My Husband Told Me He Wants a Divorce and Asked Me to Speak to His Lawyer, So I Did.
Sophia will recount how I took control of my life and put a stop to my husband Xander’s destructive influence. For privacy reasons, I’ll be using pseudonyms, as a prominent lawyer in my state. Anonymity is crucial for various reasons. Let’s not delve into the intricacies of my and Xander’s love story. We fell in love, got married, and eventually divorced. The love, it seemed, wasn’t reciprocal, as Xander cheated on me. The signs were apparent: avoidance, excessive time outside, and frequent business trips. Though I wasn’t involved in his sizable business, Xander considered me a failure due to earning less than him.
One day, during another one of his supposed business trips, I decided to investigate. I discovered a secret Facebook account on his old laptop, confirming my suspicions. He was cheating with a beautiful woman—someone he found more attractive than me—often criticizing my appearance. Heartbroken and angered, I confronted him immediately.
“Xander, are you cheating on me? I have proof!” I declared.
Xander callously responded, “Sophia, you’re just not that interesting anymore. You’re always engrossed in pointless cases, neglecting me. Besides, you’re not a supermodel who can captivate me with looks alone.”
Confused, I retorted, “What are you talking about, Xander? I have a demanding job, and you knew that when we got married! I haven’t neglected you; it’s you who stopped coming home and refused to communicate.”
That’s how I discovered Xander’s affair. When I finally decided to confront him, I anticipated a degree of remorse from him, but the cold response I received caught me off guard. He shifted all the blame onto me, justifying his cheating—a claim that held no validity. Refusing to be falsely accused, I pointed out the flaws in his accusations. Instead of defending his position, he turned cold once more and nonchalantly revealed that he was relieved I had discovered his affair.
In a chilling tone, Xander declared, “Good that you found out, Sophia. I no longer have to hide my beautiful girlfriend. She and I will have a perfect life together after I divorce your useless self. Finally, I will marry someone who’s worthy of me and my name.”
His words hit me like a ton of bricks, sending a cold shiver down my spine. As he spoke of divorce, he not only insulted me but also asserted that I was not good enough for him, accusing me of being a bad wife. He showed no remorse for his affair and even boasted about how a mistress would make a better spouse. Tears streamed down my face as he demeaned me, proclaiming his affair with pride. This was the man I had loved for over a decade, and his words left me shattered.
Through my tears, I asked, “How could you say that, Xander? All these years I’ve been beside you through thick and thin, honoring my vows and valuing you above all else.”
His callous response cut deep, dismissing my worth. “Well, Sophia, it doesn’t matter anymore. You’re just not right for me. I’m now a proud business owner, and a woman with average looks and a pretentious law degree won’t do me any good.”
Feeling utterly demeaned, I protested, “How could you, Xander? I’m a capable woman! Even if I don’t fit your narrow definition of beauty, I’ve been a good wife to you, and now you’re contemplating divorce.”
Correcting me, he stated coldly, “I’m not contemplating divorce, Sophia. I’ve already decided to divorce you. I’m done. I don’t want to be with you anymore. I will file soon and have already hired a great lawyer. You better move out before I come home; I don’t want to see your ugly face anymore.”
A few hours after Xander hung up on me, he sent the divorce papers through a friend, who looked at me sympathetically. I numbly accepted the papers, shut the door, and cried miserably, letting the reality of my wasted years with a horrible man sink in. However, I decided I wouldn’t let this break me. I was a strong woman who would take control of her life and teach Xander a lesson.
When Xander’s friend delivered the papers, he mentioned that Xander had talked about drawing out the divorce. Initially puzzled, it dawned on me that we had a prenup. Xander had insisted that I was entitled to half of his business if he cheated—something I had overlooked in my emotional turmoil. It made sense why Xander wanted to prolong the divorce; he hoped I would give up my rightful share. Determined not to let go of what was rightfully mine, I immediately called his lawyer and set up an appointment.
Within two days, I moved out of Xander’s house and into my childhood home, which was in my name. I texted Xander that I had already moved my belongings, asserting, “I took my ugly face and body out of your damn house.”
“Good that you’ve come to your senses and are not making a fuss,” Xander responded, boasting about his lawyer’s reputation. But I calmly warned him, “I won’t give you my business, that’s for sure. For now, you will stay away from me. I don’t want to talk to you; you can only speak to me through my lawyers now, and I expect you to empty my house.”
Xander’s words ignited a surge of boiling rage within me. It’s astonishing how anger and hatred can fuel one’s determination when faced with such utter contempt. My mind cleared, and I couldn’t help but almost laugh at Xander’s ignorance. He had no clue who he was up against; doubtful that his lawyer Jake knew either.
I arranged a meeting with him at a café. Upon seeing me, Jake began to visibly tremble, only calming down upon recognizing me. He seemed confident, but not enough. Jake was a decent lawyer, but he hadn’t anticipated facing off against someone like me. Xander never considered me influential, so Jake was utterly unprepared for our encounter.
