brother explain.
My brother, who usually told me everything, turned away and wouldn’t look at me. I pulled him behind me: “Check the security cameras, teacher. If it really was my brother’s fault, I’ll make him say sorry.”
“But if you’re making shit up to cover for a student, I think the school board can give me some answers.”
My brother had always been a good kid, which is why he called me instead of our parents when he got in trouble-he was scared they’d be crushed. I didn’t believe he’d hit anyone.
The teacher seemed shocked I was this hard to handle, but got her confidence back when she saw someone show up at the door.
The chubby kid who claimed to be “beaten up” also perked up, shoved my brother aside like a little asshole, and spat at me.
“You’re that used goods who got dumped by her husband, right! Ptui!”
Chapter 5
“I was just telling the truth to my boys, and he said I was talking shit about you and his brother-in-law, then had the balls to fight back! Ptui, whore! Don’t think I’m scared just because you’re older!”
Only then did I get why my brother had clammed up-he didn’t want me to know about those nasty rumors.
I comforted my brother and showed him it didn’t matter.
Just then, Vivian came in the office.
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.