Nervously, I sit in the reception area, clutching my bag. It’s been four hours since I spoke to Chris Row on the phone. Luckily, he seemed very nice and keen to help. After giving him a brief summary on the phone, he asked me to come in at two thirty. I look across at the only other person here, a woman about my age, who smiles. It’s a nervous smile, possibly like the one I’m wearing. I sit back in my chair and take a deep breath, linking my fingers on my lap. As I glance down at them, a wave of sadness flows through me when I contemplate why I’m here.

I never dreamed I’d be sitting here, waiting to divorce Kyle. I knew he could be an arsehole at times, but this just proved it without a shadow of a doubt. This morning, after I finished making all the phone calls, I waited for the grief of losing my husband to come. Nothing happened. I just felt numb. But when I thought of Sarah, the tears fell. I started to wonder if there was anything I could think of that would excuse the reason she betrayed me so deeply. Was I a bad friend? Was I never there for her? Did I ever upset her in any way?

All of the questions swirled around my head until it hurt, but they all had one answer. No. I have always been there for Sarah. In fact, I can’t recall a time I wasn’t there for her. Even on my wedding day when she cried on my shoulder after having an argument with Ethan. I was dressed up and ready to walk down the aisle, but I held everyone up just so I could give my best friend a few extra minutes of comfort.

After crying, I wiped away the tears and stared at myself in the mirror of the waiting room. It was then, seeing the hurt on my face, that I started to become angry. I wanted to hit something, preferably Sarah. I have never wanted to hit anybody before, but I wanted to at that moment. I wanted her to hurt like she hurt me. I wanted her to feel the same pain I felt after witnessing her being fucked by my husband.

“Mrs. Armstrong?” a lady calls.

I snap my head up to see a young lady with a smart white blouse, black skirt, black high heels, and even a higher ponytail smiling at me. “Mr. Row will see you now.” She motions toward the doorway, so I get up and follow her to another door at the far end of the corridor. She knocks. Soon after, I hear a muffled male voice.

“Come in!” She opens the door. When I walk into the room, he stands. “Mrs. Armstrong, how nice to meet you.”

The young man doesn’t even look as old as I am. He has blond hair and light blue eyes. I sense mischief in those eyes, but also something else.

“Please, call me Alice,” I respond, shaking his hand. He motions toward a seat. “In fact, speaking of names, I would like my divorce to include the changing of my married name back to my maiden name.”

Mr. Row sits behind his desk and looks through his notes. “Ah, back to Fairchild, correct?” I nod. “Okay, so you’re definitely wanting to divorce your husband…” He checks his notes again, “Kyle.” I nod again. “Can I ask on what grounds?”

I take a deep breath. “On the grounds that I caught him in bed with my best friend of eighteen years.”

His eyes widen a little. “Ouch.”

I smile at his informality. “Ouch indeed.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend.”

“You haven’t. To be honest, I’m more upset about my best friend than I am my husband. Kyle has always been…” I sigh, trying to find the right words as I look away, embarrassed, “oversexed. He is a selfish man.”

His thick brows furrow. “Would it be too intrusive and rude to ask why you were married to him?”

I chuckle. Why was I even married to him? “Kyle was my first. He’s all I’ve ever known.”

Grabbing a pen, Mr. Row starts to write down some notes. He carries on scribbling as he asks questions. “So you were a totally faithful wife?”

Suddenly feeling the weight of the last few years with Kyle, I sigh. “I guess I may have been too faithful.”

As if sensing my changing mood, he looks up. “I’m sorry if this is difficult for you.”

I shake my head. “It’s fine. I guess I’m only just realising how much of my life was devoted to him. So many years have gone by, and all of it with one man. A man who obviously thought so little of our marriage.”

Mr. Row carries on scribbling furiously. “Okay, this is good,” he mumbles, more to himself than me. Once he finishes, he looks up briefly. “I understand that you want to keep the house?”

I nod. “Only because the vast majority of it was bought with my inheritance from my parents. I placed a down payment of one hundred thousand on it. The remainder was put into a joint savings account.”

He starts writing again. “Okay, and how much was left over after the purchase of your property?”

“Around twenty thousand.”

“And do you have any paperwork to that effect?”

I nod, grabbing my handbag and pulling out the envelope of documents I had gathered before coming here. I hand it over. “In there is a copy of the will and the transactions made. As you will see, we have a very small mortgage that has allowed us to save some more. We were supposed to be saving for a baby.”

