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"Mr. Lux will convince Mr. Young that signing this agreement is in his best interests."
That's a no.
But he will.
I swallow hard. "I don't want any of his money."
"According to the state of California, all of that money belongs to the two of you. You're entitled to more than this, Ms. Chase."
"She said she doesn't want his money." Dad's voice is irritated. "My daughter doesn't want to live off a technicality that allows someone to ply money from something that barely qualifies as a marriage."
That's not right.
Well, I don't want Joel's money.
And maybe this wasn't the kind of marriage my parents had.
But it is a marriage.
And it hurts that it's ending.
That Joel won't be mine anymore.
One day, he'll be someone else's.
He'll love someone else.
He'll come with someone else.
Fuck.
Everything hurts.
I can't let this happen.
I have to do something.
The lawyer is calm. Even. "As your counsel, I'm advising you to take this offer or to ask for more."
His voice is even, effortless.
No doubt, he's used to dealing with emotional clients. He's a family law attorney. He deals with child custody. Half a million dollars is nothing compared to winning primary custody.
He looks at me. "This is the law, Ms. Chase. You're a law student, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"This money can help you graduate debt free. It can allow you the freedom to work as a public defender. Or to work for a non-profit. Wouldn't you like to do pro-bono work?"
Of course, but I'm not going back to law school.
"She said no." My father stares down the lawyer. "Are you going to honor your client's wishes or are you going to give her a monologue about the power of the law."
The lawyer clears his throat. "You're a lawyer, sir. And you're a first year law student, Ms. Chase. Both of you understand the power of the law. It's not what's right or what's fair. The law is simply the terms of the game we play by. It's foolish to do anything but manipulate it for your gain."
He's right.
He's thinking like a good lawyer. A good lawyer twists the law into any shape that suits him.
