Wendy came over and helped Martin up from the ground.
Our argument quickly drew reporters and furious onlookers, who turned their cameras toward me and shouted that I was cold and heartless.
“Please, don’t put the blame on her. It’s all my fault for not handling things properly. Don’t blame her,” Martin said pitifully.
Looking at his fake, self-pitying face, I almost felt sick.
I responded to him coldly, “Since you don’t want a divorce, don’t put the blame on me for taking you to court.”
Soon enough, Martin dropped his act and snapped in front of the reporters, “Fine, you shameless woman! Don’t blame me for throwing you out!”
“My child doesn’t need someone like you. Divorce it is. See you in court!”
I found it almost funny. Martin clearly had no idea that I already knew everything he’d been hiding from me. So, I said nothing else.
In the meantime, I settled the company’s affairs and started preparing for the court hearing. After the media frenzy that day, our story spread even further online. I became the villain, while Martin was painted as the poor, gentle husband.
People claimed that I had had several abortions for my lover and spent all my family’s money on him. Others said the car accident had damaged my mind. The insults were endless to the point where my parents even threatened to cut ties with me.
“You’ve gone too far, Sophia! I’ll declare that I never have a daughter like you from today onwards!” my father yelled.
“Look at what you’ve done! You’ve brought shame to this family. I can’t even acknowledge you anymore!”
Despite facing all of that, I kept my silence. I only appeared in court three days later. On the day of the trial, the courtroom was packed. Friends, relatives and even online strangers had come to see me humiliated.
Martin leaned close and whispered, “Are you sure you want to go this far? For the sake of our years together, I’ll give you one last chance. If you apologize now, I’ll let it go.”
“You can’t win this, Sophia. The whole country knows what you did to me. Do you even have the courage to live after this?”
Wendy gave me a mocking smile. Even my parents looked at me with disgust, wishing I had disappeared. But I remained calm and waited for the judge to begin the session.
Martin had hired one of Washington’s top lawyers, clearly determined to destroy me in court. The lawyer read out a list of my supposed ‘crimes’ during the marriage, trying to make me look like the guilty one.
“If he only helped his neighbor care for her child, that’s not considered infidelity. Given the situation, it’s clear she bears most of the fault here,” he argued.
“If she can’t present any new evidence, the court should grant the divorce and declare her at fault.”
The courtroom burst into applause. Martin and Wendy hugged each other, celebrating early as people whispered that I deserved it. But I stayed calm and raised my hand.
I told the judge, “I have new evidence. A CCTV footage from our neighbor Wendy’s home and a DNA paternity test report for Martin and Wendy’s daughter, Nancy Haines.”
The room went silent. Everyone’s faces turned serious. Martin’s face went pale and tense and I knew the real drama was about to begin.
