The shock hit before the pain. The burning liquid ran down my face, neck, and shoulders. I gasped, frozen in disbelief, unable to move or speak.
Behind me, Helen laughed.
Not a gasp. Not concern. She laughed.
Andrew’s face was blank, cold, almost bored. “You have ten minutes to get out of my house,” he said, every word dripping with contempt.
For a moment, no one breathed. Then something unexpected happened—not out of emotion, but out of clarity. I quietly reached under the table, pulled out my bag, unzipped it, and laid a stack of documents neatly on the linen tablecloth.
Helen’s smile faltered.
“What kind of nonsense is this?” she snapped.
I stood tall, even as my skin throbbed from the burn, and said calmly, “You’re right, Andrew. Ten minutes is perfect.”
He frowned. “Perfect for what?”
I pushed the first document toward him with deliberate steadiness.
The Evidence He Never Expected Me to Have
At first, Andrew grabbed the papers with irritation, assuming I was trying to make a scene. He always assumed I would bend, break, apologize—anything to keep peace.
But the moment he saw the heading Divorce Petition, supported by documented evidence of mistreatment, he went still.
“What… what is this?” he asked, his voice suddenly thin.
“Something I prepared weeks ago,” I replied, my tone level and unshaken. “You remember that morning you raised your hand to me for the first time? That was when I stopped pretending things would get better.” Continue reading…
