Divorce Freed Me, Condemned Him

Chapter 1

The day I got Liam's ALS diagnosis report, I found out he was cheating on me.

He asked me for a divorce: "I'll leave every last penny of our assets to you. She doesn't care about my money, while she just cares about me."

I didn't break down crying, didn't throw a screaming fit. I just slipped the diagnosis report into my bag without a word.

"Fine. I hope she sticks to that promise when the time comes."

Truth be told, I was more than happy at the thought of not having to care for him when he was eventually bedridden and paralyzed.

*****

At the Clerk's office, at the divorce processing window. "The divorce cooling-off period is one month. If you're both still set on getting divorced after that, come back to pick up your divorce certificate."

The second the staff member finished speaking, a red seal stamped down onto the cooling-off period acknowledgment slip.

I glanced up at the clock on the wall. 10:03 in the morning.

Barely 24 hours had passed since I'd caught Liam Smith cheating, since he'd asked for a divorce, since we'd walked in here to start the process.

It was just as blisteringly efficient as when we'd decided to get married after only three months of dating.

I snapped out of my daze just in time to see Liam take the slip. His long, knuckly fingers folded it neatly, every movement as crisp and precise as you'd expect from a seasoned lawyer.

"Don't forget to show up in a month to finalize this. Don't go back on your word."

His brow was furrowed, like he was terrified I'd cling to him and refuse to let go.

I nodded. "Got it. Same goes for you—don't regret this later."

Liam didn't bother with another word. He ducked his head over his phone, tapping out a reply to someone.

That familiar soft, tender warmth was practically spilling out of his eyes.

I couldn't even remember the last time he'd looked at me like that.

He'd smiled at me exactly the same way when we were dating, but somewhere along the line, all he'd had for me was cold, distant indifference.

I'd written it off as work stress. I never would've guessed he'd saved all his warmth for someone else.

We didn't exchange a single word the whole way home.

Once we got back to the house, Liam parked right by the front door and started hauling his things out to the car trunk.

A few minutes later, a woman's voice called out from not far away, "Liam! What on earth are you doing?"

I followed the sound, and my eyes locked immediately on Diaia Cooper. That was the woman Liam had sworn only cared about him, not his money.

The second she saw him packing boxes, she rushed over and grabbed his arm. "Liam, you and Emma Stone are already divorced! She should be the one packing her own stuff to leave!"

As she spoke, she shot several annoyed glances my way.

I leaned against the doorframe, my eyes landing on the rolling suitcase she'd hauled over, wheels scuffing lightly against the driveway. It clicked for me instantly.

Guess Liam hadn't gotten around to telling his little sweetheart he was walking away from this marriage with nothing, huh?

I couldn't help but toss out a lazy reminder. "Diaia, maybe you should look closer. Whose stuff is he actually moving?"

Only then did Diaia realize every item in the boxes was Liam's.

Her face went stiff as a board. "Liam, why are you packing your things?"

Liam laced his fingers through hers to soothe her. "I'm moving in with you from now on. Obviously I need to bring my stuff."

At that, Diaia snapped her head toward me, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Emma, Liam paid for this house in full! If anyone should be moving out, it's you!"

I flicked my gaze over to Liam, waiting.

He pulled Diaia closer right away, his tone soft as cotton. "Diaia, I'm leaving everything to her in the divorce. But don't worry, anything she has now, we'll have all of it later."

The phrase "leaving everything" hit Diaia like a slap to the face. For a second, her perfectly practiced sweet smile nearly slipped right off.

Then she seemed to remember something, her expression smoothing out again when she heard his promise. "Okay, I trust you."

After that, she rolled up her sleeves and helped Liam stuff his belongings into boxes.

I just stayed off to the side, watching the whole show in silence.

I knew exactly what kind of man Liam was. As a lawyer, he lived and breathed getting the best end of every deal. Diaia was probably assuming this whole "walking away empty-handed" thing was just some stalling tactic, that he'd weasel every last penny back from me later.

Too bad for her. This time, Liam had personally sorted through every asset, drafted the agreement, and gotten it notarized with his own two hands. He was that desperate to run off with her.

But just losing the house had already made Diaia this frazzled. That whole line about not caring about his money? It had more holes than a sieve.

Once they'd packed up most of his stuff, Liam called over his shoulder to me. "I'll come get the rest of my things within the month."

Then he turned and left, Diaia trotting right behind him.

The second the door clicked shut, the huge, open apartment felt hollowly empty.

When we got married, I'd thought this place would be the home where Liam and I would grow old together.

Who would've thought it would all fall apart after just three years?

Every corner of this house held memories of us. I couldn't bear to keep living here.

In the end, I pulled up a secondhand housing platform and listed the place for sale immediately.

I'd just finished submitting the listing when my phone rang. It was Felix Hall, Liam's business partner.

The second I picked up, Felix's voice came through the line. "Emma, is it true? Did you and Liam actually file for divorce?"

I just gave a quiet "Mhm."

Felix sighed heavily. "You stuck by him through all the tough years to build his career from the ground up. Things are just finally starting to look up for you two. Liam's just chasing a new thrill right now. Once he gets it out of his system, he'll realize his mistake and come home to you. It's not worth throwing everything away over some little assistant he's only known six months."

Every word out of his mouth was trying to talk me into thinking twice, warning me not to make a choice I'd end up kicking myself for later.

I didn't have the heart to correct him. But he was missing the key point here. It was Liam who'd dug his heels in and demanded the divorce.

If he didn't want me by his side anymore, what was the point of forcing myself to stay?

I said nothing as I fished Liam's medical diagnosis out of my bag, the crinkled edge of the paper catching on the bag's inner seam for a split second.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, the so-called "gradual freezing syndrome."

Just yesterday, when I'd first gotten that piece of paper, I'd been absolutely gutted that he'd been struck down by such an incurable, cruel illness.

But now? All I felt was a sharp, bitter twist of relief. What goes around comes around. People who do rotten things always get what's coming to them eventually.

I grabbed a lighter, flicked it open, and set the paper ablaze, the ink running and the paper curling into black ash before my eyes.

Staring at the small, dancing flames in front of me, I spoke into the phone. "Relax, Felix. I'm not going to regret this."

After all, Liam had no future left to look forward to.