My lawyer placed the paperwork in front of me, and I picked it up carefully because although the pages looked simple they represented ten years of shared life, ten years of sacrifices, and ten years of love that had once been genuine. I signed my name slowly at the bottom of the final page.
When I placed the pen down I felt an unexpected sense of lightness as if a heavy weight had suddenly lifted from my chest.
The judge then looked toward Brandon and said, “Mr. Parker, it is now your turn to sign.”
Brandon picked up the pen but did not write immediately. Instead he stared at my signature for several long seconds while the entire courtroom waited in silence.
Finally he lifted his head and looked directly at me.
“Do you really want things to end this way?” he asked quietly.
His voice sounded unfamiliar, almost uncertain. I met his gaze calmly and answered, “It did not start this way, Brandon, but you turned it into this.”
From the back row his mother suddenly spoke with sharp contempt. “Ungrateful woman. Without my son you would still be selling candy on some street corner.”
The woman I used to be would have lowered her head and remained silent, but the woman sitting in that courtroom simply smiled politely. “You are mistaken, ma’am,” I replied calmly.
I reached into my handbag and removed a document which my lawyer placed on the table in front of the judge. “Before we finish signing the divorce,” I said clearly, “I believe everyone here should take a look at this.”
Brandon’s lawyer frowned while the judge looked slightly confused, yet after a brief moment he allowed the document to be submitted for review. The silence in the room became heavy as the lawyer began reading the page carefully. His expression slowly changed from confusion to surprise and finally to something close to alarm.
Brandon leaned forward impatiently. “What is going on?” he asked.
The lawyer turned toward him slowly and said, “The company shares.”
Brandon frowned. “What about them?”
The lawyer hesitated before answering. “Sixty eight percent of the company is registered under your wife’s name.”
A wave of shocked whispers spread across the courtroom. Brandon stood up abruptly and said loudly, “That is impossible.”
However it was not impossible. I looked at him calmly and said, “Do you remember the early years when we opened the first store?”