Chapter 17 - The Legal Decimation
The final divorce hearing took place in a quiet courtroom in downtown Chicago.
Preston sat at the defense table alone,
unable to afford a private attorney,
represented by a public defender who looked overwhelmed.
I sat next to Arthur Vance,
looking immaculate in a tailored cream suit,
my face completely healed,
showing no traces of the past.
The judge reviewed the prenuptial agreement and the evidence of domestic abuse.
"The prenuptial agreement stands,"
the judge declared,
banging the gavel with absolute authority.
"The marriage is dissolved,
and the defendant is denied all claims to spousal support."
"Furthermore,
the permanent restraining order is granted."
Preston didn't even look up as the ruling was delivered,
his spirit entirely broken.
He was a man who had thought he could rule through fear,
but he had met a woman who ruled through intellect and law.
As I stood up to leave the courtroom,
I looked at him one last time,
feeling nothing but absolute indifference.
May you like
He was no longer the man I loved;
he was just a stranger who had made a catastrophic mistake.
