Do you have evidence?

I stood looking at Kan as he stared in shock for a few seconds, unable to speak. Then he reached out, trying to hold my hand, perhaps in apology.

I stepped back.

“You lied.” I said gently, quietly. On that ride home, I had decided I was not going to freak out.

“Ariel.” His eyes were looking at me sadly, as if he was the one who had been hurt. 

I shook my head. That was not going to work.

All that pity and sympathy was not going to work anymore. That was what had almost caused me the mistake of working on loving him, just this night.

I would have been loving and building a life with a liar!

“She is your best friend and had access to my child.”

“Eleanor could never hurt Oliver.”

“Why not? We are responsible for keeping you away.” 

“Ariel. This is not what you think it is.”

“How long?”

“What?”

“How long has your affair been?”

His brow furrowed in confusion, as though those were suddenly Greek words he could not understand. “Eleanor and I are not having an affair.”

I smiled and stepped back now, “So I am the mistress then. It fits well. I became a mistress for the second time.”

“You are my wife!” he said with force. 

“Not anymore,” I said. 

I waited so he could see this was not like other times. I had told him clearly the last time he lied to me would be the last. 

He seemed to see the gravity of my words because he ran his hand up his hair in distress, shaking his head.

“No.”

I watched him quietly. He can be in denial all he wants. I had said my piece and I was done.

“I love you Ariel. You. I have never loved Eleanor.” 

I shook my head staring at him, thinking about the video and Eleanor crashing out when he told her that. “Do you actually think that makes me feel better?” 

He frowned at this, obviously surprised that I was not happy that he loved me more than the woman he was not only cheating with but kept by his side on purpose.

I did not want to talk anymore about this. Their relationship was none of my business and I had no desire to be in a love triangle, not when I had my son to protect.

“We are definitely getting divorced this time. I will call the lawyer by morning.”

“Ariel.” He reached out for me again, but I raised my hand up to halt him, stepping back. 

He stood, watching me with pain and frustration in his eyes.

“Please move to another room,” I said calmly. “You don’t expect me to continue sharing a room with you.”

“We are not getting a divorce.” He said, as if his words would suddenly make that the truth. “We cannot have a divorce!”

“If you choose not to sign the papers, we can just separate now. I will move out of the house by morning.”

“You are running to him,” he said, his lips flat now, and my shoulders sagged in exasperation. 

I really was not going to start arguing about Blaine anymore. I really won’t.

“Please leave.” I turned my back to him. 

He stood there for some time and I heard him attempt to come close to me a few times, but he stopped again.

Finally, I heard the bedroom door open and close.

I turned around slowly and collapsed onto the bed, sitting in a heap. There were no tears in my eyes. 

I left early the next morning for our lawyer’s office to avoid running into Kan. 

Of course, our lawyer was surprised to see me. 

Usually we sent an invitation, and he showed up wherever we wanted to see him, instead of the other way around.

“Please come in,” he said, ushering me into his dark blue-themed office that screamed trust, with a floor-to-ceiling window that looked out to a blue lake, so wide it blended with the sky at some point.

“I am getting a divorce,” I said, even though I was aware that this was Kan’s lawyer and his loyalties most likely lay with Kan. 

But thanks to Kan’s distrust initially, I knew I would be safe.

Although we were a couple, our assets were separate with a tight prenup Kan had drawn up, possibly from fear of the rumor that I was Blaine's greedy mistress and would run away with half his wealth.

The lawyer looked at me now like he was not at all surprised by my announcement. Like he had in fact been expecting it.

“Is the chairman aware of this or would you rather he found out when he is served?” He said, briefly glancing at me from below his glasses.

“He is,” I said calmly, watching him pretend to be busy, even though I knew whatever he was doing could not be more important than me on his clientele list, or what would be the biggest divorce proceeding in the country. 

Well, beside Blain’s.

“My husband is cheating,” I said clearly, and I saw the man wince before the expression disappeared again on his face. 

He was obviously not on my side. He felt no pity for me, just upset that his boss would make such a mistake.

This was made even more obvious when he asked the next question, in what was a deceptively sympathizing voice. 

“Do you have evidence of this?”

“Yes, I do.” I responded, then I smiled calmly. “It does not get better than video evidence, does it?”

The man went quiet now, and I became quite resolved that this would not be my lawyer. 

I did not know how to go about finding a lawyer with qualifications that were not chumy with Kan, but I will.

“I want a no-fault divorce.” I said the final words, and sure enough they had the startling effect that I knew it would have. 

The man looked up at me, shock in his eyes, then it gave way to suspicion.

With Kan cheating on me, I could sue him for all he was worth in our divorce proceedings, but I was not taking that opportunity.

So, of course, it was suspicious.

I picked up my bag, and stood up. It was a mistake to come here. 

“I have to be somewhere. I will communicate the rest of the details with you. Please get the divorce petition as soon as possible.”

As I got to my car again, I saw a reminder on my phone for a meeting between Blaine and I to go over the designs. 

The first meeting.

I had no interest in going to Mõshon now, where I could run into Kan and then have to watch him and Blaine argue and fight. 

I was so over that. Where else could we do this without any disturbance?

Just then my phone rang, it was Blaine calling.