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Divorce: The Enemy Within, Part I

On Behalf of | Aug 9, 2015 | Divorce

She just told you that she wants out; she wants a divorce.  You’re shocked. You did not see this coming. You haven’t even fought or disagreed in a long time. Just the other night, the two of you had a very nice date night.

What you don’t know but will learn is that she decided on the divorce many, many months ago, and has been planning it ever since.  You only learned about it today because all of her ducks are in a row.  She’s ready. You’re toast.

She already retained an attorney. That was well before summer. She has already filed for divorce. That was yesterday. Your accounts have been emptied; your credit cards closed. You have no equity in the house because she convinced you about a month ago that it would be great to pull it all out so that you had some liquid assets. Those assets have been poured away.

Your bags have been packed for you.  All your clothes are ready to go. The children are at her mom’s so they won’t witness your departure. If you get ugly about it, she’ll call the police, claim you threatened her. They’ll toss you out if you don’t leave voluntarily.

You look at her face and don’t recognize her. You can’t look in her eyes; she won’t offer them. You wonder where this person came from and what you did to bring all this on. The earth beneath you is like quicksand as you start to realize that your marriage has been one great lie for some time now.  How long? That’s what you’d like to know.

She gave you children. She made a life with you. She slept beside you. She played the part of a good wife. But now her acts are exposed as a sham, meant to lull you into a comfortable ignorance. And ignorant you are. You have been done. And you were done before you ever got started.

As you drive away from your house, down the street and out of your neighborhood, you wonder where you will go at this hour, what you will do. It’s a bad hour to call any friends to crash at their place. You are decades beyond doing that anyway. As you discover at the ATM, your accounts are emptied. As you discover at the hotel, your cards are closed.

As you drive around town, trying to see through the tears and the fog you think, “there’s always the office.”

Michael Manely

While Michael Manely works primarily out of our headquarters in Marietta, with his 26 years of experience he helps all of our clients in Atlanta, Lawrenceville, Canton, Gainesville and Savannah.

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