Chapter 13 - The Confrontation at the Office
While the legal gears were grinding into motion, Jessica decided to take matters into her own hands.
Since she was banned from my parents' property in Westchester and blocked on my phone, she drove all the way out to the suburban co-working space where I occasionally rented a private office for client meetings, hoping to catch me off guard.
I was walking out of the building with a folder of documents when a familiar voice shrilly pierced the parking lot.
“Allison! Stop right there!”
I turned around. Jessica looked disheveled, her designer handbag clutched tightly in her hand, her face flushed with righteous fury.
“You think you’re so smart, don’t you?” Jessica snapped, marching right up to me. “Cutting off Tony’s school, ruining my life, acting like some kind of corporate martyr just because Michael asked for a divorce like any normal husband would when his wife turns cold!”
I stared at her, maintaining a calm, steady distance. “Jessica, leave. If you don't step back right now, I’m calling building security and having you cited for harassment.”
“You’re a parasite!” she shrieked, ignoring my warning. “You trapped my brother, you pretended to have a little home business while bleeding his salary dry, and now that you’re pregnant you think you can hold us all hostage—”
“Bleeding his salary dry?” I interrupted, my voice cutting through her rant with absolute authority.
Jessica blinked, taken aback by my tone.
“Open your eyes, Jessica,” I said, stepping closer. “Who do you think paid your car lease down payment three years ago? Who covered your medical deductible when you didn't have insurance? And who paid Tony’s tuition for the last six semesters?”
She hesitated for a split second, her expression flickering with confusion before hardening again. “Michael did! My brother works hard—”
“Your brother made less than ninety thousand dollars a year at his mid-level corporate firm,” I said coldly. “Our apartment rent alone was forty-eight thousand a year. Do the math. If you had relied solely on Michael’s salary, you wouldn't have survived the first year of our marriage, let alone funded private school tuition. Every single luxury you and your mother enjoyed came directly from my consulting revenue.”
Jessica stared at me, her mouth opening slightly. For the first time, the terrifying possibility that I was telling the truth seemed to break through her denial.
May you like
Without waiting for her to process it, I turned around, got into my car, and drove away, leaving her standing alone in the parking lot.
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