Discovery in Charleston

Ellie flinched as Ed described the contents of the file. Knowing this man had seen pictures of her lewd sexual encounters made her squirm. He smiled politely.

Together under a moonlit sky or lying side by side surrounded by candle lights and champagne had all felt so exotic and exciting. In the light of day, she began to see her choices for what they were, betrayal of a good and loving man. She worked hard to keep her composure.

Ed slid a second file across the table. This one much thinner, only two pages.

"Counselor, this is my client's offer to his wife for the divorce settlement." Then looking directly at Ellie for full effect he continued. "Personally, I think the terms are beyond generous. If it were up to me, I'd like to lay all this out for the judge so she can see the ugly truth of this premeditated treachery on the part of Mrs. Benton. However, Mr. Benton, being a man of character, has persuaded me to make this offer instead."

His experience and knowledge for legal wrangling was paying off. Ellie looked defeated and Moore was clearly in over his head. Ed knew they would not reach agreement today. The initial hearing was two weeks away and there was always back and forth prior to getting before a judge.

Will's offer was tough given the circumstances, but it was more than fair considering his wife's betrayal of his love and trust.

• Will offered a lump sum of $75,000.00 in return for Ellie's agreement that he would be sole owner of the company, now and in perpetuity. She must agree to forgo any futures claims.

• She and Will would split the proceeds of the sale of the house. (There wouldn't be too much since they had only lived there 5 years. Maybe $10,000 each.)

• Ellie would keep her car but would have to begin making her own payments starting one month after the divorce

• Ellie could have any furniture in the house she desired except for their marriage bed and an antique set of matching rocking chairs Will's grandmother had given them when they married. (Will intended to burn the bed in the back yard before he vacated the house which he eventually did.)

• Ellie would keep any jewelry Will had purchase for her except her engagement and wedding rings. They must be returned no later than the day the divorce decree was issued.

• Ellie must agree that the grounds for the divorce was her adultery.

There was a page of explanation that spelled out the agreement in greater detail, but the main bullet points were straight forward and direct.

"My client and I will take this under advisement and get back to you with our counteroffer by early next week." Miller replied trying to sound as if his client held the moral high ground. "However, I can tell you Mrs. Benton will not agree to her husband demanding the return of her rings."

Stillman was raging inside at the nerve of this knucklehead's comments, but as always, none of this showed on his face. He did however lean across the table when he next spoke.

"Seth, you and I both know your client repeatedly and with premeditation violated her marriage vows with Corey Parker. She did this with the full knowledge that her actions could destroy my client's emotional well being as well as his ability to continue in business with his partner. That is why they orchestrated a huge cover up to keep my client in the dark."

"Her behavior was cruel and calloused. If you want to play that out before Judge Landis, be my guest. I would welcome the opportunity to go toe to toe with you in her courtroom. I'll be frank counselor; you have no case. Your client has cheated and lied. We have a mountain of evidence, and we will not enjoy it, but we will make all of it public at trial if you try to do more harm to my client than he has already suffered. If I don't hear from you by noon on Tuesday, the offer will be null and void. Then, we'll see you in court."

Moore huffed and puffed, but even a lawyer of his low caliber knew his adversary was holding all the cards. This settlement would be a decent payday for him. He'd clear $10,000.00 before taxes which was more than he typically made in two months.

"Now if there is nothing else," Stillman said standing and buttoning his jacket, "I believe we should allow the Benton's a few moments to have a private conversation."

Moore stood and extended his hand to Ed. "We'll be in touch," was all he said.

Ed shook his hand, and then promptly headed to the men's room to wash his. Will and Ellie were left alone. Ed had counselled his client to not speak first under any circumstances. As the injured party, he should, by his silence, insist that his soon to be ex-wife speak first.

After the door was closed behind the exiting lawyers, there was a moment of uneasy silence. Will looked at Ellie. Ellie looked at the floor. Finally, she spoke.

"I have no excuse Will. If I could take it all back, I would. My behavior has done great damage to you, and I will carry that with me the rest of my life. Saying I'm sorry, or it meant nothing, but sex would only be more disrespectful, but I want you to know how shattered I am when I think of how terribly I've treated you."

"Believe what you want Ellie, it makes no difference to me" was all Will replied

She continued, "Is there any hope for us Will? Do you think with help, maybe counseling we could work through this? I don't want a divorce. I never have. I'll do anything you ask; I just want us to be together."

Will was fighting with all his might not to explode. She'd had her cake and now she wanted to eat it to. All at his expense.

"Ellie, if the court orders counseling, I'll go."

This brought a flicker of hope to his wife's lying eyes.

"But know this, I have no desire to be with you ever again. I loved you. I gave you my heart, mind and soul. You repaid me by fucking my former best friend. I don't even know who you are Ellie, except you are a slut. I'd never touch you again, and there is no way in hell I'd ever have children with you. You want my forgiveness, but you shattered any hope of that when you spread your legs gladly and often for Corey's dick."

