The divorce petition is filed within forty-eight hours.
Cruelty.
Abandonment.
Financial misconduct.
Domestic violence.
Attempted coercion.
You request exclusive possession of the marital home, protection of separate inheritance, reimbursement of marital funds spent on Megan, and a protective order.
Jason’s attorney responds with outrage.
Of course.
He claims you attacked Jason.
He claims the inheritance is marital property.
He claims Jason only came to “discuss family finances.”
He claims Megan was merely present as “emotional support.”
When Mr. Thompson reads that phrase aloud, Aunt Ruth nearly chokes on her coffee.
“Emotional support mistress,” she says. “That’s new.”
You laugh.
It surprises you.
The laugh is small, broken at the edges, but real.
For the first time since your parents died, a sound other than grief comes out of you.
At the first hearing, Jason arrives with his wrist in a brace.
He looks wounded, polished, and deeply offended that consequences have inconvenienced him.
Megan is not with him.
That interests you.
