Chapter 7 - THE DIVORCE DECREE
The divorce proceedings were the easiest part of the entire ordeal. With Andrés facing federal indictment for complicity in wire fraud and embezzlement, his high-priced family lawyers abandoned ship. He couldn't pay their retainers anyway, as the government had frozen every asset tied to the Reyes name.
We met in a sterile mediation room at the courthouse three months later. I wore a sharp, tailored navy suit. My health had fully returned, my posture straight, the physical and emotional scars healing beautifully. Andrés sat across the table wearing a wrinkled shirt, looking like he hadn't slept in weeks. He looked small.
"You ruined us," he muttered, staring at his hands.
"No," I replied, my voice steady. "I saved myself. You ruined yourselves."
My attorney handed over the final settlement papers. I asked for nothing of their dirty money. I kept my own savings, my retirement accounts, and full ownership of the small investment portfolio I had managed before the marriage. I also demanded a non-disclosure agreement regarding my involvement, sealing my name from the public fallout of their criminal enterprise.
Andrés signed the papers with a shaking hand. He didn't even read them. As I stood up to leave, he finally looked up at me.
"Did you ever love me?" he asked, a pathetic plea for validation.
May you like
"I loved the man I thought you were," I said, looking down at him without a shred of anger left. "But he never existed."
I walked out of the mediation room and handed the signed decree to my father, who was waiting in the hall. He read the signature, folded the paper, and smiled. "Let's go home, Camila."
