Chapter 12: The Divorce
The divorce proceedings moved forward with the same steady pace as the property dispute.
Aaron did not contest the postnuptial agreement again. His attorney focused instead on parenting time and the division of the few joint assets that existed outside the house. Rebecca negotiated clear terms: primary physical custody with me, a standard visitation schedule for Aaron once the baby was born, and no claim whatsoever on the property.
We signed the final papers on a gray Tuesday morning. Aaron sat across the table and looked at me only once. There was no anger left in his expression—only a tired recognition that the life he had assumed would continue had already ended.
Afterward, in the hallway, he spoke quietly.
“I didn’t think you’d actually fight me on the house.”
“I didn’t think you’d try to give it away to your family,” I answered.
May you like
He nodded once, as if that settled something between us, and walked away.
I drove home alone and sat in the parked car for a long time before going inside. The fight was over. What remained was the quieter work of building a life that no longer included the people who had treated my parents’ sacrifice as an opportunity.
