I Ruined my Ex-husband and my Best Friend after a Divorce

I supported my husband, Rhett Mason, until he finished his PhD program. But on the day he graduated, I received a court summons. He was suing me for "fraudulent marriage."

He claimed that I had concealed a rare hereditary disease in my family history.

My best friend, Emeline Graham, was a somewhat renowned lawyer. She offered to defend me for free. However, she "accidentally" presented the wrong crucial medical records in court.

So I lost the case. She hugged me tightly and said with sobs, "I'm sorry. It was all my fault. I'll help you appeal to the very end."

Rhett wrapped his arm around her shoulders and said to the judge, "I am willing to forgo all assets. I just want to dissolve this malformed relationship as soon as possible."

I was divorced with nothing. When I went to the law firm to see Emeline, I only overheard their conversation outside the door.

"Dr. Mason, it's all thanks to your girlfriend. Otherwise, getting rid of that country girl wouldn't have been easy for you this time. You divorced her without giving her anything. This case was handled perfectly."

Rhett said, "What do you know? If I have to give her some assets, how would I have money to pay you the lawyer's fee? We just have enough money to pay our son's educational fee when he goes to school abroad. That fake medical record had to look real enough. Otherwise, how would she believe it and never dare to get married and give birth to children again for the rest of her life?"

...

In the courtroom, the cold air from the air conditioner made my bones ache.

I looked at Rhett, who was sitting at the plaintiff's table in his new doctoral gown, a ceremonial robe worn at graduation. So he must have come straight from his graduation ceremony.

I had spent my three months' salary to have that gown custom-made for him, but it was like a cruel reminder of my sacrifices at that moment.

The judge's voice echoed in the empty courtroom, and each word was like a cold hammer.

"The plaintiff, Rhett Mason, has filed a lawsuit against the defendant, Kristy Wright, on the grounds of marriage fraud due to concealment of hereditary family medical history, seeking to nullify the marriage.

My mind went blank.

Did I have a family medical history?

I was twenty-eight years old, but I didn't know I had any family medical history at all.

I looked at Rhett, but he never glanced at me. His handsome profile was as cold as stone.

For seven years, I had stood by him as he rose from a penniless student to the highly acclaimed Ph.D. he was now.

I had thought we had finally overcome the worst.

But he brought me a summons.

"Kristy, don't be afraid." My best friend, Emeline, held my hand tightly. She was my defense lawyer. "With me here, you will be fine."

The determination in her eyes gave me some strength.

Rhett's lawyer presented a lot of evidence, stating that a distant cousin in my family had died from a rare disease called Huntington's chorea, a rare genetic disorder affecting movement.

He claimed that Rhett had consulted medical experts for our future, and the disease had a fifty percent inheritance rate.

Rhett said, "I cannot accept that my descendants might live in the fear of having such a disease at any moment."

Rhett's voice was somber and righteous, and he sounded like the victim.

It was my turn.

I faced the judge and said, word by word, "I did not. I have no idea what Huntington's is. Each member of my family is very healthy."

Emeline stood up and presented evidence to the judge. "Your Honor, this is a full family health report from my client's hometown clinic. It proves that Ms. Kristy Wright and her immediate family are healthy. They have no hereditary disease history."

But Rhett's lawyer merely glanced at it and laughed. "Your Honor, please look at the name on the report."

The judge picked up the report and frowned deeply.

A moment later, he looked at Emeline and said seriously. "Ms. Graham, the name on this report is Emily Wright, not your client Kristy Wright."

Emeline's face turned ashen. She rushed to grab the report, and her face was covered with shock and panic. "How could this... How could this happen? I... I must have taken the wrong one. The clerk must have made a mistake."

She was on the verge of tears. "Your Honor, please give me more time to verify this."

But the judge shook his head and struck the gavel.

A major error in the key evidence rendered my defense weak and ineffective.

The final verdict was that the marriage was invalid, and I was at fault for "fraud."

Rhett said in court, "I voluntarily forgo any property, just to dissolve this malformed relationship as soon as possible."

He appeared selflessly generous and earned a wave of approval from the audience.

But we didn't have any property.

The apartment was assigned to him by the university during his PhD. The car was a gift from his mentor. All the money I earned from working three jobs was used up to pay for his education fees and our living expenses.

I was sentenced to divorce him without giving a penny.

As I left the court, Emeline hugged me, crying. She repeatedly said, "I'm sorry, Kristy. It's all my fault. I was too careless. I will help you appeal. I will..."

Rhett walked over and naturally wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her into his arms and comforted her softly. "Alright. Don't cry. It's not your fault."

The scene pierced my eyes with pain.

I was kicked out of the home I had lived in for seven years.

Rhett didn't even let me in. He just tossed a suitcase onto the porch.

