Gabe. Her husband. The same man who had once promised to be faithful in good times and bad, back when they were both starting from nothing. The man who used to split a cheap burger with her in a tiny apartment while cramming for law exams. The man whose name was now beginning to mean something in the Chicago legal world.
Ever since his career as a young attorney had started to take off and his name appeared on emails from a prestigious firm in the Loop, Gabe’s attitude had turned cold. He rarely answered Stella’s calls. He always had an excuse about working late. Then, one ordinary day, he left their house without so much as a goodbye.
No fight. No explanation.
Just absence.
With bated breath, Stella tore open the envelope. She unfolded the papers and read line by line.
A summons for a divorce hearing.
The date was set for tomorrow morning.
Stella’s chest tightened. It felt as if the air in the room had been sucked away. Tears spilled from her eyes, splashing onto the white paper that now carried the official proof of her marriage’s collapse.
Her tears hadn’t even dried when her phone buzzed on the table.
An incoming message.
Gabe’s name flashed across the screen.
Once, that name had made Stella smile every time it appeared. Now it was a knife in her stomach.
She swiped open the message with trembling fingers.
Gabe: You got the letter, right? Don’t forget to show up tomorrow. I expect you to cooperate. Don’t make a scene and don’t complicate things.
No greeting. No “hi.” No basic kindness. It read like a memo to a stranger.
Stella swallowed hard and forced herself to type.
Stella: Gabe, why does it have to be like this? Can’t we talk things over first? I have a right to know what I did wrong for you to divorce me so suddenly.
The reply came quickly. Longer this time. Every word cut like glass.
Gabe: Talk? We have nothing in common to talk about anymore, Stella. Wake up. Look at me now and look at you.
I’m an attorney at a prestigious firm in the Loop. I meet
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