Chapter Ten: The Settlement
Kelly stood up abruptly. Paced to the window.
“You humiliated me. Do you know what it felt like to have some stranger show up at my yoga class and serve me divorce papers in front of my students?”
“I know what it felt like to hear my wife calculate the value of our marriage like it was a stock portfolio,” Ernest replied quietly. “I know what it felt like to hear you tell your friend you stopped loving me a year ago — but stayed anyway for the money. So yes, Kelly. I know what humiliation feels like.”
She spun around.
Tears streamed down her face. Ernest couldn’t tell if they were genuine or strategic. He’d thought he knew this woman. He’d been wrong about that.
“What do you want? You clearly have all the power here. What’s your endgame?”
Ernest pulled out a folder and slid it across the table.
“This is a proposed settlement agreement. You can have your attorney review it, but the terms are non-negotiable.”
Kelly snatched up the folder. Flipped through the pages. He watched her expression shift — anger to disbelief to rage.
“This is insane. You’re offering me almost nothing.”
“I’m offering you exactly what you’re entitled to by law. We split the equity in the townhouse — about 17,000 each after we pay off the mortgage. You keep your car, I keep mine. We each keep our individual retirement accounts and investment accounts since we kept them separate throughout the marriage. And no alimony — given the documented evidence that you stayed in the marriage for financial strategy rather than affection or commitment.”
“The judge will never agree to no alimony. I gave up career opportunities to support your work.”
Ernest raised an eyebrow.
“You worked fifteen hours a week teaching yoga. You worked fifteen hours a week when we met. You didn’t give up anything. You chose a part-time career that you enjoy, and I never pressured you to work more. In fact, I encouraged you to do what made you happy.”
“I could have built a bigger client base.”
“You could have. But you didn’t. And that’s not my responsibility. You’re thirty-one years old, healthy, educated, and capable of supporting yourself. The recording proves you stayed in this marriage as a financial strategy. No judge is going to reward that with alimony.”
Kelly slammed the folder down.
“I won’t sign this.”
“Then we go to court. And I present all my evidence. And you explain to a judge why you hired a divorce attorney three months ago and were waiting for the five-year mark to file. Your choice.”
