All Chapters of A Necessary Divorce: It's Not a Joke: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

My husband, Zayn Garner, seemed to think our home was an open bar for his loud, obnoxious friends.Every other day, they showed up, filling the house with lingering stares that left my skin crawling.This time, I decided to put my foot down. “How about you take them out tonight? Go anywhere, spend as much as you want. I just—”I didn’t even finish before Zayn’s expression soured. “What now? They’re just here to chat. Why do you always have to make things awkward? If I take them out, they’ll think we’re looking down on them or have some grudge.”I stared at him, incredulous. “Chat? Is that what you call it? Bringing up my most humiliating moments, twisting them into jokes, and making everyone laugh at my expense? Have you ever once thought about how I feel?”Before Zayn could answer, his mother, Lucy piped up from the kitchen, where she was chopping up vegetables. “Oh, stop being so dramatic! Can’t you take a joke? You’re lucky we don’t call you out for being so spineless!”Her wo

Halfway home, my phone buzzed. It's a notification from our old high school group chat."Selina is about to debut as a celebrity! Who would’ve thought our class would produce a star? It's such an honor! @Everyone."My heart sank instantly. Memories from high school, the pain and humiliation, rushed back like a flood.That's right. This was the same Selina Quentin who led others in bullying me relentlessly. She was the one who once beat me so badly I was barely clinging to life.Selina was also none other than Zayn's childhood sweetheart, the girl he had always secretly adored. She was his first love.I crouched on the sidewalk, trembling and staring at the endless stream of “Congratulations!” filling the chat.Zayn had even posted a long, enthusiastic congratulatory message, far more passionate than anything he’d ever written for me. Every word was dripping with fondness, almost like a love letter.It was painfully clear. Zayn was still obsessed with Selina.How ironic. Just hal

Zayn's face turned red with embarrassment. It's as if he wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.It turned out he knew what true shame meant. Why did he pretend to be clueless with me?After a few rounds of drinks, fueled by the alcohol, Zayn started badmouthing me again. He built his jokes on my pain. This time, he even went into great detail about how Selina had bullied me.It was only then that I realized Zayn had never been on my side in high school. He was the one hiding in the corner recording Selina’s bullying."You guys don’t know this, but Evelyn cried so pitifully when she was bullied. She’s so timid and afraid of causing trouble. No wonder they picked on her," Zayn said, downplaying the violence and focusing more on how scared I looked.I had once confided in him during high school, thinking of him as my closest friend and the one I could trust with my pain. I even married him...That moment, whatever shred of affection I had left for Zayn completely disappeared.A rela

"High school bully? I knew Selina didn't have a good character. This is horrifying! How can someone like this become an idol?""Bullying is the worst. Hopefully, Selina gets what she deserves soon!""This video is terrifying. I can feel the pain through the screen. That poor girl must have suffered so much…""Someone like this shouldn't be an idol. Stop defending her. It's disgusting!"-Not long after I posted on Twitter, both Selina and Zayn started blowing up my phone with calls. I decided to pick up Zayn's call."Evelyn! Let's get a divorce right now. That way, Selina won't be accused of stealing someone else's husband. I'll come get you so we can finalize it!"I responded casually, "No way. We still need to sort out the division of assets. There's no rush on my end."Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, Zayn seemed flustered and panicked. He agreed hastily without much thought."Fine! Take it all! Just agree to the divorce. I can't let Selina take all the insult

I looked Selina up and down before glancing at the smoke-filled Garner family’s house. I sneered."Unpaid debts, arson... Looks like you can finally go to prison. All these years, I’ve been waiting for this moment. And guess what? That moment has finally arrived."I have Zayn to thank for constantly reminding you. You probably don't know this, but it's thanks to him that your reputation is in the gutter. You'll be infamous forever."Selina, disheveled and furious, tried to lunge at me, but the police quickly cuffed her."Let me go! I’m a celebrity!"I don't want to go to prison!"-As Selina was escorted into the police car, I waved at her with a smile and murmured under my breath. "Goodbye."Meanwhile, Zayn was rescued from the fire by firefighters. His body was badly burned and barely recognizable. Watching him lie there, barely clinging to life, I felt an odd sense of satisfaction. What could be worse than nearly being burned alive by your so-called childhood sweetheart?