i paid for his medical degree for 6 years, then he divorced me—until the judge opened my envelope.

The words hit me like shards of glass, each one carefully chosen to cut deeper than the last.

“Your Honor, I need you to understand something.”

Trevor adjusted his designer tie, the one I’d bought him for his residency interviews three years ago.

“My wife, Relle, she’s a simple woman. A good woman, perhaps, but simple.”

He didn’t look at me when he said it.

“She works as a nurse. She clips coupons. She watches reality television. She has no ambition, no drive to better herself. When I was struggling through medical school, that simplicity was comforting. But now…”

He paused, finally turning his head and looking directly at me with the same hazel eyes that had once promised forever.