Chapter 7 - Ashes of the Past
The divorce was finalized six months later.
The judge granted me everything I asked for. Because Mark had committed financial dissipation, he was ordered to repay the ninety-five thousand dollars through wage garnishments for the rest of his foreseeable working life.
I walked out of the courthouse that crisp spring morning feeling lighter than I had in a decade. Mark was waiting by the steps, looking like a ghost of the man I had married. His expensive suits were gone, replaced by a rumpled jacket and sunken eyes.
“Elena,” he called out, stepping into my path.
I stopped, looking at him with nothing but pity.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “I lost everything. I lost the only good thing that ever happened to me.”
“You didn't lose it, Mark,” I corrected him gently. “You traded it. You traded our marriage for a brother who never cared about anyone but himself.”
“Is there any chance... one day...” he trailed off, looking at me with desperate, hollow hope.
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“Goodbye, Mark,” I said.
I walked past him, stepping out into the bright sunlight, and I didn't look back once.
