Chapter 18 - Grieving the Ghost
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Four months after the wedding night, the formal dissolution of my marriage reached its final legal stage.
I spent the evening in my penthouse, surrounded by my real life. I sat at my mother's grand piano, playing a soft classical melody that filled the massive living room.
For months, I had allowed myself to be diminished. I had hidden my intelligence, my success, and my wealth just to make a insecure man feel comfortable in his own skin. I had mistaken his desire for control as a desire for love.
Nathan called my private line at 8:00 p.m.
"The judge has signed the final decree, Rebecca," Nathan reported smoothly. "You are officially legally divorced. All claims regarding your assets have been permanently dismissed, and Daniel has formally waived all rights to spousal support."
"And the criminal charges?" I asked.
"The prosecutor has accepted his guilty plea for misdemeanor battery," Nathan replied. "He received two years of probation, mandatory anger management counseling, and three hundred hours of community service."
"Thank you, Nathan," I said softly.
I hung up the phone and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Below me, the city stretched out like a galaxy of golden lights.
May you like
I had survived the slap. I had survived the slander. I had reclaimed my name, my fortune, and my self-respect.
The ghost of Rebecca Lane was finally laid to rest.
