I stood there, biting my lip, trying to gather my thoughts.
Then, I finally just blurted out, "You know what? I can’t do this, Joshua. I want a divorce. You can do whatever you want, be with whoever you want. I’m done."
Joshua went pale, like he didn’t expect me to cut to the chase without a big scene.
Scarlett, though, looked pleased as punch. "Divorce is fine, but you leave with nothing. You’re the one in the wrong here!"
I blinked, totally thrown off. “Wait, I’m the one in the wrong? Joshua’s been messing around with three women and has almost enough kids to form a soccer team and I’m the one at fault?”
Scarlett gave me a look like it was obvious. "Yep, because you don’t have kids. We’ve all been giving him heirs and without that, you’re not even a queen. You lose your throne."
I was about to argue, but then I remembered the call I had earlier, so I just bit my tongue. Instead, I nodded like I had agreed with everything she said, “Right, right. I’m wrong. I can’t give him heirs. I’ll leave with nothing, I’ll give up my throne.”
Before they could say anything else, I grabbed my phone and headed out the door. As I was leaving, I turned back and shot them a quick look, "See you in court tomorrow at 8."
The next morning, I showed up at the court. Joshua and his three “ladies” were already there, of course. Thankfully, the kids didn’t tag along, would've been a circus otherwise.
Since most of our wealth was joint property and we hadn’t worked out any divorce agreement, I could tell the three women were sizing me up, waiting to see if I would suddenly decide to fight for half of everything.
But I wasn’t wasting time. I sat down and just said, “Divorce. I’ll leave with nothing.”
When I said that and even signed the papers right then and there, the look on their faces was priceless. Even the people at the divorce office were kind of shocked.
Joshua was quiet for a long time before finally speaking. “Jolie, I didn’t think you’d actually go do this. Last night, Jeanette said you’d leave with nothing today and… I don’t know, I felt bad.”
I let out a sharp laugh. “Oh, please. Just sign the damn papers and stop wasting my time.”
His face reddened, but instead of signing, he hesitated. “Look, I know you never gave me children, but we’ve been married for years. I can’t just let you walk away with nothing.”
Before I could respond, Willa suddenly crouched down beside me, grabbing my hand like we were best friends. “Come back with us. We’ll treat you with respect, I promise. The four of us can even play cards together!”
I snatched my hand away so fast she nearly fell over. “Yeah, no. I don’t need your ‘respect,’ and honestly? The thought of it makes me sick.”
Joshua’s expression turned stone cold. His jaw tightened and after a beat, he pulled out a folder and slid it across the table. “This house and fifteen million dollars. Consider it my way of making things right. Take it and we’ll call it even. That way, you can’t turn around and play the victim later.”
I glanced at the house key and bank card and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.
This man, Avindor’s so-called richest man. I had built everything alongside him from the ground up. If we were keeping it real, the company’s success had more to do with my hard work than his.
And now, all of that was worth… a house and 15 million dollars?
It was almost funny. But I knew if I refused, he and his little harem would throw a fit and frankly, I didn’t have the energy for it.
So, I nodded. “Sure, whatever. If that’s what you think I deserve, I’ll take it. Now sign the papers so we can be done with this.”
Joshua finally signed and just like that, it was over. Holding that divorce certificate in my hands, I felt something I hadn’t felt in years; freedom.
