5
Three days passed, and I stood outside the Cook County Clerk’s Office, but Ryan never showed.
I called my lawyer immediately and initiated divorce proceedings.
My health was deteriorating fast, and I couldn’t afford to wait any longer.
That afternoon, after returning from the hospital, I found Ryan standing angrily outside my Gold Coast Apartment.
His lips were pressed into a tight line, his entire posture radiating tension.
Claire was standing behind him, her eyes red and swollen, the clear imprint of five fingers on her pale cheek.
When she saw me, she instinctively shrank back, as if afraid I might hit her again.
I raised my eyebrows, annoyed. “Really? Trying this trick again? Didn’t get enough the last time, huh?”
“Nina, enough!”
Ryan exploded, shouting at me with a mix of fury and disappointment.
“You’ve crossed the line–vandalizing my car, hiring people to harass me, hitting Claire? Do you realize you’re breaking the law?”
He started listing my supposed offenses, as if I were some criminal mastermind.
Honestly, if he and Claire hadn’t shown up at my door, I wouldn’t even have known I’d committed so many “crimes.”
I opened my mouth to throw back a snarky remark, but Claire beat me to it, interrupting in tears:
“Mrs. Carter, Ryan and I are only work colleagues.”
“I come from a difficult family background. I worked hard, studied hard, and finally managed to make something of myself. I don’t want to go
back home.”
“I’ll resign if it helps. Please, just let me go.”
As she spoke, she started to kneel down in front of me, but Ryan pulled her up quickly, his face burning with anger as he turned to me.
“Look at what you’ve reduced her to. Is this what you wanted?”
He stood there, looking at me with the same disappointed, angry eyes I’d seen countless times before.
It was as if I was back in my previous life, being endlessly blamed for things that weren’t my fault.
And once again, Claire played the victim perfectly.
I had seen this too many times. Claire’s innocent act was something Ryan never seemed to see through.
My body was already wracked with pain, and now, my anger added to the suffering, tightening my chest.
I glared at both of them, my voice sharp. “You two come here, invade my space, then ask me if I’m satisfied? Ryan, are you out of your mind?”
“If you really believe I did all this, call the cops. Let the law deal with me.”
“But stop pretending you’re on some moral high ground, looking down on me. It’s disgusting!”
I gasped for breath as the pain wracked my body, but I managed to give them a final ultimatum:
“Now get out of my home before I call the police myself.”
12:31 PM
<
Ryan looked like he had more to say, but Claire gently tugged on his sleeve, urging him to let it go.
With fury in his eyes, he turned to me, spitting out his final words:
“Nina, don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. You’re just trying to push me into a corner so I’ll divorce you!”
“Fine, divorce it is. I’ll do it. Let’s just say I loved the wrong person all these years.”
He turned and stormed off.
Claire followed, but not before casting me a smug, triumphant glance, like she had finally won.
Tears welled up in my eyes, and my chest ached with frustration.
How dare Ryan say that?
The truth was, I was the one who had loved the wrong person all along.