Ellie blanche physically at his words. "Will, do you hate me that much?"

"Yes Ellie, today I do. The fact you would ask me that questions show your true colors, only thinking about yourself. But I'm a long-term planner and my goal is to move past any emotions I have for you ASAP. My intention is to care nothing for you. Not love, not pity, not anything. My aim is to not think of you at all. You're not worth the pain. I've wasted thousands of kisses and years of my life on you. I trusted you Ellie, with everything, and you took everything. You'll land on your feet, or on your back, whatever you need to do to get by, but none of it will be with me. You'll have your horses and your stud, that should be enough for you."

Ellie tried one or two more angles. Unlimited sex, never speaking to Corey again, seeing a shrink to figure out why she'd made the choices she did. All fell on deaf ears. After another thirty minutes the conversation was over.

"Would you walk me to my car? One last moment together?" She concluded.

"Walk yourself out Ellie or call Corey and ask him to come get you and hop back into bed with him. I'm done."

Will got up and began to leave, but her turned to her with a final comment. "We had it all Ellie, and you pissed it away. I'll give Corey this, he must be one hell of a fuck."

Over the next several days Seth Moore, attorney at law, did his dead level best to get Simmons to give on some of the demands in the divorce petition. He may as well have been talking to the wall in his office for all the good it did him. After the second conversation Simmons stopped taking his calls.

The Tuesday deadline was approaching, and Ellie knew she stood little to no chance of getting more than what Will was offering. Corey did finally call her on Monday and suggested they get together and comfort one another. Ellie, desperate for any affection she could find agreed to meet him at his Condo. She arrived at 8 PM and stayed the night. They fucked several times. Corey treating Ellie like his personal slut and Ellie letting him. It was pathetic, but that was what she had come to. Simmons had a man stationed outside Corey's condo and he recorded her coming and going. When she departed in the morning, it was clear she'd been ridden hard. Her mascara and lipstick smeared, she looked like a two-bit whore leaving her john. The investigator smirked and returned the evidence to Simmons, Simmons and Wycoff.

Later that morning, when Ed reviewed it with one of his assistants he muttered, "Nobody can be this stupid."

When Ellie got back to the one-room apartment she was renting month by month she called Moore and told him to accept the divorce petition, no changes. He tried to argue with him, she hung up on him

The date arrived for the initial hearing. Judge Landis was as tough as her reputation suggested. She examined both sides of the case, asking probing questions. Moore was like a man in a sinking life raft with the sharks circling. Desperate was the only fitting word to describe his case. Simmons was grilled as well but he was impeccably prepared. He gave many answers before asked and when he was asked, he had more than enough ammunition in his legal gun.

Landis also pumped both spouses with questions. Will had been expertly prepared. Ellie, not so much.

At the end of the proceedings Judge Landis said, "Well the evidence in this case seems to be overwhelming. I'm going to take a couple of months to review, and I may get back to both attorneys with a few more questions. If and when I call, I expect to have immediate responses. Is that clear?"

Both counsels replied in the affirmative.

Landis' docket was always full, so it turned out to be three months before she brought the parties back together.

"It is clear from the evidence that this is a case of unmitigated adultery. Almost always there are two sides to every struggling marriage, but for the life of me, Mrs. Benton, I see no plausible reason why you abandoned your husband for Mr. Parker. It is my understanding that the aforementioned has sold his portion of the business for pennies on the dollar, thereby affirming my opinion. I'd normally order some counseling, but I believe Mrs. Benton's cruel betrayal, makes any reconciliation beyond reach. Mrs. Benton, I can only urge you in the strongest terms to take a good hard look at your life choices in an attempt to live a better life, on your own, going forward. The divorce petition of Mr. Benton, and its terms are granted. The marriage is dissolved, this proceeding is adjourned."

There was no back slapping or high fiving on Will's side of the courtroom. Will and Ed somberly shook hands. Seth Moore made a hasty retreat leaving his client sitting at the table. Ellie rose and left the courtroom truly alone.

Will began his new life single, hurting but knowing he was not alone.

Five months after the divorce settlement, Corey was coming out of his condo when he apparently slipped and fell three flights of stairs. He was laid up in the hospital for three weeks. At the time of the "accident his blood alcohol level was 0.15, almost twice the legal limit. He had no recollection of the mishap. His insurance had lapsed while he was looking for a new job. His hospital bills consumed all his savings. Will learned about the fall while on a road trip through Smokie Mountain National Park. He smiled thinking, "Couldn't happen to a nicer guy!"

The police investigated and discovered earlier that evening he had been entertaining a lady friend, Ms. Ellie Shriver. Following the obvious leads, detectives discovered they were lovers, but Corey was getting some on the side. Ellie was convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to three years in prison. It was not a pleasant experience. To this day, Corey walks with a significant limp. He is employed as tech support staff for the local junior college.