[Antwan! When are you getting here? I've been waiting for two hours already.] I messaged, my legs aching from standing in high heels.

I couldn't blame myself for standing at the door. There were so many people getting divorced that I couldn't even find a seat.

[What's the rush? I already agreed to the divorce, so stop playing games.] His reply came quickly.

If he responded that fast, there was no way he was late because of work.

My marriage with Antwan Holloway wasn't a happy one.

Back then, Antwan's family company faced serious financial problems. His parents found out that I liked him, so they pushed Antwan to pursue and marry me.

Because of me, he couldn't be with the one he truly loved. After the wedding, he treated me with indifference, even with some resentment.

I didn't mind too much. Antwan was good-looking, and although he wasn't fond of me, he didn't cheat or humiliate me during the marriage.

That was until I discovered that he had replaced his secretary.

Antwan's secretary had been with the company for years. Replacing such an experienced person with a newcomer was a big deal, and I couldn't believe Antwan didn't know that.

My gut told me to dig deeper.

Sure enough, the new secretary turned out to be Antwan's first love, who had returned from studying abroad with a Ph.D.

I clenched my phone, seething with anger.

My phone buzzed twice, and a message from an unknown WhatsApp account came through.

One photo showed a tall figure from behind—Antwan.

Another showed a pregnancy test report with the name of Antwan's new secretary, Jennifer Rubio.

[Thanks to Mr. Holloway for accompanying me to the prenatal checkup. He'll surely make a great father.]

That explained why Antwan didn't have time to sign the divorce papers.

He was too busy taking his assistant for a prenatal checkup. Jennifer was pregnant.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm.

I hailed a taxi and headed home.

After some thought, I sent the photos and screenshots to my legal team.

Although the evidence wasn't solid yet, I knew I could dig out more.

I hired a private investigator to track Antwan's movements over the past few months and to check the surveillance near Jennifer's home.

I spent tens of thousands, feeling a rush of excitement at catching him red-handed.

How fortunate that I hadn't divorced yet. Catching Antwan cheating while still married would ruin him.

When I got home, the housekeeper I hired had already packed up Antwan's belongings.

This house was bought with my dad's money, so naturally, it belonged to me. When we divorced, it would be Antwan who had to leave.

"Madam, everything's packed up. What would you like me to do with it?" asked the housekeeper.

I took out my phone and recorded a video for Antwan. [These are your things. Do you want them thrown out, or should I send them to you?]

[What gives you the right to touch my stuff?] He texted back.

[Give me your new address. If you don't respond in three minutes, it's going in the trash.]

Antwan didn't reply again, so I blocked him.

"Could you please leave them next to the trash cans outside?" I pointed to the bins on the street.

I was always punctual.

After the housekeeper finished cleaning and left, my home finally felt a bit more peaceful.

No wonder it always felt so oppressive when I came back. Turned out, there was just too much trash in the house.

[Madam, I've sent you the surveillance footage you requested. Please focus on the videos from March 20th to March 30th.] The detective was efficient, emailing me the evidence.

I focused on the ten days' worth of footage.

Each night around 8 p.m., a person dressed in all black would enter Jennifer's apartment building.

Despite being covered head to toe, I recognized Antwan.

A man and a woman alone late at night? There was no way they were just friends.

During those days, Antwan had told me he found issues with a project and had to stay at the office for ten straight nights.

I had felt sorry for him and wanted to help, but he refused, saying he didn't want me to exhaust myself.

I laughed bitterly.

Jennifer hadn't even joined his company yet, and they were already in contact.

Thinking back to how genuinely concerned I was for him then, I wanted to smash my head against the wall.

I immediately sent the evidence to my lawyer. Perfect. We were one step closer to filing the lawsuit.

After finishing my tasks, I suddenly remembered the message from the unknown account on WhatsApp. I still hadn't replied.

I opened WhatsApp and typed. [Who are you? What's your relationship with Antwan?]

I was so mad that I forgot I could find evidence from Jennifer.

[Oh, Ms. Walton, you don't know me? I'm Antwan's secretary.]

[Antwan just transferred me here, and he's very pleased with my work.]

Reading these messages, I could imagine the smile on Jennifer's face.

She sent a picture of Antwan blowing on some oatmeal, looking like he was about to feed it to Jennifer.

[Antwan heard I'm pregnant and even took time off work to take care of me.]

[He said, 'If I can't take care of my employees, what kind of CEO am I?']

[Ms. Walton, you're so lucky. Antwan must treat you very well.]

Seeing this, I was furious. I remembered a few months ago when I was sick. Antwan just came to see me and left. His mom visited me several times, but he barely said a word of comfort.

He claimed he was too busy with work, but now I knew it was all lies.

We ended up having a big fight and parted ways angrily. That time, it was my mom who traveled a long way to take care of me.

Now I understood why my mom was so angry back then, while I was still sympathetic to Antwan's busy schedule.

[What do you mean?] I asked.

[Just what a secretary means.]

She replied and then stopped responding.

She had some nerve in sending those messages to make me imagine all sorts of things.

