Chapter 5

Two weeks later.

The courthouse stood tall with its classic European-style architecture. Its white marble pillars seemed to have witnessed thousands of divorces within its walls. Today, another one would be added to that long list.

My divorce.

Today I wore a simple black dress. Not too tight, not too loose. It reached my knees, with long sleeves covering the arms I had never liked. I fixed my hair neatly, tying it back.

My phone vibrated.

A message from Julian.

"I already sent a car to pick you up."

I let out a sigh. During the past two weeks, Julian had always appeared at unexpected moments. He sent me the best lawyer. He even arranged this divorce hearing incredibly quickly, as if he wanted everything finished as soon as possible.

The luxurious black car picked me up exactly at nine in the morning.

I stepped out of the car with slightly trembling legs. Robert Abraham, my lawyer, was already waiting for me in front of the entrance wearing a black blazer and a confident expression.

"Relax, Mrs. Lorena. We've already won this battle before it even started," he said.

I nodded. "I trust you."

We walked inside the building.

Diego was already sitting there on the opposite side of the room. His expensive navy suit looked immaculate, his hair perfectly styled, and beside him was Isabella.

The woman sat very close to Diego. Her hand held onto his arm, occasionally whispering something into his ear that made him smile faintly. They looked romantic, like a couple attending a party instead of a divorce hearing.

Isabella wore a cream-colored silk dress so tight it displayed every curve of her slender body. Her long black hair fell beautifully over her shoulders. Her face was flawless with light makeup that made her look like a model.

Then she looked at me.

Her eyes traveled from the top of my head down to my shoes, and her lips curled into a mocking smile.

I held my breath. I straightened my back and walked toward my seat with my head held high.

"So you actually came," Diego greeted coldly when I sat down.

"Mr. Diego," Robert interrupted before I could answer, "it would be best to save all conversations for the courtroom."

Diego scoffed in annoyance.

The judge entered the room. A middle-aged woman with black hair and reading glasses hanging from her neck. Everyone stood up, and the hearing began.

At first, Diego appeared calm. His lawyer, an older man with a thick mustache, proposed a division of assets that heavily disadvantaged me. Only twenty percent for me, eighty percent for Diego. His reasoning was that I had never worked and never contributed financially during the marriage.

"I worked as a housewife. I took care of the house, cooked, cleaned, and handled all my husband's needs for five years. That is work, and I deserve compensation," I said when I was given the chance to speak.

Diego let out a small laugh. "A housewife? That's not work. That's a wife's obligation."

"Mr. Diego," the judge warned, "you may speak when it is your turn."

But Diego did not have to wait long before losing his composure.

Robert pulled out a thick brown envelope and placed it on the judge's desk.

"Your Honor, we have evidence that Mr. Diego Mendoza has been involved in an affair for at least the past six months with a woman named Isabella Rodriguez. This evidence includes video recordings, photographs, and electronic messages confirming the illicit relationship."

Diego's face immediately turned pale.

Isabella stopped smiling.

"What evidence?" Diego stood up. "It's fake. It's fabricated!"

"Mr. Diego, sit down!" the judge ordered.

But my lawyer had already played a short video on his laptop. Just enough to show Diego and Isabella in bed together in a situation that could not possibly be denied. Enough to make the judge frown deeply.

Diego fell silent.

His face turned bright red, then pale, then red again, and he glared at me with wide eyes.

"Where did you get that?"

I did not answer.

"And your lawyer. He's expensive. Where did you get the money to pay him? You have nothing!"

Isabella grabbed Diego's arm, whispering something for him to calm down, but Diego was already like a bull seeing red.

"Who's funding you?" he shouted.

"Mr. Diego!" the judge slammed her gavel. "I am warning you one last time. If you cannot control yourself, I will remove you from this courtroom!"

Diego sat back down, but his eyes never left me.

The hearing continued. With undeniable proof of the affair, the judge ruled the assets would be divided fifty-fifty. I received half of everything Diego owned. Houses, cars, stocks, and savings.

