Chapter 4

When we arrived at the county clerk's office, we could see Ronald standing on the steps from a distance.

A girl in her twenties was standing next to him.

She wore a white dress, her makeup carefully done, her belly slightly rounded.

She was clinging affectionately to Ronald's arm.

I knew that a big reason Ronald went out chasing other women was because I couldn't have children.

After we got married, I told him more than once that we could try IVF, or adopt.

But every time, he swore up and down, "It doesn't matter, as long as I have you, that's enough."

And so I lived for more than a decade inside the lies he wove.

Right up until I'd grown old and faded.

And it was exactly then that he refused to own up to any of it, and turned around to find someone younger.

Not even a word of explanation. How could I not hate him!

When Flora saw my expression change, she was about to get out of the car right then and go tear into that mistress.

I quickly grabbed her and said, "Mom... please, hold it in... wait until I've finished the divorce, okay? I'm begging you..."

I don't know if it was because she felt what I felt, or if maybe she had never really been crazy at all.

Maybe she'd just been fooling herself all along, and suddenly she went calm.

She gently stroked my head and said, "My baby girl's been wronged... all right... Mom will listen to you. I'll go once you've finished the divorce."

"Thank you, Mom." I wiped away the tears welling at the corners of my eyes and pushed the door open to get out of the car.

When Ronald saw me, his face looked a little uncomfortable.

He asked flatly, "Tracey, you're here... did you bring all the documents?"

I gave a small smile, ignored him, and glanced at Lois beside him.

She looked even younger than in the photos, radiating youth.

No wonder Ronald was so dazzled by her that he'd toss aside the loyal wife who'd been through hard times with him.

Seeing me look at her, Lois called out to me softly, "Sis, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, I really do love Ronald..."

I raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and only found it funny.

Sure enough, a mistress's lines were always the same handful of phrases, over and over.

Then I lifted my chin and walked into the county clerk's office.

Ronald signed his name incredibly fast, as if I'd change my mind if he wasted even a second.

I slowly picked up the pen and signed too.

Once the red seal came down, the marriage certificate turned into a divorce certificate.

Walking out the doors of the county clerk's office, Ronald let out a sigh of relief.

Like he'd finally shed some burden.

He reached out his hand to me and said in a phony tone, "Tracey, we've been together all these years, and even though we're divorced... going forward... we're still friends. The three-bedroom apartment is yours, the storefront is yours too. I only want this home in the school district and the car, call it compensation for you."

Looking at that fake, hypocritical face of his, I nearly threw up everything I'd eaten yesterday.

I gave him a sidelong glance and sneered, "You said it yourself, we've been together all these years. You're a newlywed now, so how could I, as the ex-wife, not have a gift ready for you!" With that, I slowly pulled open the back door of the car.

"I hope you like the gift I prepared for you!"