As I was thinking, a message from Antwan came in. [Where are you? Didn't you say you wanted a divorce?]

[My lawyer found some issues with the divorce agreement. It needs to be revised,] I replied.

Indeed, there were issues, and they weren't small.

[Sue Walton, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Sixty percent of the post-marriage assets isn't enough for you?]

[I warn you, don't ask for more. Otherwise, you won't get a penny.]

Reading these messages, I was stunned. Did Antwan think I cared about his money?

I immediately called my mom and told her I wanted to divorce Antwan.

After a year of marriage, I was tired of seeing his face. There was nothing to miss.

"What's wrong, sweetie? Did Antwan bully you?" my dad asked, grabbing the phone, his voice urgent.

"Nothing, I'll tell you when I get back. We don't need to do business with him anymore." That was my main goal.

Hearing my parents' voices, I couldn't hold back my tears. They welled up in my eyes.

Antwan took over his family's company and performed just okay. It was our family's reputation that kept some suppliers from renewing their contracts.

So, I didn't understand where Antwan got the nerve to talk like that.

I quickly hung up the phone, composed myself, and ordered some takeout. Angry as I was, I couldn't mistreat my stomach.

[Ms. Walton, the investigation was easy. Antwan didn't bother to hide his tracks. Please check your email for the rest after paying the remaining fee.]

The private investigator worked quickly. After finishing my meal, I received the message.

In my email were Antwan's spending records and intimate photos.

Rings, roses, cakes, dinners for two...

I had never seen any of this.

I laughed bitterly. I paid the investigator the remaining fee.

Another email arrived.

The contents made me sick: Antwan's hotel spending records.

There were also videos from the hotel entrance and hallways.

Most of them showed he was with Jennifer.

I checked the surveillance timestamps—three months ago.

Three months ago, my alma mater invited me to give a lecture, and I stayed in that city for half a month.

That must have been when they started meeting openly.

I looked at Jennifer's pregnancy test results—eleven weeks.

My hands turned white from gripping so hard. She was exactly three months pregnant. This child was clearly Antwan's.

Too bad for Antwan, he was stupid enough to flaunt their affair in front of me.

Did he think I still loved him? That I wouldn't find out?

I contacted the lawyer again. They said they had prepared the materials.

"Ms. Walton, anytime you're ready," they said.

"Let's do it in the next few days. I want Antwan to leave with nothing," I said.

As I'd guessed, it wasn't easy to let Antwan leave with nothing. We'd been married for a year with no kids. Even if he'd cheated, it would only mean a slightly smaller split of assets.

The court summons landed in Antwan's lap in no time.

He changed his number three times to call me. It was driving me up the wall.

"Sue, what are you playing at? Taking our divorce to court. Have you no shame?" Antwan's voice boomed as soon as I picked up.

"Nothing much. Just got my hands on some juicy stuff I thought I'd share in court," I said with a smile.

After hanging up, I unblocked Antwan on WhatsApp and sent him two pictures.

One showed him kissing Jennifer, and the other was a receipt with their expenditures.

[You're dragging us to court over this? Let me explain. The photo is misleading. Jennifer's my secretary. We're just friends.]

He was typing more, but I didn't care to see it. I blocked him again.

I only cared about the outcome. The journey there? Not my problem.

A week later, Antwan and I met at the courthouse.

He looked a mess, unshaven. Jennifer was with him.

Antwan tried to approach me, but my lawyer stepped in. "Please don't contact my client unless necessary."

He called out, "Sue, hear me out. I know I messed up. Let me explain."

Jennifer stood nearby, crying as if I was the bad guy.

"Stop blubbering. What's there to cry about? Apologize to Sue, now." Antwan yelled at Jennifer, looking ready to explode.

I felt irritated watching them.

Now he knew he'd screwed up? Why didn't he cut it off when they first hooked up?

I walked away, not wanting to spend another second there.

In court, I was surprised to see Antwan hadn't brought a lawyer.

He went through it alone, spending the whole time apologizing.

Suddenly, the courtroom door burst open.

Antwan's mother barged in, pushing past staff.

"You homewrecker, you left and said you wouldn't come back. Now you're here breaking up my son's marriage." She lunged at Jennifer, grabbing her hair.

"You slut. We shouldn't have let you stay with us. What did our family ever do to you?" Antwan's mother choked up.

Jennifer broke free and pleaded with Antwan. "Save me, Antwan."

"Order! Order in the court!" said the judge.

He had Antwan's mother and Jennifer removed.

"Let's continue," he said, banging his gavel. His glance at me was full of pity.

That scene had sealed the deal on Antwan's affair.

Antwan listened silently as my lawyer presented evidence. Then he pressed the buzzer. "I request mediation."

I'd been waiting for this.

"Does the plaintiff agree to mediation?"

"I do."

As I'd said before, proving infidelity alone wouldn't leave Antwan penniless.

So, my goal was the mediation period.

Plus, his mother's outburst had piqued my curiosity.

There was clearly more to Antwan and Jennifer's story.

Antwan set up a meeting with me soon after.

We'd just seen each other in court just yesterday, but his appearance surprised me today.