Diane didn't know how she made it back to her car with anger pulling at the pit of her stomach.
When she walked past the reception area on the last floor, she didn't see anyone there. Probably, Isabelle had escaped hurriedly to avoid being attacked for the second time.
As soon as Diane sat behind the wheels, she started slamming her hands against it in a wild rage. Her teeth were gritted, and her face turned ugly as the long strands of her black hair pulled over to block her face.
She was so mad that it took her a long time to calm down and as her nerves finally relaxed, she made a decision and quickly picked up her phone. Within seconds, she found her lawyer's number and put a call through to him.
Diane lost her manners as soon as the call connected. She pushed the greetings aside and directly laid out a simple instruction.
"I am filing a divorce against Phillip Sanders, and according to the prenup both families agreed on before the wedding, we are splitting our assets. Prepare the papers immediately."
"…"
"Yes. Right away!"
"…"
"Yes, I want it under wraps. Don't inform them yet."
"…"
"Thank you."
As soon as Diane finished dropping off her instructions, she ended the call and zoomed off.
***
~A Few Days Later~
It's been eleven days since Diane last saw her husband and honestly, she didn't care where he slept because she was divorcing him soon. And speaking about the divorce papers, her lawyer was yet to get back to her.
While wondering what had been keeping him, she walked into her office and phoned him. Immediately after the call connected, she could hear the man at the other end breathing heavily.
Without waiting for her to speak first, the lawyer greeted her and said while moving the papers on his desk, "Mrs. Sanders, I was just about to call you."
"Yes, what is taking you so long to draft the divorce papers? Have you filed it?" Diane inquired with slightly furrowed brows as she impatiently walked towards her desk to lean on it.
At that question, the lawyer released a deeper sigh into the phone before he was finally able to answer her.
"Ma'am. I filed for divorce on the following day after speaking with you and proceeded to investigate the assets you and your husband own. But an hour ago, Mr. Sander's lawyer contacted me and revealed something horrible."
Hearing that, Diane became alarmed and guessed quickly, "My husband refused to sign the divorce papers?"
Her lawyer felt like crying. "Mrs. Sanders, I wish that were the case, at least it would be far easier to work out. Unfortunately, this case is different. I think you need to come down to the office to see things for yourself."
"Mr. Sixtus, tell me what happened!" Diane demanded with an edge to her tone. She was already on the verge of breaking down from being kept in suspense as she wondered what other horrible things her husband had done to her this time around.
A deep sigh escaped the lawyer's lips before he made the big reveal. "Your husband has no assets to his name."
If there was something truly called the 'human speed of lightning' then it would have been perfect for describing how Diane Smith got to her lawyer's office within a short time.
Hearing that her husband had no assets to his name was enough for smoke to start escaping through her nostrils.
At first, she thought that her lawyer was pulling a prank on her instead of telling her that the divorce had already been processed, but what her eyes were seeing at the moment was indescribable.
How was it possible that her husband had nothing major to his name on the day they got married?
Did the Sanders' know about this and deceived her family with the prenup their son brought up?
Diane was so mad that she began to sweat. She fixed her gaze on the lawyer and listed all the assets she knew her husband had before they got married before asking, "Where on earth did they go to?"
"From what I found out shortly before you came in, they seem to be in Vivian Sanders' name," the lawyer revealed.
"Phillip's oldest sister? What the hell!!!" Diane rose to her feet immediately as the dots finally connected.
When she got engaged to her husband, he still had his major assets to his name, but it seemed like he had transferred them to his older sister before their wedding and was now left with only his car and the monthly salary he received from his family's company, plus their wedding apartment which he had half the rights to!
And now, it seems like she was the one going to split half of her assets just like it was stated in their prenup
"Phillip Sanders! You stupid piece of shit! Fuck!" Diane shouted at the top of her lungs and without minding, she swept the recent documents on her lawyer's desk to the floor, causing him to lean away from her.
"Tell me, what can be done?!" she demanded with her eyes spitting fire.
"Nothing. We have already lost the case before it started because of the prenup and Mr. Sanders' smart moves of hiding his assets before your wedding." Her lawyer shook his head hopelessly before making a comment in passing. "It's only someone as brutal as Christian Knowles with the best lawyers that can have a successful comeback at this."
In a real sense, Diane was doomed. Although she didn't know when her ex-boyfriend suddenly became a hot-shot, she would like to pretend she didn't hear the last part. At least for now.
"I-I will get back to you," she said to her lawyer while fighting back tears. At the same time, a rumbling sound came from the sky, and in the same minute, it started to rain.
Since her lawyer could not stop her from leaving in the rain, he passed an umbrella to her which she accepted.
---
Standing at the entrance of the building, Diane phoned the selfish bastard of a man she married, almost in tears. "Phillip, I am going to sue your ass! How dare you hide your assets before our marriage after bringing up the prenup idea?!"
"Hahaha… Good luck with that! You couldn't even offer your husband sex, something every 'woman' knows how to do, throughout the time we were happily married. Were you expecting to be treated like some queen who didn't earn her crown?"
Hearing that sinister laughter in her ears, the tears Diane had been fighting back finally kissed her cheeks as they rolled down to her jaw.
"I'd like to see you explain the reason I cheated on you to our families… Hahaha… and especially, to your mother! Hahahaha…" Phillip made sure to laugh into her ears like the beast he was before ending the call.
As everywhere finally went silent apart from the pitter-patter sound of the raindrops, Diane fell into a squat. Since she had been married to Phillip, she had never felt so hopeless and helpless at the same time. It felt like her world came crashing down before her without an alert.
The last statement he said to her repeatedly rang in her ears, causing chills to travel down her spine.
Her mother was going to kill her for so many reasons.
First, she hadn't informed her mother she had a problem with sex. Secondly, she did not tell her about her decision to divorce Phillip after finding out about his unfaithfulness and lastly, she was going to split her assets with that sneaky bastard
Knowing how cruel her mother could be, Diane's lips trembled as she wrapped her arms around her body. "W-What am I going to do? What am I going to do?!" She felt so vulnerable like she had come to the end of her world.
Though the last resort for help seemed to be sitting at the top of her mind, she didn't dare to run with it because she had a conscience. How could she go begging a man she had discarded like a filthy rag?
As Diane's tears flowed like a stream with her back hunched, she remembered the man's kind smile and muttered under her breath, "Christian."
Just then, a pair of men's shoes stopped in front of her blurry line of sight and a deep charming voice reached her ears. "Do you need any help?"