Chapter 7 - The Return to Reality
When Audrey’s flight landed back in Atlanta on Monday afternoon, she felt like a completely different person. She walked through the airport with her head held high, no longer carrying the invisible weight of a family that drained her soul.
She took an Uber back to her luxury condo in Midtown—a condo that she had purchased entirely with her own money before she married Trevor, though his name had been added to the deed later during a moment of marital optimism.
When she unlocked the door, she found Trevor sitting on the couch. The apartment was a mess. Fast-food wrappers were scattered on the coffee table, and Trevor looked like he hadn't slept in three days.
He jumped up the moment she walked in. "Audrey! Thank God. Look, I am so, so sorry. We all are. Mom knows she went too far. Brooke feels terrible. We just... we didn't realize how stressed you were."
Audrey set her suitcase down and leaned against the kitchen counter, looking at him with an expression of pure detachment. "I wasn't stressed, Trevor. I was done."
"Babe, come on. It was one bad joke on vacation. You can't end a marriage over a Instagram caption!"
"It wasn't over a caption, Trevor. It was over eight years of being your family's ATM while being treated like their servant. It was over the fact that you have never once stood up for me. It was over the fact that you allowed your mother to insult my life's work while you smiled and ate the food I paid for."
Trevor’s face hardened, his apologetic demeanor quickly dissolving into anger as his ego was bruised. "Oh, so what? You think you're better than us just because you make more money? You think you can just buy people and control them?"
"No," Audrey said quietly. "I thought I could buy your love. I thought if I was generous enough, you would treat me like a partner. But I was wrong. You don’t want a partner. You want a sponsor. And your sponsorship has officially expired."
She reached into her tote bag and pulled out a thick manila envelope, placing it calmly on the kitchen island.
May you like
"What's this?" Trevor asked, his voice shaking.
"Divorce papers," Audrey said. "Marcus has already filed them with the court. I am keeping the condo since I paid the down payment and every single mortgage payment. You have until Friday to pack your things and leave."