“Hello, Jake. Nice to see you here,” I greeted, noticing his surprise. “If you have any doubts, let me clear them for you: yes, I am the wife.”
“Ma’am, I’m so sorry; I wasn’t expecting you to show up,” Jake stammered, flustered by my presence.
“The surnames don’t match because I got married after I received my law degree. I used my maiden name for official purposes,” I explained.
“Ah, I see,” Jake muttered, visibly uncomfortable. “So I’m guessing you want to drag out this case?”
“That’s what my client has told me,” he said.
“Your client has been misleading you, Jake. He’s the one who wants to prolong this case, isn’t that what he told you?” I confronted him directly, knowing my reputation as a lawyer spoke volumes.
Jake squirmed under my scrutiny. Accustomed to asking the right questions, I didn’t mince words. “You don’t have to answer that, Jake. I’ve known Xander for over a decade. I married that idiot, for God’s sake! I know what goes through his thick head.”
Concerned for Jake’s predicament, I decided to enlighten him. “Since I know you, and it’s not fair on you, I’ll tell you the truth about this divorce.”
“What do you mean, ma’am?” Jake inquired, clearly taken aback.
“Did my dear husband mention to you that he cheated on me?” I asked pointedly, watching Jake’s expression for confirmation. His reaction spoke volumes, confirming my suspicions. Once again, Jake was caught off guard by my revelation.
I won’t lie to you; it did sting and hurt my ego to admit to my colleague that I had been cheated on. It’s not a pleasant experience. However, I knew better than to betray my emotions. No matter how humiliated I felt, I still had the upper hand, and I was well aware of that. Jake, on the other hand, didn’t know.
“Oh no, I don’t think my client has told me about that, but he did warn me that, in his words, you would make some baseless accusations because you want to ruin him.”
“Oh, you poor thing, Jake! Your client has played you like a fiddle. Although it might make you happy to know that Xander thinks you are one of the best lawyers out there.”
“Well, that’s a big compliment, but I will never measure up to you, ma’am,” Jake confessed. “I wish he had told me that his wife also practices law. He only told me that you work at a law firm.”
“My husband never really took my accomplishments seriously. He had a habit of undermining my work and influence. It was foolish of me to stay with him this long. However, it was smart of me to sign the prenup to save my butt,” I shared.
Jake was completely taken aback by the mention of the word “prenup.” He looked shocked, and the term seemed foreign to him. I didn’t mean to be a rocket scientist to know that he had been ambushed again. Xander had conveniently forgotten to mention the prenup to Jake, perhaps hoping I had forgotten about it. Well, who knows? It didn’t matter since the word of the prenup was out there.
Jake was frazzled. “There’s a prenup in this marriage? Your husband hadn’t mentioned that! Do you have any proof, ma’am?” he inquired.
“Oh, I do have plenty of proof, Jake. I brought the papers along. I had a feeling that Xander would try to get out of dealing with the consequences of his actions. Well, not on my watch!”
“I would really like to see the papers, ma’am. Also, I think I would need to see proof of his affair if you have any.”
“Don’t worry, Jake. I brought along everything. Like I said, it isn’t me who wants to drag out this divorce; the sooner it happens, the better it is for me.”
I handed over all the evidence to Jake, from messages to pictures and documents. I had all the proof right in my handbag, casually giving them to Jake, knowing that the case would always go in my favor. Jake studied each and every document thoroughly before sighing and looking rather defeated. He then looked at me and said, “I see that you have solid proof of everything, ma’am. I had no idea about all of these things. I figured that out, Jake. Also, I know how difficult it is to work with unreliable clients, especially when the opposite party has an equally strong lawyer for their case.”
“You’re right about that, ma’am. I think that’s all I needed to talk about today. I believe I need to have a serious conversation with my client before I decide to proceed with his case. I’m sure someone will contact you soon, although I can’t say that it will be me.”
I could tell what Jake was hinting at but didn’t comment on it. I thanked him for his time and proceeded to walk out of the café. I went straight to work and started to prepare my own documents for the divorce. All the lingering sadness was gone. Now there was this rage within me that was driving me to make sure Xander suffered for what he had done, and I knew he had no way out of this mess he had created.
It took Xander one day to get back to me. He called me on my number despite telling me not to contact him directly. It was funny but not surprising. I knew he would find himself in this situation. When I answered his call, he sounded very pissed off.
“What the hell did you say to my lawyer, Sophia?”
“Look who’s calling after telling me to stay away! Now what happened with your lawyer?”
“Xander, stop playing around. Tell me what you told him that made him quit!”
“Your lawyer quit today? How sad for you, Xander! You better hurry up because I hear that your mistress has been dying to marry you.”
“I’m not worried about her anymore. Listen, Sophia, we need to talk. You have been sabotaging my lawyer so that they wouldn’t take my case. That is very unfair.”
I immediately laughed when he said that. I couldn’t believe that Xander would have the audacity to pin the entire blame on me. This once again showed how little he valued my profession. He thought that just because he was willing to throw money, people would pull at his feet.
