Chapter 8 - I FILED FOR ANNULMENT—THEN CHANGED MY MIND
My first impulse was annulment.
Erase it.
Four hours of marriage.
One slap.
One ring left on a console.
Make it disappear.
Natalie explained reality.
The legal grounds were not simply “marriage was short and terrible.”
Depending on facts, divorce might be cleaner.
I hated that.
I wanted language that said:
This never counted.
The law did not exist to satisfy my symbolism.
So I filed for divorce.
Seven days after the wedding.
Thatcher called it cruelty.
“You’re not even willing to try.”
I stared at the phone.
“Try what?”
“Counseling.”
“You slapped me.”
“I know.”
“You grabbed me while your father’s wife was on the floor.”
“I know.”
“You put my money in a lender package without asking.”
“I know.”
“You lied to me about how much risk the company was carrying.”
He went quiet.
“What exactly would counseling be trying to preserve?”
“Our marriage.”
“We had four hours of marriage before you showed me what you believed marriage meant.”
“That isn’t fair.”
I almost laughed.
Of course.
Fair.
The Reeds loved abstract virtues whenever concrete facts hurt.
The divorce became expensive mostly because Thatcher initially contested financial issues.
Not my condo.
Our prenup was clear.
Not my premarital retirement.
Also clear.
The fight centered on wedding gifts, joint accounts opened before the ceremony, and reimbursements for wedding expenses.
Sterling had paid for much of the wedding.
At least, that was what I believed.
Then invoices arrived.
Reed Meridian had paid several.
Company hospitality budget.
Marketing account.
Executive-entertainment allocation.
I stared.
“Our wedding was a business expense?”
Natalie sighed.
“Apparently parts of it were categorized that way.”
Why?
Because investors, lenders and business partners attended.
Thatcher argued the reception doubled as client development.
I felt sick.
Even our wedding had been partially absorbed into the Reed financial machine.
Not fake.
Not entirely personal either.
That was becoming the theme of my marriage.
Everything had multiple meanings.
Thatcher loved me.
He also considered my liquid assets useful.
Sterling celebrated his son.
He also used the event to pressure Lenora.
Lenora welcomed me.
She also hoped another woman in the family might eventually help buffer Sterling.
May you like
I wanted one simple relationship.
I had married into a balance sheet.
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