3. Katie
— ? —
Katie
It has been one grueling month of lawyers and paperwork that made me want to claw my own eyes out.
All while Kyle’s legal team spent those thirty days painting me as an unstable, delusional woman who simply invented an affair to explain why her marriage was failing as my own family testified against me.
And now here we are at the divorce court. The final act of this nightmare.
I’m sitting at a table with my lawyer, a woman named Patricia who charges five hundred dollars an hour and looks like she’d rather be anywhere else. She came highly recommended, but I’m starting to think “highly recommended” just means “expensive enough to seem competent.”
The courtroom is packed.
Nobody in this room actually cares about justice, since they are all just here to enjoy the show and feed on the scandal. The Brooks-Everette divorce has been the hottest gossip in the city for weeks, and apparently, people have nothing better to do than watch my life implode in real time.
Kyle sits at the opposite table, looking like he had a styling team for grieving husbands. Navy suit, mournful expression and a tissue clutched in his hand like a prop.
His lawyer, some shark named Davidson, leans over and whispers something. Kyle nods sadly.
He’s good at this.
“Your Honor,” Kyle’s voice cracks as he stands. “I appreciate the opportunity to speak.”
Here we go.
“I gave Katie everything.” He pauses, dabbing at his eyes with the tissue. “My love. My trust. My future. I believed we would grow old together. I believed she was the one.”
Someone in the gallery actually sighs sympathetically. I want to scream.
“And she repaid me by humiliating me in front of our entire families.” Another theatrical pause. Another dab of the tissue. “She stood up at our wedding reception and accused me of... of sleeping with her own sister.”
Gasps from the gallery. Like they haven’t heard this story a hundred times already.
“I never cheated.” Kyle’s voice drops to a wounded whisper. “I would NEVER do that to someone I loved. Katie has serious problems. Mental health issues that I tried to help her with for years. I begged her to see a therapist. I begged her to get medication. But she refused.”
My hands are shaking under the table. I can hear the whispers behind me. Loud enough to hear, soft enough to deny.
“Poor Kyle.”
“She looks crazy, doesn’t she? Look at her eyes.”
“Erin told me Katie used to pull her hair when they were kids. Said she’s always been violent.”
I turn my head slightly, and there she is. Erin. Front row and dressed in black like she’s at a funeral, dabbing at dry eyes with a lace handkerchief.
My mother sits next to her, spine straight, jaw tight, refusing to look in my direction.
They came to support Kyle. My own mother came to support the man who cheated on me with her other daughter.
“I hope she gets the help she needs.” Kyle’s voice pulls me back. He’s looking directly at me now, and there’s so much fake compassion in his eyes that I want to vomit. “I really do. Despite everything she’s put me through, I still care about her. I always will.”
The judge, a gray-haired woman named Morrison who looks like she’s seen every trick in the book, turns to me.
“Mrs. Everette? Do you have anything to say in response?”
Patricia nudges me. “Katie. Say something.”
I stand.
The courtroom goes quiet. Everyone’s waiting for me to break down. To scream accusations. To prove Kyle’s narrative that I’m an unhinged woman who can’t control her emotions.
I’m not going to give them the satisfaction.
“I want a divorce.” When I speak, my voice actually sounds totally steady. “I want nothing from him. No alimony. No assets. No settlement. I just want this over.”
Murmurs ripple through the gallery.
“Nothing?” The judge raises an eyebrow. “Mrs. Everette, you’re entitled to a significant portion of the marital assets. Are you certain you want to waive that?”
“I’m certain.”
“Katie,” Patricia hisses. “We talked about this. Don’t let him win.”
“I’m not letting him win.” I keep my eyes on the judge. “I’m letting him go.”
Kyle’s face flickers.
His mask slips for a second, revealing a raw and ugly flash of pure hatred.
It’s the face of the man who called me a whore at our engagement party for talking to another man, who checked my phone every night for signs of flirting with coworkers, and who manipulated me into believing I was lucky to be with him.
Then the mask slides back on.
“See?” He gestures at me with the hand holding the tissue. “She can’t even defend herself. She knows she made it all up. If she truly believed I cheated, wouldn’t she fight for what she deserves? Wouldn’t she want to punish me?”
“I don’t want anything that’s been touched by you.” I blurt the words out before I can even think to stop them. “Consider it contaminated.”
Kyle’s jaw tightens.
“Let’s proceed.” Judge Morrison shuffles her papers. “Given that both parties have agreed to the terms, I see no reason to delay. The divorce is granted. Mrs. Everette, you’ll need to sign the final documents.”
I walk to the clerk’s table.
I sign my name. Katie Brooks, not Everette. Never again.
“Thank you, Your Honor.” Kyle’s voice is all gratitude and humility. “I appreciate your time. I know this has been difficult for everyone involved.”
“Save it for the cameras, Mr. Everette.” Judge Morrison’s voice is dry. “Court is adjourned.”
I grab my purse and head for the exit.
The gallery is buzzing with people pointing, whispering and taking photos with their phones even though they’re not supposed to.
“Katie.”
I don’t stop.
“Katie, wait.”
Erin’s voice. I keep walking.
“Don’t you walk away from me!”
I spin around.
She’s standing in the aisle, our mother hovering behind her like a bodyguard. Erin’s eyes are wide and wounded, but I know that look. I’ve seen it my whole life. The “poor innocent Erin” routine that’s fooled everyone since we were kids.
