The Secret in My Husband’s Glove Compartment Destroyed Our Two Years Chapter 07
“Ms. Llewellyn, Mr. Holloway has filed for marriage mediation. In his application materials, he
admitted to withholding your ID and bank cards.”
The mediator called while I was packing up my moving list.
“Would you be willing to participate?”
“Only for property and debt matters. Is that
acceptable?”
“Yes. We’ll keep it within the time limit.”
Three days later, I met William at the family
mediation center.
He didn’t pull out my chair like he used to. Just set
a stack of documents on the table.
“The auto loan has been transferred back to my
name.”
“The missing money from our joint account has
been fully restored.”
“Leona returned five thousand. I’ll cover the
remaining twenty–one for now. She’ll pay me back
later.”
I went through the receipts and asked, “And the
house?”
“The division follows your pre–marital contribution ratio. It’s written into the divorce agreement.”
“Fine.”
The mediator looked between us.
“You’re in agreement on the financial matters. Is
there any room for reconciliation on the emotional
side?”
“No.”
The word left my mouth, and William’s fingers
tightened.
“Can I have a few minutes alone with her?”
“Only if Ms. Llewellyn agrees.”
I nodded.
The door closed. He asked, “Are you doing okay
lately?”
“Not relevant to the agreement.”
“I’ve stopped contacting Leona.”
“Not relevant either.”
“Camilla. You’re divorcing me because of her,
aren’t you?”
“No.”
William froze.
I laid out, one by one, all the things he’d never
wanted to look at.
“When I had cramps, you told me to tough it out.”
“When her stomach hurt, you remembered the dosage and the date.”
“I wanted to spend our anniversary with you, and
you said I couldn’t compete with someone who needed help.”
“She said she was scared, so you left me alone at
the restaurant.”
“I asked about our joint account money, and you
said married couples shouldn’t keep score.”
“But when you gave her that money, you never
asked me a single thing. I was your wife, William.”
William dropped his gaze.
“I thought you were stronger than her.”
“Does being strong mean I deserve to be
sacrificed?”
“No.”
“But that’s what you did every time.”
“I just thought you’d understand.”
“I understood for two years.”
“I understood you owed her a favor. I understood
her health was fragile. I understood her emotions.
were unstable.”
“Then I realized that you weren’t asking for
understanding.”
“You were asking me to always step back. To keep
things steady for both of you.”
William’s eyes reddened.
“Camilla. I do love you.”
“I know.”
He looked up sharply.
“That’s what makes it worse.”
“You love me. But you still thought I could always
be put second.”
“William. If you didn’t love me, I wouldn’t have
waited this long.”
He reached for my hand. I pulled the documents
back into my bag.
“I kept your ID because I was just afraid you’d really leave.”
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
“Hurt doesn’t have to be intentional to count.”
“After that day, I realized that staying with your
meant I couldn’t even walk out the door without
your permission.”
William closed his eyes.
“When we first got married, I wasn’t like this.”
“No. You weren’t.”
“You shut down the relatives who pushed for kids.
When my boss blamed me for something I didn’t do, you asked me first if I was okay.”
“That’s why I kept believing that sooner or later, you’d come back.”
“But then you stood beside someone else.”
The mediator came back in and asked if I’d
reconsider.
“No.”
After the session ended, William followed me to
the entrance and stopped two steps away.
“Camilla. If I’d never let Leona come back in the
first place, would we still be okay?”
I looked at him.
“It wasn’t Leona who made you this way.”
“It was you, always believing I could take it.”