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Anne Fletcher pulled the last box of Christmas decorations from the closet in the spare bedrooardless of her circuiving, but soet herher since the divorce five years ago…The financial uncertainty she now faced…The betrayal she still felt…
"No," she said aloud, refusing to allow herself to step closer to that swarets It often happened like this She’d start thinking about everything she’d lost, and before she knew it, she’d collapse e the plastic container down the hallway, she glanced inside her art rooaze drift over to her easel and her latest project The bold colors of the setting sun against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean pleased her Yes, she was divorced, but there’d been compensations, too Her art had fulfilled her in ways she hadn’t even realized were possible
How different her life was at fifty-nine than she would’ve io--before the divorce What Burton had done was unforgivable He’d hurt her, and he’d cheated her out of funds that were rightfully hers
Once again she stopped herself, not wanting to indulge those bitter inning, when she’d first learned he’d found soe It was a fling, or so she’d ed to convince herself A midlife crisis Lots of men had them Any day Burton would co to her and to Roy, their son
Only he hadn’t, and Anne walked out of divorce court nuavel echoed through the room had she fully believed her husband was capable of such treachery She should’ve known, should’ve been prepared Burton was a top-notch divorce attorney, a persuasive , she’d trusted him…
Her friends had been stunned, too--less by Burton’s deception than by Anne’s apparent acceptance of what he’d done to her It wasn’t in her to fight, to drag her h the courts Burton had recommended an attorney, who that the man who’d represented her in court would apply to Burton’s law firm as soon as the divorce was final Of course, he’d been hired…
Burton had promised to treat her fairly Because she was convinced that he’d soon recognize what a terrible , she’d blindly followed his lead Without a quibble and on her attorney’s advice, she’d accepted the settlerossly unfair Although she hadn’t been aware of it at the time, Anne was cheated out of at least two hundred and fifty thousand dollars’ worth of assets
Burton’s ploy in this particular case had been si Twice he’d co about reconciliation, and all the while he’d been shifting their assets to offshore accounts All the while, he’d been lying, stealing and cheating She’d loved him and she’d believed him, and so had taken her husband at his word Never had she dreamed he could betray her like this After thirty years, she’d walked aith only a pittance And, needless to say, no aliht him, could take him back to court and expose him for the thief he was, but to what end? It was best, she’d decided long ago, to preserve her dignity She’d always felt that life had a sys, and that sos she’d lost It was this belief that had gotten her past the bitterness and indignation
Ad sometimes, but Anne tried not to feel bitter At this point, she couldn’t see how anger, even righteous anger, could possibly benefit her She’d adjusted Taking the little she’d e, she’d purchased a set Sound In college all those years ago, when she’d met Burton, she’d been an art student She had a flair for art and enjoyed it Given the de married to a prominent divorce lawyer, she’d put aside her own pursuits to assist Burton Her husband’s ambitions had become her own, and Anne was the perfect wife and hostess
It’d been a disappointment to her to have only one child, a son they’d naht of her life, her ray of sunshine through the years When she wasn’t hostessing social events on her husband’s behalf, Anne spent her ti him with limitless love and motherly devotion
If she felt any bitterness about the way Burton had treated her, it was because of what he’d done to Roy Unfortunately, Roy was the one who’d introduced Burton to Aiiven himself for that, despite Anne’s reassurances Still, Roy assumed responsibility for what had happened He couldn’t seeive himself for his role in the divorce, no matter how innocent that role had been
To coive his father, not only for betraying Anne but for stealing Aimee, the woer was constantly with hi his life, as though he wore slasses that revealed a bleak, drab world All Roy cared about noas his business, his drive for reater success than e, Roy wasn’t happy