Divorced the Man I Loved For Fourteen Years

Steve and I were high school classmates.

Before we chose our respective academic tracks, we were in the same class.

The affection we had for each other during our school days was simple and vague.

I had feelings for him but didn't dare to show them.

He was good-looking and excelled academically. On the basketball court, his effortless jumps and shots always earned him cheers and applause.

For the entire first year of high school, I watched him silently.

In the first semester of the second year, we became desk mates. But not long after, we had to choose our academic paths.

I excelled in liberal arts, so I naturally chose that track, while he, being a top student in science, was bound for the science class.

This made me even more reluctant to express my feelings.

On the day we separated, a girl from the science class approached him boldly and said, "Steve, you're finally going to be with me."

She was Steve's middle school classmate, Susan Green.

Jealous, I bit my lip and tried to leave through the back door, but Steve blocked me at the stairway.

Standing in front of me, he gently asked, "Nancy, are you upset?"

The atmosphere was extremely ambiguous.

I turned my face away to avoid looking at him, but he seemed to confirm something and sighed in relief, saying, "If I don't confront you, would you plan on having a secret crush on me forever?"

Blushing, I called him a narcissist.

While the stairway was empty, he kissed me on the cheek and boldly said, "Nancy, let's start a relationship. I am yours, forever."

The romantic words of the young boy were passionate.

Blushing, I began a secret relationship with him.

He didn't like it when I called him by his full name, so I had to coax him. "Stevie, don't be mad."

From then on, the nickname became a magical switch.

Whenever I said it, Steve would enter a mode of complete submission.

He was a perfect boyfriend.

After graduating from college, I never called him that again.

After all, we got married right after graduation, and the term of endearment changed to 'honey'.

Now hearing the nickname again, Steve froze in place.

I thought he would agree to the divorce and set me free for the sake of our past feelings.

But he suddenly glared at me and said fiercely, "Nancy, this is disgusting. Acting pure at your age, do you think you're still a young girl?"

I lowered my head in despair, no longer wanting to discuss it.

I realized that I would have to go to court to get a divorce.

That night, Steve didn't leave the house or go to another woman's place.

He didn't come to my room either. Instead, he slept in the guest room.

The next day before leaving, he locked me in the house again.

I contacted a locksmith and left the house.

I took all the jewelry and designer bags Steve had given me over the years and sold them at the flea market.

I knew I wouldn't get any of his assets and had no means to demand money from him.

In his mind, I was just a housewife who did nothing all day and never earned a cent.

But according to the law, the jewelry he gave me was my personal property.

I sold all the jewelry, accessories, and bags for over three million dollars.

To Steve, three million was just the price of a watch he might casually give to Andrea, but it was likely my only financial security for the rest of my life.

I didn't dare to keep the money in my bank account, and with no parents to rely on, I contacted my only friend, Carol Bennett.

Carol was on a business trip. When she heard that I was finally getting a divorce, she joyfully said, "Oh my God, I was just wondering how to tell you about that scumbag's infidelity. I'm so glad you're getting out of this hell. Wait for me to come back and celebrate it with you."