The Divorce He Asked For

Part 2: The Monday He Lost Everything

Monday morning arrived with a gray sky and freezing rain.

At 8:30 a.m., Derek walked into the conference room at Whitmore Realty Group, expecting another ordinary business meeting.

He wore an expensive charcoal suit and carried a leather briefcase. Amber Collins followed closely behind him in a cream-colored designer dress, carrying a tablet.

She looked unusually confident.

“Good morning, everyone,” Derek announced as he took his seat. “Let’s get started.”

There were seven board members around the table.

But nobody smiled.

The chairman, Robert Hayes, pushed a thick folder toward him.

“Derek, we need to discuss some financial irregularities.”

Derek frowned.

“What irregularities?”

Robert opened the folder.

“Approximately $180,000 has disappeared from company accounts over the past five months.”

Amber’s fingers tightened around her tablet.

Derek turned toward her.

“Have you heard anything about this?”

She quickly shook her head.

“No. That’s impossible.”

Robert continued.

“We’ve traced several suspicious payments to accounts connected to your executive assistant.”

The room became silent.

Derek slowly turned toward Amber.

“What is he talking about?”

Amber stood immediately.

“This is ridiculous. Someone must have stolen my credentials.”

Robert placed another document on the table.

“Then perhaps you can explain these emails authorizing the transfers.”

Amber’s face lost its color.

Derek opened the folder.

There were invoices, bank statements, email exchanges, and copies of transactions.

His hands began shaking.

“This can’t be right.”

“It gets worse,” Robert said.

He placed one final document in front of Derek.

“Your wife is listed as one of the original founding partners of this company. According to these documents, she owns a significant portion of the business.”

Derek stared at the page.

“What?”

Robert nodded.

“Naomi contributed the original architectural plans, secured several early development contracts, and provided the initial financial structure when this company was established.”

Derek looked genuinely confused.

“She was just helping me.”

“That’s not what the legal documents say.”

At that moment, the conference room door opened.

I walked inside.

I wore a tailored ivory suit, black heels, and carried a slim leather folder.

James Whitaker walked beside me.

Derek stood so quickly that his chair scraped against the floor.

“Naomi?”

I gave him a polite smile.

“Good morning, Derek.”

“What are you doing here?”

James answered before I could.

“My client is a registered founding shareholder of this company. She has every right to attend this meeting.”

Derek looked between us.

“Your client?”

“Yes,” James replied. “And I suggest everyone listen carefully.”

I took the empty seat across from Derek.

He looked at my clothes, my calm expression, and the documents in front of me.

For the first time, he seemed to realize that I hadn’t spent the last three months preparing to become a helpless divorced woman.

I had been preparing to protect everything I helped build.

Robert cleared his throat.

“Naomi, we’ve reviewed the original incorporation records. Your ownership interest was never legally transferred.”

I nodded.

“That’s correct.”

Derek slammed his palm against the table.

“You never told me you were going to do this!”

I looked directly at him.

“Do what? Attend a meeting of a company I helped create?”

“You’re trying to destroy me!”

“No, Derek. I’m trying to make sure you don’t destroy yourself.”

Amber suddenly spoke.

“This is all a misunderstanding. Naomi is clearly trying to get revenge because Derek wants a divorce.”

I turned toward her.

“Amber, I think you should stop talking.”

She scoffed.

“Excuse me?”

James opened his folder.

“Miss Collins, the company has already referred the suspected fraudulent transactions to its legal and financial teams. Your employment has been suspended pending investigation.”

Amber looked at Derek.

“Tell them!”

He said nothing.

She grabbed his arm.

“Derek, you promised me everything would be fine!”

The entire room heard her.

Derek slowly pulled his arm away.

I almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

Because while he had been planning a romantic future with his assistant, he had completely ignored the woman who knew every detail of his business.

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The meeting lasted another two hours.

By the end, Amber had been escorted out, Derek had been placed on temporary administrative leave, and the board had authorized an independent financial investigation.

As James and I walked toward the elevator, Derek followed us.

“Naomi, wait!”

I stopped.

“What?”

He lowered his voice.

“We need to talk privately.”

“We’ve already talked about the divorce.”

“Forget the divorce for a minute.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Why?”

“Because we’re still married. We have children. We can work this out.”

I stared at him.

Three months ago, I would have given anything to hear those words.

Now they sounded like an excuse.

“You wanted a divorce, Derek. Remember?”

“I was confused.”

“No. You were certain.”

He stepped closer.

“Amber manipulated me.”

I shook my head.

“Your affair was your decision. Your lies were your decision. And asking me for a divorce was your decision.”

His eyes became desperate.

“Please, Naomi. Don’t do this to our family.”

I glanced at my wedding ring, which I had removed two days earlier.

“I’m not the one who broke this family.”

Then I walked away.

That afternoon, Derek called me seventeen times.

I answered none of them.

At 6:00 p.m., he sent a message.

Can we have dinner together? Just the two of us. I miss you.

I looked at the message for several seconds.

Then I placed my phone on the kitchen counter and went upstairs to help Tyler with his homework.

For the first time, my evening belonged to me and my children.

But Derek wasn’t finished.

At 9:15 p.m., my doorbell rang.

When I opened it, he was standing on the porch, his hair wet from the freezing rain.

“Naomi, please. Just five minutes.”

I crossed my arms.

“What do you want?”

He looked exhausted.

“I want my wife back.”

I almost laughed.

“You should have thought about that before asking for a divorce.”

He lowered his head.

Then he said something I never expected.

“Amber is pregnant.”

For a moment, the world seemed to stop.

I looked at him.

“How far along?”

“About six weeks.”

I nodded slowly.

“Congratulations.”

“Naomi!”

“What?”

“I don’t want to lose you.”

I stepped back.

“Derek, you can’t keep both lives simply because one of them has become inconvenient.”

Then I closed the door.

And for the first time, I didn’t feel even a little guilty.