A Divorce Make Me Rich

Malcolm remained silent, turning her head towards Raymond, the victim of this incident.

Raymond’s expression was angry as he decisively refused, “I don’t want to see him now. If I do, I might have a stressful reaction! Let him talk directly to my sister’s lawyer!”

Malcolm understood and gave a nod to the NIB officer who immediately understood and bowed before closing the door again.

The conversation in the hospital room continued.

Malcolm began analyzing seriously. “In theory, this is considered a family conflict. The usual way of handling such matters is through mediation for both parties to reconcile. If Anthony takes responsibility for medical expenses and compensation while apologizing face-to-face with you and gaining your forgiveness, then this matter can be resolved.”

Raymond interrupted him saying, “I won’t accept his apology or compensation! What does he think he can do with just some money? My sister is still rich even without his little bit of money! He must take legal responsibility for what he did since he has violent tendencies. He needs to divorce my sister on grounds of marital fault and give her custody of my nephew!”

Although Raymond was clear in his argumentation, his expression was explosive despite only having one arm that could move. He seemed very agitated.

Mavis couldn’t help but twitch her mouth at her silly brother’s words. Perhaps he didn’t understand how wealthy and influential the Callahan family really was in Crana. Her few dollars would probably only count as small change!

From a legal perspective, Malcolm explained further, “If you don’t accept reconciliation, then we will have no choice but follow due process. Since you were the first one who attacked him, even though you were more severely injured than him, legally speaking it would be considered excessive self-defense resulting in injury. It could lead him to imprisonment based on your injury assessment report. However, if we look at it from another angle, you initiated violence, which means that you are suspected of causing trouble, so if there is no reconciliation, then according to law, they will detain you.”

Raymond froze up, not saying anything after hearing Malcolm’s explanation. Not only did he get beaten up badly enough that an arm broke, but now also faced detention?

He felt like crying without tears looking towards Mavis, “Mavis… I’m so miserable… if we don’t reconcile, I’ll suffer injuries and go into jail. I’m just being taken advantage by Anthony’s friend from NIB, right?”

At first, Mavis felt sorry for her brother when she heard what happened, but when she heard what Raymond said later, she couldn’t help twitching her mouth again.

“Don’t say nonsense! Mr. White just told us about reality. It really was your fault initially. You should learn how restrain yourself instead always acting impulsively like this!”

She poked his forehead angrily, wishing he could be more diligent.

“I really suffered a big loss!” He wore a miserable expression on his face. “Next time, I know better. Even if I’m angry, I shouldn’t resort to violence first. I can see that guy is also impulsive. I’ll make sure to provoke him properly next time and let him make the first move!”

Mavis chuckled in exasperation, “Are you addicted to getting beaten up? Are you not afraid of getting crippled?”

Raymond’s face changed and he quickly shook his head in fear.

He was straightforward and spoke his mind. Lyra followed him and was amused; she quite liked his personality.

Malcolm also said, “Your sister is right. Anthony has a strong sense of territory and possessiveness, and he is paranoid. He is skilled and intelligent, and if he really wants to deal with you, there are many ways he can do it without getting his hands dirty. Provoking him would be more trouble than it’s worth.”

Raymond said, “This person is too scary, then my sister should definitely divorce him! As friends of my sister, can you give her some advice?”

Lyra and Malcolm remained silent together.

Marriage issues can only be decided by the two people who were at the center of the relationship. Others should not interfere too much.

But Lyra still said, “If Mavis needs any help, just let me know.”

Mavis nodded and said, “Don’t worry. I now know more than ever what I really want.”

She looked up at Malcolm again and asked, “Can I choose to settle this matter, or do you think using it as evidence for my application for a forced divorce and custody of Alistair would have a higher chance of success?”

Malcolm said, “Hitting him is a fact, and a broken arm is also a fact. It can be used as evidence for divorce. If you insist, there is a high probability of getting divorced, but the issue of custody is uncertain.”

Lyra also helped analyze, “Alistair has been raised by the Callahan family for five years. If you really want to go to court and make a scene, this matter is not so simple. There is an easiest way for the court to grant custody to you, which is to prove that he has a serious tendency towards violence and is not suitable for continuing to raise Alistair.”

Raymond, pointing to his injured arm in a sling, chimed in, “Isn’t this the perfect proof of his violent tendencies?”

Beside him, Malcolm shook his head and said, “In a reconciliation situation, the fact that you were the one who started it cannot be used as evidence.”

Raymond was getting anxious, “What should we do? My sister can’t just give birth to a baby and have him become the property of the Callahan family. Does she even have to report to them before visiting her own child?”

He continued to vent, “This is so unfair! He betrayed my sister, yet he gets to have a son as a bonus. My sister dedicated her youth to him for so many years, and now she can’t even raise the child she carried for ten months.”

Mavis hung her head, a look of sadness on her face as she fell into silence. The entire hospital room was quiet.

It wasn’t until half a minute later that Lyra spoke up. “Mavis, does Alistair know about your plans to divorce? Is he willing to live with you? Although he’s still young and can’t be the key factor in determining custody, his wishes will be considered by the court.”

At the mention of this, Mavis became even more despondent. “He was willing at first, but after Anthony stopped him from leaving at the airport and I asked him again later on, he suddenly didn’t want to anymore.”

Raymond immediately spoke up for her. “That brat! He’s been with the Callahan family for years and doesn’t even recognize his own mother anymore! Has he forgotten who gave birth to him?”

Lyra helped explain for Alistair. “He’s only five years old and has never been mistreated by the Callahan family all these years. They’ve always trained him according to their standards as their future heir. It’s an environment that is familiar to him with people around who are close friends and family members whom he knows well. It’s understandable why he wouldn’t want to leave so suddenly if Mavis takes him away from everything familiar. At such a young age, it would definitely cause panic.”

Mavis nodded in agreement. “I understand that. I don’t blame him for anything but feel guilty about missing out on five years of his growth.”

Lyra tried comforting her by saying, “You haven’t missed out completely though. I send you videos regularly showing Alistair’s happy moments during his growth process so you’ve witnessed every step along the way.”

“No,” Mavis replied sadly, “I know you’re trying not to make me worry too much so you only show me videos when things are going well but there were times when things weren’t happy either.”

There were times when Alistair was sad or sick or in pain or anxious.

But during those times it wasn’t Mavis who was there beside Alistair – it was Anthony and Paloma.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

For Alistair, Anthony must have done more than she ever did.

The more she thought about it, the more indebted she felt towards him.

She had come back after five long years, expecting to take her son away with her without considering how unfair this would be for him.

Suddenly, Mavis had an idea. Maybe seeing her baby son healthy, happy and thriving would be enough even if they weren’t together all the time.

“I’ll find time again soon enough to ask what Alistair wants. If he insists on staying with Anthony and the Callahan family, I’ll respect his wishes. I’m willing to give up custody if that’s what he wants.”

Lyra sighed, “Mavis, as far as I know, Anthony has been keeping himself clean for the past few years. He’s focused on Alistair and career and hasn’t been fooling around with other women. If he really has changed and is willing to devote himself to his family from now on, would you be willing to give him another chance?”

Mavis was stunned and didn’t answer right away.

Knock knock –

The door of the hospital room was knocked again.

It was the same NIB officer from earlier.

“Mr. White, Mr. Callahan is still waiting in the hallway and refuses to leave.”

“He wants to see Miss Parker and the injured person. I noticed that he’s in a wheelchair with a cast on his leg and an injured hand. Perhaps there’s more to this than meets the eye. Would you like to meet him and hear his side of the story?”