Diego bit his lip. His fists clenched tightly on top of the table.

"Custody? There are no children. Therefore, this divorce is officially granted. Lorena Valeria and Diego Mendoza, your marriage is legally terminated."

The gavel sounded once more.

Finished.

I was no longer tied to Diego.

My lawyer gently patted my shoulder. "Congratulations, Mrs. Lorena. Or perhaps I should call you Miss Lorena now."

I gave a faint smile. "Thank you. I could not have done this without you."

When I walked out of the courtroom, I moved through the marble hallway toward the exit. Behind me, I heard hurried footsteps.

"Lorena!"

I stopped.

Diego caught up to me. His face was red, his breathing uneven.

"What the hell was that? Where did you get all of that? The evidence? That lawyer? You must be hiding behind someone. Who? Who helped you?" he demanded.

"Does it matter, Diego?" I asked.

"Yes, it matters! Because there's no way you could've done this alone. You have nothing. You're a useless fat woman!"

"Stop," I said.

Diego fell silent, perhaps because it was the first time I had ever interrupted him.

"We're divorced now. You have no reason to keep insulting me. And to answer your question, yes, I didn't do this alone. Someone helped me, but that's none of your business anymore," I replied.

I turned around and walked toward the exit.

Outside the building, I let out a relieved breath.

And there, right at the bottom of the courthouse stairs, a luxurious black car was parked.

The back door opened.

Julian Mendoza stepped out.

He wore a dark gray suit with a white shirt and no tie, the top two buttons undone, revealing part of his strong neck. His hair was neatly slicked back, and those blue eyes immediately locked onto me.

He walked toward me, climbing the stairs with confident strides. Everyone around us stared at him.

He stopped right in front of me, then extended his hand.

"You did well. I'm proud of you," he said.

I took his hand.

His fingers intertwined tightly with mine.

He guided me down the stairs.

Behind me, I could hear hurried footsteps again.

Diego. Of course it was Diego.

"Julian?" Diego's voice sounded from behind us. "Julian?"

Julian stopped. He turned around, but his hand never released mine. I stood beside him, holding his hand, feeling a strange warmth spread from his palm throughout my body.

Diego stood at the top of the stairs, his face deathly pale. Isabella stood behind him, her eyes wide as she stared at the scene before her.

"What the hell is this?" Diego asked.

"Starting today, she belongs to me," Julian said.

Diego froze. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.

"What?" I asked, equally shocked.

Julian continued, "I'm going to marry her soon. Maybe next month, maybe in two weeks, or maybe tomorrow."

Julian looked at his nephew with a gaze that sent chills through me.

"Be careful calling the woman who will become my wife by those words again. Say it one more time, and you will be destroyed."

"Do you have no pride? Taking your own nephew's used woman?" Diego asked.

"You're the one who threw her away, while I'm simply taking what you discarded. And I'll treat her in ways you never could," Julian replied.

He glanced briefly at Isabella.

"You'd better keep that man under control too, Isabella. Because if he dares to bother Lorena again, I can erase your family's business."

Isabella swallowed hard. She tugged Diego's arm and whispered something, trying to convince him to leave.

But Diego could not move.

His eyes were fixed on my hand still locked with Julian's. Fixed on Julian standing beside me, protecting me, defending me.

"Let's go," Julian said to me.

I nodded.

I walked beside him down the last steps, his hand still holding mine tightly.

Inside the car, Julian looked at me.

I stared into those blue eyes.

"What you said in front of Diego earlier... were you serious?" I asked.

"Do I look like the kind of man who talks nonsense in public?"

I didn't know how to answer.

He leaned closer, his face only centimeters away from mine.

"You're going to become my wife. I've wanted you since the first moment I saw you at your wedding five years ago."

I gasped. "What?"

"Five years," he repeated. "I've been waiting for you for five years, waiting for your marriage to fall apart. And now you belong to me."

I was stunned hearing that.

"Prepare yourself. We're getting married as soon as possible," he said.