He looks up from his pad. “Were you trying for a baby?”

I shake my head. “Kyle would always find a way to put it off. We had a three-year plan when we married, but that turned into more than five years. He was desperate for a Porsche, and I was desperate for a baby. In the end, I relented and let him have his Porsche.”

“So there are no children involved?”

At first, I don’t answer, causing him to look up. “No,” I quickly say.

He frowns. “You seem hesitant in your answer.” I start nervously rubbing my hands together. “Alice, you’re perfectly safe in telling me anything. You’re my client. Whatever you tell me won’t leave this room. Not unless you want it to.”

Looking away a moment, I bite my lip. “The only reason I caught them in bed together was because I came home early. The reason I came home early was because I had just found out I was pregnant.”

His face softens. “I’m so sorry to hear that. What was supposed to be a joyous and momentous occasion ended with sadness.” I nod. “I assume the father still doesn’t know?” I shake my head. “Well, this complicates things a little. He will need to know, then there’s custody to consider.” He starts jotting this all down. “When do think you’ll tell Mr. Armstrong?”

I close my eyes. “It’s not his baby.”

His head snaps up. “What?”

“It’s not his baby. It’s my best friend’s husband’s.”

Mr. Row’s eyes widen a little. “The best friend whom you caught in bed with your husband?”

I nod. “That’s correct.”

For a moment, he sits there, completely dumbfounded. Then he starts chuckling. “Did Brad put you up to this?”

I frown. “Who’s Brad?”

When he notices how serious I am, his smile falls. Suddenly flustered, he clears his throat and grabs his pen again. “Okay,” he begins. “Do you think your husband and best friend knew about your affair?”

I feel affronted by his questioning, but understood the assumption. “We weren’t having an affair. I was purposefully trying to get pregnant so my best friend and her husband could have a baby. Artificial insemination, I think it’s called. My friend couldn’t get pregnant, so I offered to be their surrogate.”

“And your husband knew and agreed to this?”

I nod. “In exchange for his car.”

Shaking his head with a smirk, Mr. Row starts writing again. “Wow.”

“Does my marriage amuse you, Mr. Row?”

He looks up, completely unapologetic. “You have to admit, it does sound like something—”

“From the Jeremy Kyle show?” I interrupt.

He chuckles. “I suppose you could say that, yes.”

A smile creeps up on my face. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

“I’ve been doing this for almost ten years now and never once have come across a story quite like this one.”

I stare at him, dumbfounded. “Ten years? You don’t look old enough.”

He gives me a knowing smile. “Yeah, I get that a lot. My older brother and sister do, too, so I guess it’s in the genes.” He carries on writing before looking up again. “So nobody knows you’re pregnant?”

“Apart from you and my colleague, Sally, no. And I want to keep it that way for now.”

“But if he contests the house, this may help you.”

I frown. I hadn’t even thought about him contesting. It would be just like him, though. “I think it’s fair enough, considering I’m letting him have the car and half our savings. I was the one who put the majority into them in the first place. I could tell him to sell his car, but I won’t because I know how upsetting that would be for him.”

His eyebrow quirks up. “It’s a shame he didn’t extend that courtesy to you, Alice.” He offers me a kind smile that I can’t help but return.

“I guess I’ve always been that way. I lost my parents at a very young age and was brought up by my aunt. She was the one who taught me to be grateful in life, help others who can’t help themselves.” I suddenly look at him. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.”

He smiles. “I need to know all this, Alice. I have to be armed with as much information as possible to enable me to negotiate on your behalf.” He starts writing again. “Going back to your pregnancy. Are you sure it’s definitely not your husband’s?”

“Yes.”

He looks up. “I only ask because it could cause more issues down the line if he is the father.”

“No, you definitely don’t have to worry about that. It’s not his baby, so it’s none of his business.”

“Okay. I think we’ve covered everything. I just need to know where to send the divorce papers once they’re drafted up.”

I bite my lip. “I believe he’s staying with his parents, but I can’t be one hundred percent certain on that. I think it may be best to send to his work.”

He poises his pen over the pad again. “And where is that?” I rattle off the address. “Okay,” he says on a sigh. “I’m sure I have everything. If I need something else, I’ll give you a call.”

Taking a deep breath, I grab my bag. “How long will it take to get the papers drawn up?”

“Not too long. He should have them in his hands by the end of next week.”

I get up and watch as he rises from his chair. I extend my hand. “Thank you, Mr. Row.”

He shakes it. “It was a pleasure, Alice.”