Outgrowing Love

As soon as I connected the call as instructed by the staff, Sean’s furious voice exploded from the other end.

“Andrea, have you had enough?” he snapped. “You leaked the call recording in the group chat, and now Brit is being cyberbullied so badly that she’s hospitalized. She almost lost the baby. Is that not enough for you?

“And now you’ve hired someone to pose as a court staff, saying you want to file for divorce? Do you have any idea how Brit feels? When she heard about it, she felt so guilty that she almost jumped off a building to make up for it. Do you have to push her to death before you’re satisfied?”

Listening to his agitated accusations, I finally understood. It wasn’t that he hadn’t received the court’s notice. He had simply assumed the divorce hearing notice was another one of my pranks.

Snapping back to my senses, I immediately shot back, “Brittany deliberately spread rumors about me and framed me, and you said it was my fault. Now that public opinion is turning against her, it’s still my fault? Let me remind you one last time, the hearing is real. If you–”

Before I could finish, he cut me off impatiently. “Enough! Andrea, I don’t have the time to play along with your nonsense. Brit is pregnant and emotionally unstable after all the backlash. She’s not fit to continue working right now. You shall handle her workload later, and tonight, make sure you attend the business dinners. Entertain the clients she’s in charge of.

“As long as you do a good job, I can overlook the jealousy-driven mess you caused before and keep your position at the firm.”

Hearing him issue the order like he was above me, I chuckled. He seemed to have forgotten that Brittany wasn’t the only one being cursed at yesterday. In this line of work, getting scolded by clients or even by the opposing side’s families was nothing unusual.

Back then, I had taken on several criminal defense cases. In one of them, I successfully reduced the defendant’s sentence by two years. The moment I walked out of court after the verdict, the victim’s family poured red paint all over me. They even beat me, calling me inhuman, accusing me of colluding with the criminal. At its worst, someone exposed my personal information online. Even my parents back home were dragged into it and publicly insulted.

At that time, I was so scared that I hid at home, too afraid to even turn on my phone. However, Sean acted as if it were completely normal. Not only did he offer me zero comfort, but he even blamed me for being overly sensitive. He said that since I chose to be a lawyer, I should learn to handle pressure and that emotional resilience was the bare minimum in this profession. If I couldn’t even endure that, I might as well quit and stop wasting time.

What I found ironic was that I had believed his manipulation back then. I thought I just wasn’t strong enough, so I worked myself to the bone with endless overtime. I even forced myself to smile when clients or opposing families insulted me, telling myself to endure it and be strong.

Brittany, on the other hand, had only been exposed in a client group chat and got a few harsh words thrown at her, yet Sean reacted as if the world was ending. Not only did he give her paid leave, but he even expected me to take over all her work.

Worst of all, he clearly knew I had just undergone surgery for a stomach condition caused by overworking and was still in recovery. And yet, he still wanted me to attend drinking engagements on her behalf. There were plenty of male lawyers in the firm, but instead of assigning any of them, he picked me, the one who had just had surgery.

To put it bluntly, he saw me as a convenient tool, so my health and my feelings did not matter. It seemed that when it came to love, people really did have a double standard.

Coming back to my senses, I no longer let his words manipulate me like before. Instead, I refused.

“Sean, I just had surgery, so I can’t drink. Besides, this is Brittany’s job. I have no obligation to take responsibility for it.”

The line fell silent. It was as if he couldn’t believe that I, the obedient workhorse who had always endured everything, would one day defy him.

Very quickly, his anger flared. “Andrea, I’m telling you, not negotiating with you. If I’m paying you a salary, you’re obligated to follow my orders!”

This time, though, I didn’t indulge him at all.

I shot back immediately. “Fine, then I quit. I’m not negotiating either. I’m just telling you.”

Without giving him time to react, I hung up.

After the hearing concluded, and I received the official judgment confirming the dissolution of my marriage with Sean, I immediately dialed an overseas number.

“Mr. Owen,” I said, my voice steady, “I’ll join your company.”