Chapter 9 - The Ultimatum
Michael clutched the manila folder against his chest, looking like the ground beneath him had suddenly given way.
“Allison... I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “I was blind. I let Mom dictate how I saw our marriage, how I saw you. But we can fix this. We’re having a baby. Come home with me. We’ll cut Mom and Jessica off, we’ll get couples counseling—”
“No, Michael,” I interrupted, my voice steady and unyielding.
He stopped, staring at me in panic. “What do you mean, no? We’re married!”
“We were married until you sat at our dinner table last night, watched your mother and sister humiliate me, and then casually suggested divorce the second things got uncomfortable,” I said, looking straight into his eyes. “You didn't defend me. You didn't ask how I was feeling. You threw our seven years together away because you wanted a quiet life where you didn't have to manage your family's toxicity.”
“I didn't mean it like that,” he pleaded. “I was stressed—”
“You meant every word,” I said. “And worse than that, you didn't even know your own wife. You didn't know my work, you didn't know my finances, and you didn't even notice that I was carrying our child until I flashed my medical portal in your face.”
Michael opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. The weight of his own apathy had finally caught up with him.
May you like
“Have your lawyer contact my lawyer,” I repeated the words he had texted me less than twenty-four hours ago. “And good luck explaining to Jessica why her son is getting un-enrolled from private school on Monday morning.”
---
