Chapter 3

I stayed at Josephine's place for three days.

In those three days, I started sorting out everything between me and Cliff.

The apartment was in my name alone.

My family had covered the bulk of the down payment, and I'd been the one paying the mortgage the whole time.

But over these five years, part of Cliff's salary had gone toward our shared expenses too, and that part needed to be settled.

I didn't want to take anything of his. But what was mine, I wasn't giving up a cent of.

Josephine watched me frown over a stack of bank statements and recommended someone.

"My husband's legal advisor. His name's Reuben Gilbert. He's really good, specializes in exactly this kind of financial dispute. Want me to have him get in touch with you?"

"Sure."

I didn't turn it down.

Leave the professional work to the professionals.

That afternoon, I got a call from Reuben.

He had a good voice, clear and warm with a little rasp to it, the kind that made you feel he could be trusted.

We arranged to meet at a coffee shop.

I got there ten minutes early and took a seat by the window.

Before long, a man in a dark suit walked in.

He was tall and carried himself with a steady kind of calm, and he headed straight toward me.

"Miss Fox?"

I stood. "Lawyer Gilbert."

He smiled at me, a flash of white teeth.

"Please, sit."

He was younger than I'd expected, and more handsome.

Deep-set eyes, a high straight nose, that whole polished, elite look.

I gave him a quick rundown of my situation and handed over the bank statements and the property contract I'd prepared.

Reuben read through everything closely, stopping now and then to ask a question.

His questions always cut to the heart of it, and they made me see how much I hadn't thought through before.

"Miss Fox, based on what you've given me, this property is entirely your personal asset."

"As for the shared expenses Mr. Dickerson contributed over these five years, we can calculate that from the bank statements and offer him a corresponding compensation."

"Although..." He paused. "My advice is to settle this by agreement if we can. Going through litigation would drag out for a long time."

I nodded. "I understand."

I didn't want to turn this into something ugly either.

"I'll try to reach Mr. Dickerson and talk it through with him," Reuben said.

"Thank you for the trouble."

"It's my job."

With the business out of the way, the mood eased a little.

Reuben lifted his coffee, took a sip, and asked, as if in passing,

"If you don't mind me asking, what brought you and Mr. Dickerson to this point?"

I was quiet for a moment.

It took nerve to recount something that shameful to a stranger.

But looking at the honesty in Reuben's eyes, I told him anyway.

"Over a hundred dollars."

His eyebrows lifted slightly. Clearly it wasn't what he'd expected.

I gave him the short version of how it all happened.

He didn't interrupt once, just listened quietly.

Only after I'd finished did he speak, slowly.

"This isn't about a hundred dollars."

"It's about respect and choice."

His words hit the nail on the head.

The last bit of hurt and resentment in me was smoothed away in an instant.

So I hadn't been making a mountain out of nothing.

Anyone would find it unacceptable.

"Thank you, Lawyer Gilbert," I said.

"This is the first time I've felt like someone actually understands me."

Reuben smiled. "You don't have to thank me."

"When you're at the point of talking marriage, and a man is still throwing money at another woman, that behavior alone says plenty."

"You made the right choice, Miss Fox."

His words settled my tangled thoughts completely.

When I left the coffee shop, it had started to drizzle.

I was about to call a car when a black Phaeton pulled up in front of me.

The window rolled down. It was Reuben.

"Where to? I'll drive you."

"Don't trouble yourself, I'll just grab a cab."

"Get in. It's hard to get a cab in the rain."

His tone left no room to argue.

So I opened the door and got in.

There was a faint scent of wood in the car, pleasant.

Reuben drove, and we chatted here and there.

He asked about my work, my hobbies.

Talking with him was easy. The nerves I'd had wound tight for days slowly loosened.

The car stopped outside Josephine's building.

"Thank you for driving me back."

"Don't mention it," Reuben said. "If anything comes up, I'll be in touch."

"Okay."

I unbuckled my seatbelt, ready to get out.

"Miss Fox." He stopped me suddenly.

I turned back.

"What's past, let it stay in the past."

"You deserve better."

His eyes were serious, with a kind of steadying, reassuring weight to them.

My heart skipped a beat.

Reuben worked fast.

The very next day, he got in touch with Cliff.

The result was predictable.

Cliff refused to talk.

When Reuben called me, there was a note of helplessness in his voice.

"Mr. Dickerson is very worked up, Miss Fox. He thinks you're being unreasonable, and he refuses to discuss anything about dividing the assets."

"He says he won't break up."

I let out a cold laugh.

"Who does he think he is?"

"Then take it straight to court, Lawyer Gilbert, if he insists on refusing to settle."

"I don't want anything more to do with him."

"Understood."

I hung up and drew in a deep breath.

If he wouldn't take the dignified way out, then I'd give him the embarrassing one.

I started looking for a new place.

Staying at Josephine's forever wasn't a solution.

I rented a one-bedroom near my office and moved in that same day.

The new place was small, but cozy.

On my own, I scrubbed it spotless, went to the grocery store and bought all kinds of things, and packed the fridge full.

Looking at this little space that was entirely my own, I felt steadier than I ever had.

That evening, I was in the middle of a face mask when the doorbell rang.

I assumed it was a delivery and opened the door without a second thought.

Standing outside was Cliff.

He looked haggard, unshaven, dark shadows heavy under his eyes.

And he reeked of alcohol.

"Mandy..."

The moment he spoke, his voice came out rough and cracked.

I moved to shut the door at once.

But Cliff jammed his foot into the gap and forced his way in.

"How did you find this place?" I frowned.

"I asked your coworkers." His eyes were red as he looked at me. "Why won't you take my calls, Mandy? Why did you block me?"

"I've been going out of my mind looking for you, do you have any idea!"