Chapter 16 - THE DIVORCE DEPOSITION
Divorce discovery forced Ethan to answer the question I feared most.
“Why did you marry Ava?”
His attorney objected to form.
Naomi rephrased.
“What factors influenced your decision to propose marriage?”
Ethan looked at me.
Then away.
“I loved her.”
“What else?”
“My mother believed the marriage could stabilize relationships between Blackwood and Hale-associated trusts.”
There.
“Did you know the value?”
“No.”
“Did you believe Ava was wealthy?”
“Potentially.”
“Did you tell her?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I thought she knew.”
“Then why did your mother instruct you not to discuss it?”
Silence.
“I knew she didn’t want to know.”
“That is not the same as knowing.”
“No.”
“Did financial considerations cause you to propose?”
He cried before answering.
“They helped me justify moving fast.”
My stomach tightened.
Not fake marriage.
Not pure romance.
Mixed motive.
He continued.
“By the wedding, I would have married her without any money.”
“Then why keep the secret?”
“Because I was afraid she’d think the beginning was contaminated.”
It was.
He knew.
“Did you later use her dependence intentionally?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“When she threatened to leave, I wanted her to believe leaving would be harder.”
“Did you believe she had nowhere to go?”
“No.”
“Because you knew Richard Hale existed.”
“Yes.”
“So when you said she had no parents—”
“I knew it was cruel.”
“Strategic?”
“Sometimes.”
The word devastated me.
Not always.
Sometimes.
A marriage does not need every wound planned to become coercive.
Repeated choices are enough.
The deposition ended.
I went outside.
Vomited behind the courthouse.
May you like
Then filed a final no-reconciliation declaration.
Divorce would proceed.
