Judge Morrison’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“And you’re comfortable dissolving a six-year marriage with a fifteen-hundred-dollar settlement to your wife?”
“Your Honor, Relle has her nursing job. She’s perfectly capable of supporting herself. She did so before we married. Our marriage didn’t produce children. There’s no reason for extended spousal support.”
Helen shuffled her papers.
“Dr. Bennett has actually been quite generous, Your Honor,” she added. “He could argue that as a registered nurse, Mrs. Bennett has equal earning potential. He’s offering the settlement as a gesture of goodwill to help her transition to single life.”
I almost laughed.
Equal earning potential.
I made sixty-five thousand dollars a year as a nurse. Trevor, in his first year as an attending physician, was making two hundred eighty thousand.
But that wasn’t the point.
The point was sitting in my envelope, waiting.
Judge Morrison turned to me.
“Mrs. Bennett, you’ve been very quiet. Do you have anything to say about your husband’s characterization of your marriage?”
I stood up slowly.
I was wearing my red dress—the one Trevor always said was too bright for professional events. It was one of my favorites. I’d paired it with simple gold earrings and comfortable shoes because I’d learned long ago that expensive heels weren’t worth the pain.
My hair was pulled back in a neat bun.
I looked exactly like what I was: a working nurse who’d spent the last six years building someone else’s dream.
“Your Honor, I have some documents I’d like to submit for your review,” I said.
I walked forward, my footsteps echoing in the quiet courtroom.
Trevor’s lawyer looked bored.
Trevor himself looked impatient, probably eager to get back to Vanessa and their new life.
I handed the envelope to Judge Morrison.
Our fingers brushed briefly, and I saw curiosity flicker in his eyes.
“These are financial records from the past six years,” I said simply, “along with some legal documents that I believe are relevant to the proceedings.”
Judge Morrison opened the envelope and began to read.
I watched his expression shift from mild interest to surprise, to something that looked almost like amusement.
He flipped through page after page, occasionally glancing up at Trevor with an expression I couldn’t quite read.
The silence stretched out.
Helen shifted uncomfortably.
Trevor’s leg started bouncing, a nervous habit he’d never managed to break.
Finally, Judge Morrison set the papers down.
He looked at Trevor for a long moment.
Then he did something I didn’t expect.
He laughed.
It wasn’t a polite chuckle or a professional clearing of the throat. It was a genuine, full laugh that seemed to surprise even him.
He covered his mouth, composing himself, but his eyes were still dancing with mirth.
“I apologize,” he said, though he didn’t sound sorry. “It’s just that in twenty-three years on the bench, I’ve seen a lot of divorce cases. But this one, Dr. Bennett… this one is particularly interesting.”
Trevor stood up, his face flushing.
“Your Honor, I don’t understand what’s funny about—”
“Sit down, Dr. Bennett.”
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