For our 10th anniversary, I planned a romantic evening, but Will never came home. The next day, I found my suitcases dumped in the rain, the locks changed, and a strange woman inside claiming to be his girlfriend. Will arrived with the police, revealed he had filed for divorce, and told me I was trespassing — all while announcing he wanted full custody of our son, Patrick. I was blindsided; I’d believed we were just going through a rough patch.

Shattered but determined, I hired the best divorce lawyer in the city. We uncovered that Will had forged paperwork to put the house in his name, making the property transfer invalid, and had used marital funds to spoil his mistress, Chloe. Every shady move he made became ammunition in court.

Six months later, the judge ruled in my favor: I was awarded the house, primary custody of Patrick, half of Will’s retirement accounts, and full coverage of my legal fees. Will’s attempt to erase me from my own life collapsed, leaving him in a small apartment with Chloe. Patrick made it clear he preferred living with me.

In the end, the best revenge wasn’t anger — it was reclaiming my life and showing I was stronger than Will ever imagined. He tried to break me, but instead, he set the stage for my biggest victory: living well, on my own terms.