"I don't have the slightest idea where he is right now Lisa. He said that he had to leave town. He made it sound like you and or Mark would try to force him to stay married to you. Well, I'm sure we'll be in touch soon. Have a nice night." John said.
John chuckled as he drove away, but he knew that there was a long road ahead.
By 1:00 Monday afternoon Lisa and her lawyer George Williams were sitting in John's office.
"My client understands that infidelity is not a suitable grounds for divorce in this state, but he feels that the 3 years of blatant infidelity and hostility towards him by both you and Mark have created irreconcilable differences and he has decided to dissolve the marriage before any more of his money is spent by you on gifts for Mark...such as Mark's new car...which my client is seeking, as I'm sure you noticed in the proposed terms for the settlement." John said.
"This has all been a misunderstanding. All I need is 5 minutes with Eric and this whole situation will be resolved." Lisa said.
"Yes...when he came to see me Saturday he seemed to agree with you about that. He was of the belief that if he were to see you he would acquiesce to your demand that he not try to divorce you. He told me that he was leaving town so that you could not see him and demand that of him. Apparently Eric is standing up for himself for the first time in 3 years. I've got to say I don't blame you for not wanting a divorce Lisa...I've looked through your pre-nup and its air tight and you wouldn't walk away with very much. You would lose the meal ticket that you've been using to feed Mark." John said.
"You son of a bitch...you have no right to talk to me like that." Lisa said.
"Don't I? I'm Eric's attorney...I'm informing you that you have a lot to lose in this divorce. I am Eric's friend...I am telling you how upset I am with what you've been doing to him. I am your brother...I am telling you how disappointed I am in you personally. Oh and by now Mark should have been served with some alienation of affection papers...we're seeking some serious financial compensation for his part in all of this." John said.
"You son of a bitch." Lisa said.
Lisa slapped John as hard as she could.
"George...I suggest you restrain your client...if she does that again I'll have to call the police to report it as assault." John said.
"Lisa...let's get out of here...we obviously aren't going to accomplish anything here." George said.
George and Lisa left. At noon Kelly came into John's office and she immediately slapped him as hard as she could.
"That's twice today I've been slapped...I might have deserved the first one, but I have no idea why you slapped me." John said.
"How could you take Eric's side against your own sister? I know Eric is your friend, but how could you do that to Lisa?" Kelly asked.
"Well...when I found out what Lisa has been doing to Eric for the past 3 years I didn't really give a shit that she was my sister." John said.
"What? What are you talking about? What is it that you think Lisa has been doing to Eric for 3 years?" Kelly asked.
"Mark." John said.
"Mark? What do you mean Mark?" Kelly asked.
"Lisa has been fucking Mark for 3 years. More than that she made sure that Eric knew all about it. They made him watch them together. He hasn't had sex with her in 3 years...he hasn't even been able to sleep in his own bed for 3 years. Lisa has been spending Eric's money on Mark, including buying Mark his new car...and they've both been treating Eric like shit. Eric came to me, told me what was happening, and asked me to help him get out...so I'm helping him." John said.
Kelly was speechless. She had no idea that Lisa was doing any of those things...nobody did...they had kept it a secret for 3 years.
"Why...why would Eric put up with that for so long?" Kelly asked.
"Because he's the submissive type...because he was weak...now he's fighting back though. Now he's trying to reclaim his manhood and get rid of his cheating wife." John said.
Lisa tried to block the divorce and tried to get a court order for Eric to meet with her face to face. John went to a hearing about the face to face meeting...Eric was not there.
"Your honor...if I could simply see my husband we could work this out and we could all get on with your lives." Lisa said.
"Your honor...she is correct...if she were to spend 5 minutes alone with my client he would give in, but he has asked me to prevent that from happening. It is my client's wish that he not see her until after the divorce has been finalized." John said.
"Why is that?" The Judge asked.
"Your honor...my client is very timid and submissive by nature. For 3 years he did nothing while his wife shared her bed with another man, spent his money on the other man, and he did not stand up for himself when they belittled him and at times physically restrained or abused him. My client knows that if he were to see her she would have no problem talking him into calling this off and going back to her. He doesn't want to go back to her...he wants his nightmare to end." John said.
"I see...so it is your contention that a face to face meeting would lead to your client agreeing to return to a hostile environment?" The Judge asked.
"Yes your honor." John said.
"Then I will respect your client's wishes...this court will not order a face to face meeting." The Judge said.
"Judge...be reasonable...I have to see him...you have to make him come and talk to me." Lisa said.
"Young lady...you are very lucky that I am not the judge that would preside over your divorce if it gets to court. If I understand the facts correctly you have no ground to stand on. Your only hope of staying married is to convince your husband to forget about this divorce...well let me tell you something...coercion is a crime so if you do happen to talk him into it against his will you will be facing much worse than a divorce...you'll be facing jail time." The judge said.