“Oh dear, that’s an amazing joke, Xander! Let me just clear that misconception for you: I haven’t been sabotaging anything. It’s your stupidity that’s causing trouble.”
“I don’t understand. What did I even do?”
“Should I remind you how you lied to your lawyers about the affair and the prenup? That is enough to make them look like fools in court. Do you think lawyers would jump at representing unreliable clients like you? Besides, I will admit that my name will make a lot of people walk away. You may consider me to be useless, but I actually do have a good name in this profession.”
“Yes, I know that now, Sophia. I’ve tried being open with lawyers too, but none of them are willing to help me.”
“That’s what happens when you try to go against an ironclad prenup. You really should have thought your affair through, Xander. Not that it matters now; the damage is done. No sane lawyer would fight for your cause. You’ll be giving me half of your business.”
Xander’s facial expression said it all. He didn’t want to lose his business. I mean, that’s why he tried to pick a good lawyer and drag out the divorce. He wanted to keep me hanging long enough until I would snap and just leave him alone without demanding half of his company.
After a few days, it became clear to him that no one would take his side. Hell, he was even finding it hard to find any lawyer who would go against me. So he did what he thought was his last resort: he started to cry and beg.
“Sophia, you know how much this business means to me. Please don’t do this! You can take everything else, but please don’t ask to split the business.”
“Why not, Xander? You were the one who put in the clause of splitting the business in case you cheated! You think I will give up my rights that easily? I deserve it after the betrayal you threw in my face!”
“It was all a mistake, Sophia! Believe me, I have actually put my relationship on hold because I know what a big mistake it was. Maybe, just maybe, we can give this marriage a try. I can say for sure that this hurdle will only make us stronger.”
Xander’s words made me laugh out loud again. The audacity of this man was unmatched by anyone I knew. I really didn’t know what to say. He was actually asking to get back together as if I would be stupid enough to do that. I did know that he had put a pause on his relationship with his mistress. The rumors were out that the mistress was not happy, and neither was Xander. But if he thinks this will make me go back to him, he is dead wrong. I already made the mistake of marrying a piece of trash and learned my lesson the hard way. Plus, I knew why he was suddenly desperate to get me back.
“You must be delusional for suggesting something like that, Xander! I didn’t come this far in life by being utterly stupid. I know that you want to get back to me because you don’t want to split your business.”
“Sophia, we were happy together! Let’s just look past this one time and restart our marriage. I will cut off my mistress, I swear!”
“There’s no reason to do that, Xander. Believe me, that woman is going to start running once she finds out that you won’t be very rich after the divorce. As for me, this is my golden chance to get out of this sham of a marriage. I must thank you for showing your true colors before we had kids. Now you will reap what you have sown.”
With that, I was pretty much done with my piece. I immediately stopped talking while Xander kept begging and pleading with me not to take his business. It was a rather pathetic scene, but it didn’t move me at all. Instead, it made me think of the times I went to bed crying because this piece of exploitive trash I called my husband decided to betray me. Seeing Xander in a vulnerable place only gave me satisfaction and completed my revenge. Now I simply needed a clean break to start fresh.
Well, I definitely got more than what I had bargained for. Karma hit Xander hard and fast. He tried for weeks to change my mind and make me come back home. I turned a blind eye to everything simply because I wasn’t interested in his drama. I was ready to move on. Since he had filed for divorce already, I hired someone from my firm to represent me. I’m not a divorce lawyer, so I couldn’t do it myself. Besides, I wanted as minimal interaction with him as possible.
After a month of trying to change my mind, he was forced to get a lawyer and ask for a clean break. He knew that if I took the case to court, he would only face humiliation and ultimately waste money on lawyers appointed by the court. So he receded and asked for a mutual split. The prenup made it super easy for me to get the divorce. Of course, I had plenty of proof to show everyone that Xander cheated. As per the prenup, he was supposed to give up half of his business to me. He wasn’t happy, but there was no way out, so he signed over half of it to me.
We did give him an offer to buy me out, but he had no money now. Why would a big business owner like Xander have no money, you ask? Well, he had spent it all on his mistress, who is now not taking his calls or texts. I guess she figured out that he won’t be rich anymore, but now no one is willing to date her because they know what a gold digger she is. What goes around comes around, I guess.
Well, the mistress was the least of Xander’s troubles. With half of his business gone, his earnings were severely reduced. He had to sell his house because he didn’t have much money to maintain it or even pay the mortgage properly. He’s currently renting a condo that is a serious downgrade from the big mansion he stayed at. He did try to get back with me again in the hopes of regaining full control of his business. Well, safe to say that is never happening.
He now either has to continue the way it is or manage to save enough money to buy me out. If you want to know about me, I’m actually doing pretty well. I have appointed someone to take care of my share of Xander’s business, and so far, things have been amazing. I ended up upgrading my lifestyle by buying a new mansion due to my combined income from my law practice and business. Things are going well; I’m living my best life, and I honestly couldn’t be happier. All in all, the divorce played out well for me. Instead of getting played by my ex-husband and his mistress, I ended up ruining their lives and bettering mine.
