I walked into the attorney’s office and sat waiting for my appointment after talking with the receptionist. I was nervous and could not seem to sit still because I never pictured this would be where I would be at this point in my life. “Mrs. Bern, Mr. Stern will see you now, 3rd door on the right”, the receptionist stated with a polite smile.
I knocked on the office door and heard “Come in!” from the other side. Walking in, I was faced with a middle-aged man sitting behind his desk. The office was surrounded with dark wood from the huge desk he was sitting at to the various shelves that stored law books. I loved the look. It was more welcoming than the cold, sterile appearance of many other offices I have been in. I appreciated the warm old looks and I felt a bit more at ease. “I love the office Mr. Stern, it is much more welcoming than some of the other offices I have been in over time.”
“Thank you, I have to say I agree with you. That is one of the many reasons I stay here, because I appreciate older looks. It puts people a bit more at ease when they come here to meet.” Mr. Stern added. I shook his hand and sat down in an overstuffed chair facing him and took a deep breath. “Why don’t you tell me why you are here, Mrs. Bern, I see that you were able to get an appointment due to a cancellation but I don’t have any details.”
I spent the next hour talking through everything I had been dealing with since walking into our home the other day. I spoke about Mark trying to deny cheating at first but then backtracked quickly when confronted with my evidence. “Can I ask to see this evidence please,” Mr. Stern asked me. I quickly turned red from embarrassment. It was one thing to confront Mark, but this was someone outside our relationship asking to see the photos and video. I knew my face was as red as a tomato but I handed him my phone with the photo pulled up. It was hard to look him in the eye even knowing this was something that was not my fault, but I couldn’t help at one point asking myself what I did wrong, or why I was not enough for him.
“Mrs. Bern, please don’t be embarrassed, and please don’t blame yourself. This is not on you but on him.” almost as if he could read my thoughts. I must have looked shocked because he chuckled and added “I see things like this frequently, sadly enough, and the victim of the indiscretion is usually thinking the same thing each time.” I took my phone back as he was speaking, nodding my head silently. “So, what are you wanting to do? Take him to the cleaner?” he asked me.
I shook my head and told him “I just want a clean break, we didn’t have children yet, we didn’t buy a home together. We each have our own vehicles, so I just want to split any savings down the middle, and split any furnishings in our home and walk away. I already have a job offer out of state and I have some options for a new residence.”
We spent the remainder of the time finalizing details of what I wanted and he warned me that if Mark fights the divorce it could drag things out. I told him I understood but he could reach me if he needed me on my cell phone. I am just thankful that if I needed to be available for any court dates it was easier now to do it virtually. I asked him to make sure I had to be there in person to give me plenty of notice so I could make arrangements. I left the meeting feeling like I had a huge weight off my shoulders, but I knew a new one would be there when I had to have some difficult conversations over the next few days.
I stood outside of our apartment looking at the door for about 20 minutes trying to talk myself into going inside and dealing with the man I at one time thought I would be spending the rest of my life with. I knew I was going to have to do this eventually, but I don’t think I am ready yet, but I needed to have this conversation sooner rather than later. I got out and walked up to the door and knocked, waiting for him to come to the door. When I got no response, I took a risk and let myself in. Technically, this is still my apartment, but I will not be using it anymore.
I walked in and was met with silence, which was odd because he should have been home. I neglected to look for his car when I got here, but this is his normal time to be home. I walked upstairs and walked around to look for any more items I might need to grab now until I moved. I had made the decision to give him most of the furniture and only take the few pieces I would need for just myself. I knew I didn’t need much, so I started taking a mental inventory. All of a sudden, I heard the door downstairs to be greeted by not only Mark but also Dean, who was with him. I heard them talking as I walked down the stairs and quickly interrupted, “Dean, do you mind taking off for a little bit? I need to have a word with Mark.” They both suddenly stopped talking and turned my way. Dean nodded silently and walked to the door and shouted back. “No problem! Dude, you better do some major sucking up. Just shoot me a message when I can head back.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.