Page 25 of The Sexy Billionaire

Turning, I look over at Callie to answer that.

“If Michael wants to be a dick, and he will be, knowing him. He’s going to fight for the house and the restaurant, just to mess with you,” Callie answers.

Abigail scribbles down some more notes in her file. “I would suggest we file for a no-fault divorce, it means if you both can come to an agreement easily, then the divorce could be done in about three months, depending on how busy the courts are. Otherwise, we would file for infidelity, and that is going to take a lot longer, it’s hard to show the court. Yes, you caught him in the act, but that could be hearsay,” she explains.

Shit.

I don’t want to be married to him any longer than I have to be. “If we go the non-fault route, he can still fight me, right?”

“Yes, it can still get complicated, but we can show the courts that you are willing to be reasonable with your requests and it won’t look good on his part if he doesn’t,” Abigail states.

Just then, the phone rings, and Abigail picks it up and listens intently to whoever is on the other end before hanging up.

“Well, things just got interesting. Paige, did you know that there is no marriage filed in New York for you?”

My mouth falls open. What does she mean there’s no marriage? My heart begins to thunder in my chest.

“What do you mean no marriage? I was there as a witness,” Callie adds.

Abigail’s perfect brows arch. “A marriage license was purchased, but it was never filed. Which usually means you didn’t send back the paperwork within fifteen days of the wedding to get it validated.”

Wait, what? I remember signing it. Michael and I had a fight about it, as it was still sitting on the hallway table for days after our wedding. I remember being annoyed because it was the one thing I asked him to do while I was working and he wasn’t. We had a huge argument, and he grabbed the paperwork and stormed out of our apartment, saying he would do it right away just to shut me up, and when he came back, he smugly told me he had. I relay this to Abigail.

“If the city doesn’t have a record of your marriage, then legally you aren’t married,” she informs me.

Wait, I’m not married.

“Does that mean Paige doesn’t need a divorce?” Callie asks.

Abigail turns and nods. “There is no marriage to dissolve. There is a relationship to dissolve, which we can help with because it’s looking like you’re going to need a whole heap ofmediation to untangle yourself from the business and the home, but there’s nothing to file, you’re already free of him.”

I don’t understand.

Callie bursts out laughing. “That useless idiot fucked himself, but this is good. That man has no control over you, Paige. Don’t you see, you’re free to a certain extent.”

Free.

My mind can’t seem to wrap itself around that word. It can’t be that easy.

“This … I …?”

Abigail nods. “This is highly unusual, but you’re not my first client to find out she’s not technically married. In those cases, it’s been bad for the woman, but in your case, I’d say it’s the best outcome. Your ex will still fight you over the joint assets you have, but most men will because of their egos. I can’t imagine he is going to be happy to find out what’s happened. What I’m going to do is write a letter to your ex, letting him know that you would like to call in the debts owed to your great-aunt regarding your home and the restaurant. That you would be happy to set up a meeting once he’s sought counsel to work out how to proceed next.”

“Do we have to tell him about the not being married bit?” I ask.

Abigail chuckles. “We could, but legally, we don’t have to. It’s up to his lawyers to work that out. We don’t need to make it easier on him.”

Sneaky and petty, I like it.

“I’m all in,” I tell her.

“What the hell is this?” Michael yells at me, stepping out of the alley beside my brother’s apartment, scaring me half to death.

“Michael,” I squeal, trying to catch my breath.

“How did you do this?” he asks angrily, shaking papers at me.

“We shouldn’t be talking. It’s best we wait for a meeting,” I tell him as I struggle to grab my keys out of my bag.

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