Chapter 12 - The Day We Signed
The divorce was not cinematic.
No shouting.
No revenge.
No dramatic courtroom confession.
Just signatures.
Ethan sat across from me.
I signed first.
He signed second.
Then he stared at his name.
“So that’s it?”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“I thought you’d change your mind.”
“I know.”
A sad smile crossed his face.
“That was always my problem, wasn’t it?”
“What?”
“I thought eventually you’d adjust.”
The phrase hit both of us.
He looked away.
“I sound like my mother.”
“No.”
He looked back.
“You sound like yourself.”
That was important.
Marjorie had influenced him.
She had encouraged him.
But Ethan was an adult.
His choices belonged to him.
When we walked outside, he offered his hand.
I looked at it.
Then shook it.
“Goodbye, Ethan.”
“Goodbye, Claire.”
I watched him leave.
I expected devastation.
Instead, I felt grief mixed with relief.
The marriage was over.
My life was not.
May you like
And the next morning, a call from command offered me an opportunity I had once promised Ethan I would never accept.
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