He Left Me Broke, I Fought Back Hard

Chapter 3

By the next morning, Owen was gone.

The divorce settlement agreement lay in shreds across the living room floor.

For one brief moment, I stared at the mess and wondered, 'Maybe he isn't as heartless as I think.'

A notification from the messaging app pulled me back to reality.

The message came from a woman I didn't know. She had sent me a contact request through the app 1 month earlier.

Unknown contact: You've held on to the title of Mrs. Brooks long enough. It's time to give it back.

Curiosity got the better of me, so I accepted the request. After that, she began sending me an endless stream of photographs and files.

There were photos of Owen having candlelit dinners with her abroad, screenshots of them shopping for baby toys at a family fun center, and even pictures of him gently soothing a crying child late at night.

More messages appeared one after another.

Natalie: Claire, I heard you found the agreement. Are you finally ready to give up?

Natalie: I only left the country because I was seriously ill.

Natalie: Now that I'm back, you can leave.

Natalie: Owen only married you because our families were close and he needed a quiet, obedient wife to keep his family happy. Even that was better than bringing home some nobody off the street.

Natalie: You have 3 days to file for divorce. Otherwise, I'll make our relationship public myself, whether or not he's still married.

Natalie: One more thing. I'm particular about cleanliness, and I don't want anything another woman has worn. Have all the jewelry Owen gave you professionally cleaned before you send it over.

Natalie: Don't expect Owen to protect you. Ever since I came back, he spends every free moment with me and our child.

Natalie: That's enough for now. Owen is about to wake up, and the three of us are going to have a family photo shoot.

The messages ended there.

Tears fell onto my phone screen as I typed through blurred vision.

Claire: You can have him. I don't want another woman's leftovers.

She didn't respond.

Sending the message did nothing to ease the pain. My chest still ached so badly that I could barely breathe.

Now I knew why Owen had stormed out in the middle of the night. I had thought my request for a divorce had upset him.

He had simply rushed back to the family he truly wanted.

The last of my hope vanished. With trembling fingers, I sent him a message.

Claire: Since you're awake, come back and finish the divorce paperwork.