A note was stuck to it. "Don't ever come back to me."

I opened the suitcase to find only a few old clothes I had brought from my hometown.

The sweater I made for him, the scarf I bought for him, and the latest model phone I saved up to buy for him were gone. Every trace of my existence had been wiped clean.

Even the silver bracelet my grandmother left me was not in my suitcase.

I sat on the cold stairs and repeatedly dialed Emeline's number.

She didn't answer.

I texted her. "He changed the locks, and I can't get home. I have nowhere to go."

An hour later, she replied, "Sorry, Kristy, but I'm in an important meeting. You find a small motel for now. I'll transfer some money to you later. We'll discuss the appeal tomorrow."

Reading the cold message, I felt my heart sink.

Emeline and I had been friends for over a decade. We shared a dorm since college. She knew I had no other friend in this city besides Rhett.

But she only suggested I stay at a hotel.

I huddled in a 24-hour fast-food restaurant.

The next day, I had only a few dollars left with me and went to Emeline's law firm.

I had to see her and figure out what was going on.

The receptionist stopped me and smiled politely. "I'm sorry, Ms. Graham is at a meeting. Do you have an appointment?"

"I'm her friend. Tell her Kristy is here."

"She has told me that she wouldn't see anyone today."

I was left outside the law firm and felt like a joke.

I didn't want to lose my composure in public, so I walked to the waiting area, where I stared intently at Emeline's office door.

It wasn't completely closed, leaving a small gap.

A man's smug voice came through. "Dr. Mason, it's all thanks to your girlfriend. Otherwise, getting rid of that country girl wouldn't have been easy for you this time. You divorced her without giving her anything. This case was handled perfectly."

Rhett's girlfriend?

I felt my blood freeze instantly.

Then I heard Rhett's voice. I had been familiar with it for seven years, but it sounded harsh, which I hadn't heard before.

"What do you know? If I have to give her some assets, how would I have money to pay you the lawyer's fee? We just have enough money to pay our son's educational fee when he goes to school abroad."

Their son...

The educational fees when he went abroad...

I felt like I'd been blown over the head with a club, and my ears were buzzing.

Then I heard Emeline's voice, which was coquettish and unfamiliar to me.

"Oh, Rhett, don't say that to James. He's a good lawyer. The fake medical record has to look real, of course. Otherwise, how would she believe it and never dare to get married and give birth to children again for the rest of her life?"

Hearing that, the last pillar of my world collapsed.

I staggered back and knocked over a display stand behind me, which caused a loud noise.

The office door swung open.

Rhett and Emeline stood there, and their faces were covered with shock.

Emeline was holding the hand of a boy about four or five years old.

That boy had eyes exactly like Rhett's.

When they saw me, the surprise on their faces quickly turned into annoyance and indifference.

They didn't have to pretend any longer.

Rhett said, "Since you've heard everything, I don't have to explain further."

His tone was casual, as if he were discussing the weather.

Emeline crouched down and straightened the boy's collar. Then she stood up, with her arms crossed. She looked down at me with a slightly contemptuous smile on her lips.

"Kristy, shouldn't you thank me? I'm helping you break free. Think about it. How do you continue your life, as you might get sick at any moment and carry the burden of possibly passing on a curse to the next generation?"

Each word she uttered pierced my heart like a poisoned needle.

The little boy tugged at Emeline's sleeve and asked timidly, "Mommy, who is this lady? Why is she crying?"

Emeline gently patted her son's head and said in a sick-sweet voice, "She has nothing to do with us, baby. Let's go. I will take you to your Lego class."

She took the boy's hand, and Rhett followed behind them. The family walked past me.

Rhett never looked back at me.

I seemed to be an inconvenient obstacle in their path or a speck of dust on their shoe.

The law firm's security soon came to me. They grabbed my arms from either side. "Miss, please leave. You're disrupting our work."

I was forcefully shoved out of the exclusive office building.

I stood on the bustling street and looked at my disheveled reflection in the glass facade. Suddenly, I laughed.

Then tears ran down my face.

Seven years of devotion, seven years of my youth-I worked tirelessly from dawn to dusk, funding his education, doing his laundry and cooking for him, and giving him all the best things I had.

I had thought I was his strongest pillar of support, the one he promised, "When I achieve great success, I will make you the happiest woman in the world."

But in fact, I was just a tool to be discarded after use, a convenient scapegoat for their affair, and a "country woman" beneath the pedestal of their happy life.

After my sadness, a chilling coldness rose from my feet, and it instantly froze my tears.

It was anger.

My anger was about to burn everything to ashes.

Did they think they could destroy me so easily?

Did they think I would live out my days in the shadows, burdened by the false accusations as they planned?

I wouldn't.

I absolutely wouldn't.