Chapter 1
The moment I told his family I had proof of his affair, my husband picked up his wine glass and hurled it straight at my face.
Sunday dinner at my mother-in-law’s house had started like every other family gathering.
Everyone was laughing while Michael sat beside me pretending we were still the perfect couple.
His phone kept buzzing under the table.
I already knew who was calling.
For three months, I had screenshots, hotel receipts, and messages between him and a woman from his office.
I had stayed quiet because I wanted to be certain.
That night, I couldn’t anymore.
“Michael,” I said, placing my phone on the table. “Tell your family where you were last Thursday.”
His smile disappeared.
His mother, Patricia, frowned at me.
“What are you trying to do?”
I opened the first screenshot.
Michael and his mistress were kissing outside a hotel in downtown Chicago.
His sister gasped.
His father stopped eating.
Michael stared at me.
“Put that away.”
“No.”
I swiped to the messages.
“You told her you were leaving me after you moved our savings.”
Patricia suddenly laughed under her breath.
I looked at her.
“You think this is funny?”
She leaned back in her chair.
“My son wouldn’t look elsewhere if his wife knew how to keep him happy.”
I felt my stomach twist.
Michael smirked.
That was when I realized she already knew.
“You knew about her?”
Patricia lifted her wine glass.
“I knew my son was unhappy.”
I turned toward Michael.
“You brought your mistress around your mother?”
“Enough!” he shouted.
I held up my phone.
“No. Everyone deserves to know exactly what kind of man you are.”
Michael grabbed his wine glass.
Before anyone could stop him, he threw it at me.
The glass struck my forehead and shattered against the wall behind me.
Everyone screamed.
I touched my forehead and looked down at the blood on my fingers.
Michael went completely still.
Patricia didn’t rush toward me.
She looked at her son and said coldly, “She pushed you too far.”
Something inside me became strangely calm.
I picked up a white napkin and pressed it against my forehead.
Then I took out my phone.
Michael scoffed.
“Calling the police?”
“No.”
I dialed a number I had memorized weeks ago.
When my attorney answered, I kept my eyes on Michael.
“Rachel, I need you to bring the divorce papers to Patricia’s house.”
Michael’s face changed.
Patricia stopped smiling.
“And bring the emergency filing we discussed.”
Michael stood up.
“What emergency filing?”
I wiped another streak of blood from my cheek.
“The one freezing the accounts you emptied this morning.”
His chair hit the floor behind him.
“How the hell do you know about that?”
May you like
Then my lawyer said something through the phone that made me look directly at Patricia.
“Wait… you found whose name on the transfer?”
