Chapter 11
“His leaving made me realize how much I’d lost,” I said.
“But I wanted to come back long before he asked for the divorce.”
She nodded slowly.
“That I believe.”
I looked at the notes again.
Then I asked the question that frightened me most.
“What if I can’t do it?”
Evelyn’s expression became almost gentle.
“Then you’ll find that out by trying.”
She stood.
“But you don’t get to decide you’re a failure before you’ve started.”
I left the hospital carrying a folder of information.
My phone vibrated as I stepped outside.
Vincent.
Are you settling in?
I stared at the message.
Then another appeared.
I can have someone bring the rest of your belongings.
I typed a reply.
I’m fine.
I’ll make arrangements when needed.
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally, he wrote:
I’d like to see you.
I stood on the sidewalk while people hurried around me.
For ten years, those words would have made me rearrange my entire day.
I would have canceled appointments.
Changed plans.
Made dinner reservations.
Anything to spend time with him.
Now I looked down at the folder in my hands.
At the names of programs I needed to contact.
At the possibility of a life that might finally belong to me.
Not today, Vincent.
I pressed send.
A strange sensation moved through my chest.
It was small.
Almost insignificant.
But it mattered.
For the first time in ten years, I had somewhere more important to be.
And it wasn’t with my husband.
Chapter 3: The Price Of Becoming Myself Again
Three weeks after I left Vincent, I retained my own divorce attorney.
Her name was Elise Monroe.
She had silver-framed glasses, an orderly office, and the reassuring habit of waiting until a person finished speaking before she answered.
When I showed her the agreement, she read it carefully.
Then she looked at me.
“You signed this the same night he presented it?”
“Yes.”
“Without independent legal advice?”
“Yes.”
She removed her glasses.
“Why?”
I looked at my hands.
“Because I wanted to leave.”
Elise considered that.
“Wanting to leave is understandable.”
She tapped the agreement.
“But leaving a marriage and protecting your legal interests are two separate matters.”
I nodded.
I had been so determined not to fight Vincent that I had nearly forgotten I was allowed to protect myself.
Elise explained the provisions that required closer review.
The financial settlement was substantial.