Lisa continued to use every means she could think of to get Eric to meet with her. In the meantime John pushed the divorce along...George tried to hold it up as much as possible because that was what Lisa wanted, but after 6 months John petitioned for a judge to hear the case and make a ruling despite Lisa's constant attempts to block it.
The judge ordered that Eric be present when the case was presented. Lisa finally thought she would have her chance, but the judge put a restraining order on Lisa and John and several other friends of Eric's kept a 24 hour watch on him so that Lisa could not get any access to him.
The first day in court Lisa was already in the court room when John and Eric walked in. Lisa immediately got up and ran towards Eric.
"Oh baby I've missed you. Tell the judge we don't need this...everything will be alright...you'll see." Lisa said.
Eric didn't speak, he just looked at John. John looked at Lisa.
"You're wasting your time Lisa...Eric is well on the way to recovering his manhood...a manhood that you and Mark robbed him of nearly 4 years ago." John said.
They got the case under way. George had done his best to prepare a case for blocking the divorce, but by that point he knew it was a losing battle. He focused more on contesting the proposed settlement and the pre-nuptial agreement.
Then John got to present his case.
"Your honor...I have presented into evidence video and photographic proof of both the affair between Lisa and Mark and of their mistreatment of my client. You have reviewed this evidence. My client loved his wife and indeed still loves her today, but after 3 years of betrayal, abuse, infidelity, and spending his money on gifts for her lover my client was pushed to the breaking point. That breaking point came the Friday night before he came to me to start these divorce proceedings. My client's wife and her lover were going away for the weekend...something they did frequently. Before they left my client heard his wife's lover tell her that he was glad that she was finally letting him get her pregnant. With everything that my client had already endured the thought of having to pretend that another man's child was his own broke him. For the first time in 3 years he fought back...he wasn't going to stand idly by and put up with his wife having another man's baby. So he came to me. He asked me to help him get out. He asked me to help him get a divorce...to get away from her...to get back to living a real life. I have done my very best to help him with that your honor. His wife and her attorney have thrown up every road block and pulled out every trick in the book to try to block this divorce. Do you know why your honor?" John asked.
"I have a pretty good idea, but it should be entered into the record so proceed." The judge said.
"When my client and his wife got married she insisted on a very strictly worded pre-nuptial agreement. At the time she had a high paying job and my client was in an entry level position. He signed the agreement because he thought they would be together forever. Now the document that she used to protect herself at the beginning of their marriage has become her nightmare at the end of the marriage. The document clearly states that no alimony or spousal support of any kind will be paid. It clearly states that all financial assets will be split based on the percentage of their combined income that they each contribute. Two years after they were married my client got promoted to a management position and now contributes more than 75% of their combined income so even with the 2 years before his promotion factored in he would still be awarded over 70% of their total financial assets. The document also clearly states that real estate owned coming into the marriage will be the property of the person that owned it coming into the marriage. My client's wife owns two small houses in an area of town that has seen property values crash. My client owned the house that they have been living in. The property has been improved upon and the area around it has seen increasing property values so the value of his property has more than tripled. So you see your honor my client's wife stands to lose access to a great deal of money if this divorce goes through. Money that the bank records that I've entered into evidence show that she tried to move two months ago, but my client astutely had their assets frozen until this divorce is finalized. Your honor my client has offered a settlement that follows the terms of the pre-nuptial agreement. My client's wife and her attorney have challenged the proposed settlement as well as the validity of the pre-nuptial agreement. She is the one that insisted on the agreement in the first place and she very carefully worded it to make it as rock solid as possible. She wanted it to be uncontestable if they were to ever get divorced and she succeeded...unfortunately for her she is now being bitten in the ass by it." John said.
"I will retire now to consider the facts of the case to reach my decision. We shall reconvene here at 2:00." The Judge said.
John and Eric's friends were very careful to keep Lisa away from Eric during the recess. At 2:00 everyone was waiting as the judge came back into the court room.
"After considering all of the facts in this case I have reached a decision. I am approving the petition for divorce. It is quite clear that Eric wants out and that Lisa wants to keep her meal ticket." The judge said.
"NO! You can't do this! I didn't agree to it. I don't agree to it. You can't make me divorced when I don't want to be." Lisa said.
"Actually yes I can...legally. This marriage is dissolved...court adjourned." The Judge said.
John turned to Eric.
"Congratulations...you're a single man." John said.
He offered his hand, but Eric hugged him instead.
"Thank you John...I'll never be able to repay you for this. You've given me so much more than my freedom...you've given me my manhood back." Eric said.
"I'm glad I could help. The holidays at mom and dad's are going to be a little awkward from now on, but that's a small price to pay. Hey...I've been meaning to ask you...how do you like your new car?" John asked.
"I love it. If she hadn't used the money to buy the Challenger for Mark I'd have bought one for myself. It was SO satisfying when we went with the court order to pick it up from Mark's." Eric said.
John smiled.
"Let's get out of here." John said.
John and Eric walked out of the courtroom. As they did they saw Lisa sitting there crying...they both smiled.
