Mark always insisted I deposit my salary into our joint account for financial planning, but I never saw a single statement in all those years. I never knew where the money went.
He often came home late, claiming he was working, but when I called him, I’d hear loud background noise like a bar or a restaurant.
He was indifferent to my family, always finding excuses not to visit my parents during the holidays. He was busy with work, he’d say, yet he always had time for his own friends.
I told myself he was just stressed from work. I told myself he was just an introvert. I made a thousand excuses to convince myself that my marriage was happy.
Looking back now, I was a complete joke.
At 8:00 p.m., Mark came home.
“Hannah, I’m back.” He kissed my cheek as usual.
I suppressed my disgust and smiled. “You’re back. Did you eat?”
“Yeah, a team dinner at the office,” he said, taking off his jacket. “By the way, I leave the day after tomorrow. I just have to wrap some things up at work.”
“So soon?” I feigned surprise.
“Yeah, the project is on a tight schedule.”
He sat on the sofa. “Hannah, while I’m gone for these two years, you have to take good care of yourself. Don’t spend money recklessly. Save where you can.”
I almost laughed out loud.
He was about to take all our money and run, and he had the nerve to tell me not to spend recklessly.
“I will,” I said, looking down. “Mark, you take care of yourself in Toronto, too.”
“Of course I will.” He took my hand. “When I get back, we’ll buy that big house we always wanted, and then we’ll have a baby.”
“A baby? His baby with Claire?”
I just smiled and said nothing.
That night, we slept in the same bed as always, but I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The man lying next to me was about to take our life savings and run off with another woman, and I still had to play my part in this charade.
The next day, I went to work as usual. During my lunch break, I called the lawyer Kevin had recommended.
“Hello. I was referred by Kevin Vance. I need to consult with you about a divorce.”
“Of course. Please tell me about your situation.” The lawyer’s voice was professional and reassuring.
I told her everything.
After listening, the lawyer, Miss Davis, said, “Based on what you’ve described, your husband has committed adultery and is attempting to transfer marital assets. Your action of moving the money from the joint account to your personal one is legally sound, as it is marital property and you have a right to control it.”
“So if I file for divorce now, what can I expect?” I asked.
“First, you can sue for damages due to emotional distress as he is the at-fault party. Second, regarding the division of assets, if you can prove that the majority of the funds in the joint account came from your salary, you can argue for a larger share. Also, if your husband has used marital funds to purchase property abroad, that property is also subject to division.”
Her analysis gave me a clear path forward.
“What documents do I need to prepare?”
“Your marriage certificate, social security numbers, evidence of his infidelity, a list of assets, bank records, and so on. You can start gathering these and we can schedule a time to meet and discuss in detail.”
After hanging up, I started preparing the documents.
The marriage certificate and our social security cards were in a drawer at home. Kevin had already given me a complete set of evidence of the affair. I could print the bank records online.
Everything was ready.
On my way home from work, my mom called.
“Hannah, I hear Mark is going to Toronto for work.”
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