All Chapters of After the First Snow: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Robert passed away early the next morning. Julian helped Diane handle the insurance, the estate, and the memorial fund, and he delivered the eulogy at the funeral, held at Robert's fire station. A tech outlet captured a screenshot from the livestream. The headline read:NorthStar CEO bids farewell to future father-in-law; high school romance may be entering a new Chapter.In the break room, my coworkers whispered that "Lena finally had her chance." Meanwhile, Julian's actual wife was working just down the hall, and no one had any idea.That afternoon, I went to see Rebecca Hall, the attorney who had handled our prenup."What are you looking for?""A divorce. The apartment stays with me under the prenup. We can split the joint accounts and the house fairly. I don't want anything more than that.""Why now?"I placed the hospital folder on her desk. "Because I used to wait for him to understand. I used to want to save this. Now I'm the one who finally understands."Once the papers were re

The divorce papers were served at NorthStar two days later.The process server handed them to Julian just as a board meeting ended, with more than a dozen directors still in the room. His assistant logged the visit simply as: Personal service of legal documents.The marriage we'd hidden for three years came to the attention of company leadership for the first time because it was ending.That evening, Rebecca called with a message from Julian's attorney. "He's asking to put the divorce on hold and try marriage counseling first.""No."Less than ten minutes after I hung up, the front desk at my apartment called."Mr. Mercer says he's your husband.""There's a note on his name. Don't let him in."Julian called right after."We're not divorced yet.""Which is exactly why we need boundaries.""I'm not some stranger."I walked to the window. A light drizzle covered the street like fog. Julian stood outside the entrance, his suit already soaked at the shoulders."According to my building's ac

Diane came to the office in person.By the time the receptionist called me, Eileen and the HR director already knew she was there. I didn't let Diane come upstairs. Instead, I met her at the ground-floor café and set my phone on the table."I'm going to record this. Are you okay with that?"She stared at the phone, hesitated, then nodded."Before we start, I need you to confirm that you know Julian and I are getting divorced, and that I'm not responsible for Lena's treatment.""I know."I pressed record. "Go ahead.""Lena lost her father and her job. Julian is all she has left.""She has doctors, social workers, family, and a crisis team.""A doctor can't give her hope.""And Julian isn't her cure."Diane's expression froze."You want me to validate her claim on a married man.""They were always meant to be together. If Robert's illness hadn't held her back, she would have married Julian long ago.""That's the life you imagined for her. It's not my responsibility.""She almost died!""

After NorthStar suspended the partnership, Cascadia called an emergency company-wide meeting.The acquisition project was put on hold. Three clients decided not to renew their contracts, and management announced budget cuts. Daniel cornered me in the break room. "You're getting a divorce from Julian. Why does the rest of the company have to go down with you?""I didn't ask him to do this.""Then who do you think he's doing it for?"It didn't take long for the rest of the office to start thinking the same way.Some said I'd gone crying to my husband after losing the promotion. Others claimed I'd filed for divorce just to force him to give me his assets. In a matter of days, Julian's actions had erased my hard work.I went straight to NorthStar.The receptionist didn't try to stop me. A board meeting was already underway when I walked in. Julian sat at the head of the table."Restore the partnership."He asked everyone else to leave."Cascadia mishandled the conflict of interest.""Then

On day sixty-nine of the waiting period, we met for formal mediation in a windowless conference room.Julian and I sat at opposite ends of the table. After we finished discussing the house, our accounts, and taxes, the mediator asked if there was any chance of reconciliation.Julian said, "I'm willing to give Claire the house and some of my shares. I'll go to marriage counseling for as long as it takes. We can still have a family. We can still have children."At the word "children," I opened the folder.I laid out my hospital wristband, medical records, discharge papers, and screenshots of the eleven unanswered calls.Julian stared at the wristband. "What is this?""My ER records from the day of that first snow last year.""You were hurt?""I had a miscarriage."His face went white."What?""I didn't even know I was pregnant until I fell. I lost the baby that day."He reached for the wristband. I held it down against the table."This is my medical record, not a keepsake for you.""Why