Austin didn’t even look at her. I’m keeping all the furniture. Amanda can take her clothes and personal items. Austin, I need somewhere to sit, something to eat on. You’re keeping an entire house full of furniture. You should have thought about that before you let our marriage fall apart. before she let their marriage fall apart, as if she’d been the one who’d given up, who’d found someone else who’d filed for divorce.
“I didn’t let anything fall apart,” she said, her voice rising. “You abandoned our marriage the minute you decided I was broken. I abandoned a marriage that had become nothing but doctor appointments and ovulation schedules,” Austin shot back. I abandoned a wife who had no identity outside of trying to get pregnant.
Because you made that my only identity, you turned our entire relationship into a fertility project. Austin’s lawyer cleared his throat. Perhaps we should focus on the practical matters at hand. Mrs. Cole squeezed her arm gently, reminding her to stay calm. But something inside her was breaking apart. This man she’d loved, who she’d given everything to, was treating her like an obstacle to overcome rather than a person who’d shared his life.
3 weeks into the divorce proceedings, Austin’s cruelty took a new turn. She was at the grocery store when she ran into his mother. “Amanda,” Mrs. Adabio said, pulling her into a hug that felt forced. “How are you holding up, dear?” “I’m okay,” she lied, taking things one day at a time. Austin told us about the divorce papers.
I have to say we’re all quite shocked. She felt her stomach clench. What exactly did Austin tell you? Well, he said you decided you couldn’t handle the fertility struggles anymore and that you’d asked for the divorce. The grocery store seemed to tilt around her. She asked for the divorce. He said you decided you wanted to start over with someone who didn’t remind you of your fertility problems, that you needed a fresh start.
She gripped her shopping cart to keep her hands from shaking. Austin was rewriting history, making himself the victim of her supposed breakdown instead of the husband who’d abandoned his wife for his coworker. “Mrs. Adabio, that’s not what happened.” “Oh, my dear, you don’t need to explain anything to me.
” Austin mentioned how hard this has been on you emotionally. He’s worried about you, actually. He said you haven’t been thinking clearly since the last failed treatment. Austin had told his family she was having a mental breakdown, that she was the one who couldn’t handle their fertility struggles, who’d given up on their marriage, who’d asked for a divorce.
In his version, he was the concerned husband dealing with an unstable wife who’d abandoned their marriage. Mrs. Adabio, Austin, is the one who filed for divorce. Austin is the one who moved out. Austin is the one who She stopped herself before saying cheating with Cynthia because clearly Austin hadn’t mentioned that part of the story.
Oh, sweetie, I think you might be confused about the timeline. Austin said he only filed the papers after you’d already moved out of the house. She stared at her. Austin had told his family that she’d moved out first, that she’d abandoned him. I never moved out, she said quietly. I’m still living in the house. Mrs. Zadabio looked confused. But Austin said you’d been staying with friends because you couldn’t bear to be in the house where you tried so hard to get pregnant.
The lies were so elaborate, so detailed, so perfectly designed to make Austin look like the reasonable party dealing with an irrational wife. He’d created an entire narrative where she was the one who’d given up, who’d run away, who’d broken their marriage apart. Mrs. Adabio, I think there’s been some miscommunication. Maybe you should talk to Austin again about what actually happened.
She left her groceries in the cart and walked out of the store, her hands shaking so badly she could barely get her keys in the car door. That night, she called Austin. Why did you tell your mother I asked for the divorce? Amanda, I never said that. She said you told her I couldn’t handle the fertility struggles and wanted a fresh start.
I told her you were having a hard time coping, which is true. You told her I moved out first. I told her you were staying other places sometimes, which you have been. I stayed at my sister’s house for two nights after you served me with divorce papers. That’s not the same as moving out. Look, my family was asking questions about why we’re getting divorced, and I tried to explain it in a way that didn’t make anyone look bad.