“What do you want, Erin?”
“I want to know if you’re happy.” Her voice carries through the courtroom. Everyone’s watching. “You destroyed our family. You humiliated Kyle. You broke Mom’s heart. Are you HAPPY now?”
“I didn’t destroy anything. You did that all by yourself.”
“I didn’t DO anything! How many times do I have to tell you? Kyle was helping me with my dress! YOU’RE the one who turned it into something disgusting!”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
“Katie.” My mother steps forward, and her face is pure disappointment. “This is your last chance. Apologize to your sister. Admit you were wrong. We can still fix this.”
“Fix this?” I laugh, and it sounds unhinged even to my own ears. “Mom, I caught her sleeping with my husband. What exactly is there to fix?”
“You caught NOTHING. You saw what you wanted to see because you’ve always been jealous of Erin. Always.”
“Jealous of WHAT? Her complete lack of morals? Her ability to lie with a straight face?”
“Jealous of her beauty. Her charm. Her success.” My mother’s voice is ice. “You’ve never been able to stand that she’s better than you. And instead of working on yourself, you tried to tear her down.”
The words shock me, the impact feels physical.
Better than me. My own mother thinks Erin is better than me.
“Mrs. Brooks.” Patricia appears at my elbow. “I strongly advise you to stop talking.”
“Stay out of this.” My mother doesn’t even look at her. “This is family business.”
“Family business?” I step closer to her. “Is that what we’re calling it? This family threw me to the wolves the second I became inconvenient.”
“You threw YOURSELF to the wolves! If you had just kept your mouth shut, none of this would have happened!”
“So I should have pretended I didn’t see what I saw? Stayed married to a cheater? Smiled and played the good wife while my husband screwed my sister behind my back?”
“YES!”
The word echoes through the courtroom.
My mother’s face is red, furious.
“Yes,” she repeats, quieter now. “That’s exactly what you should have done. That’s what marriage IS, Katie. You think your father never strayed? You think I didn’t swallow my pride a hundred times to keep this family together? But I did it. Because that’s what good wives do.”
I stare at her. I can’t even find words.
“Come on, Mom.” Erin loops her arm through our mother’s. “She’s not worth it. Let’s go.”
They walk past me without another glance.
I stand frozen in the aisle as people file out around me, their whispers washing over me like waves.
“Did you hear what the mother said?”
“Imagine airing all that in public.”
“The whole family is insane.”
Patricia touches my arm. “Katie. Let’s go.”
I let her guide me toward the door. The parking lot is quiet, which is a small mercy.
“Katie.”
Kyle’s hand closes around my arm from behind. I try to pull away, but his grip is iron.
“Let go of me.”
“Just one second.” His voice is light, friendly. Like we’re old acquaintances bumping into each other at the grocery store. “I want to say a proper goodbye. We were married for almost three hours, after all.”
“I said LET GO.”
He yanks me closer. His mouth finds my ear, breath hot.
“You know what your problem is, Katie?” His whisper is poison. “You were never grateful. I took a whore and tried to make her a wife. That was my mistake.”
My blood turns to ice.
“Everyone knows what you were before me.” His fingers dig into my arm, hard enough to bruise. “The party girl. The slut who’d go home with anyone who smiled at her. I gave you a chance to be respectable. And you couldn’t keep your mouth shut for ONE day.”
“You’re hurting me.”
“Am I?” His grip tightens. “Good. Remember this feeling. Remember what happens when you cross me.”
I rip my arm away so hard I stumble.
Kyle adjusts his sleeve casually. “Careful, Katie. People might think you’re unstable.”
He walks away. I stand in the parking lot, arm throbbing, watching him get into his car like nothing happened.
***
The drive home is a blur. I don’t remember the route. Don’t remember climbing the stairs.
One minute I’m in my car. The next I’m standing in my apartment, still wearing my court clothes, staring at nothing.
He called me a whore. Grabbed me hard enough to leave bruises.
And he’s going to get away with it. Just like he gets away with everything. Because Kyle Everette is charming and manipulative and everyone believes his lies.
My phone buzzes.
A text from Henry.
Heard the divorce went through. How are you holding up?
I sink onto my couch and stare at the message.
I’ve been dodging his texts for a month. What was I supposed to say? Thanks for believing me? Thanks for admitting you knew and did nothing?
But now...
I think about Kyle’s hand on my arm, his breath in my ear, the hatred in his eyes when the mask slipped.
My thumb hovers over Henry’s number.
One call could change everything.
Henry isn’t like Kyle. He’s not scraping by on his father’s small company and delusions of grandeur. Henry Wilson is the real deal, backed by self-made tech money that makes Kyle’s family wealth look like a joke by comparison.
If Henry went public with what he knows, if he testified about Kyle bragging at the bachelor party...
But can I trust him?
He’s still connected to that family. Blood is blood. He could be playing me. Earning my trust to destroy me more completely later.
Or he could be exactly what he seems. A man with a conscience and the resources to actually help.
There’s only one way to find out.
I press call.
“Katie?” Henry sounds surprised. “Are you okay?”
“No.” The word scrapes out of my throat. “I’m not okay. My ex-husband just called me a whore in the parking lot. My mother told me I should have stayed married to a cheater. And everyone in that courtroom looked at me like I belong in a psych ward.”
Silence.
“What do you need?”
There are no platitudes or pity in his voice, only a straightforward question.
What do I need? I close my eyes.
“I need to make him pay.”