Chapter 15 - Hollow Apologies
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The divorce process was incredibly difficult and remarkably ugly. Once Caleb realized I was actually serious—and that he was facing potential assault charges from the hospital incident—his entire demeanor flipped overnight.
He flooded my phone with desperate voicemails. He sent expensive bouquets of roses to my sister's house, where I was living with Emma during my recovery.
He apologized a thousand times.
"I was just so stressed, Rebecca," he pleaded during our first mediated legal meeting. "I was terrified of losing you in that crash, and I didn't know how to handle the medical bills. I didn't mean to hurt you in that room. You have to believe me."
He cried real tears. He played the victim perfectly, hoping I would cave to my old, deeply ingrained habit of comforting him.
But sitting across from him in my wheelchair, I felt absolutely nothing.
Apologies cannot erase eleven years of making someone feel completely worthless. Tears cannot heal the emotional scars of constant manipulation. He wasn't sorry that he hurt me; he was just terrified of losing his live-in maid and his absolute control over my life.
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With the hospital security records and Dr. Harrison’s official medical testimony securely in my lawyer’s hands, Caleb had absolutely no leverage. He was forced to agree to a heavily favored settlement and give me primary custody of Emma, terrified of what a judge would do to him if the hospital abuse went to trial.
I signed the final papers without a single tremor in my hand.
