AND SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH A HOOKER

No Longer Mrs. Cooley: The Architect's Return

Xiao Xiaosu

I went to the City Clerk's office for a routine copy of my marriage license to finalize a trust fund audit. I expected a simple piece of paper, but the clerk's pitying look told me my entire life was a lie. "The license was never finalized, Ms. Oliver. In the eyes of the state, you are single." The three-hundred-guest wedding at the Plaza and the Vogue features meant nothing. My husband, Gray Cooley, had intentionally filed the documents with a "procedural defect" so he could discard me without a legal divorce. Moments later, an iCloud invite titled "Our Little Secret" popped up on my screen. It was a photo of my best friend, Brylee, holding a positive pregnancy test at our Hamptons estate. Gray's text to her was the final blow: "Happy anniversary, babe. This baby is the best gift. Once the trust unlocks today, we're done with the charade." I soon discovered they were even stealing my career, reassigning my architectural masterpiece to Brylee while preparing my eviction notice. Gray's mother called me a "barren mule" in a leaked recording, mocking the infertility I suffered after saving Gray's life in a construction accident. I wasn't a wife; I was a three-year placeholder used to secure his inheritance. How could the man I bled for treat me like a disposable prop? How could my best friend carry his child while pretending to comfort me through my darkest moments? The betrayal burned until it turned into a cold, hard stone of fury. I didn't cry. Instead, I walked into the penthouse of the Barretts, the Cooleys' most powerful rivals. I signed a marriage contract with Kane Barrett, the man the tabloids called the "Beast of Wall Street." "I want a wedding," I told his father, my voice steady and lethal. "Bigger than the one I had with Gray." If they wanted me gone, they would have to watch me become the woman who owns their world.

Modern Revenge Divorce

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JULIANNA

I wanted to live in a student apartment and be independent like my classmates.

My high school classmates mostly wanted to leave Rhode Island. I preferred staying. Why move 100 miles when I got into an Elite School near home?

I felt sad and alone as that seemed like a worse decision. I was in my bedroom while my peers were intoxicated in a frat basement. I saved plenty, but I couldn't afford to live alone, and none of my friends were seeking homes. Everyone I knew at school was closer to others, leaving me alone.

When the bus calls my stop, I calm down. I go up and wait at the door. I look around campus. Still calm. Only summer researchers and students were on campus.

I merely carried a tote bag today since I didn't have school or work. Coffee with an old buddy. I wore a tank top and summer shorts. I wasn't spectacular, but I took more time on my looks and getting ready today than I generally did for campus.

I strolled up to "The Grind," the campus coffee shop. It was near the arts center in a cute building. I check the blackboard promotions inside.

I wasn't social. I was shy with strangers and overly excited with friends. I was always in my brain, forcing myself to feel different depending on the situation.

"Hey, what can I get for you?" When the woman behind the counter asks, her lip piercing dances in the light, and I momentarily lose track of what I was thinking.

"Uh, could I get a latte with ice?" I ask quietly while looking for my wallet in my bag.

"How big is it?" He asks, not sounding very interested, and I try to be nicer, worried that she'll be upset that I didn't tell her sooner.

"A medium, please." When my hand finally closes around my wallet, I smile.

"Just regular milk?"

"Please, say yes!" I shrug and keep a light tone.

"That will be $62; do you have cash or a card?" She asks, and all of a sudden my heart starts racing. Almost $7 fucking dollars for an iced latte?

"Please take my card." I let out a sigh and pulled out my debit card. When I tap it against the machine, I feel like I can hear it crying. She gives me a number, and I wait for Carlo at a table.

I hook my bag to the back of my chair and look around for my cell phone. When my phone buzzes to let me know I have a text, I unlock it to read it properly.

CARLO [11 .01PM]

"Running late, see you in five"

It's 1.06 p.m. now, so he should be here soon.

"Julianna-banana!" I hear Carlo's big body coming over, and I see it too. I get up and give him a quick hug because I'm happy to see him again. He was the only person who ever called me by that name.

"Hi Carlo.' I smile at him, and he smiles back. He changed his hairstyle and got rid of his awful mustache. He used to say that it was what brought the girls in, and he wasn't wrong. Girls did seem to follow him around.

"You look good, what's going on?" When he asks, I just shrug.

"Not much, go get some coffee, and we'll talk.' I keep asking, and he smiles and walks toward the counter.

After a few minutes, he goes back to the table with a huge mug of coffee. He sits down and takes off his old flannel. "What'd you get?" I ask.

"Where's your black drip coffee?"

"They're still doing it." I give her a shrug and look up to see her struggling with the espresso machine. "No big deal, I just couldn't drink something hot."

"It's certainly warm." He nods in agreement and takes a sip of the black coffee. "So, how have you been, and how was your co-op?"

"It was pretty good, and I learned a lot and everything!' He gives a shrug.

Carlo and I had both been busy, so I hadn't been keeping up with him as well as I should have. We weren't really close friends to begin with, but now we were barely in each other's lives at all.

"They told me I could start work in two weeks."

"What?" I smile and ask, and he nods. "Wow, that's great! Congratulations!"

"It's pretty cool that if you get this degree, you can get a job right away." He laughs, and I laugh and roll my eyes. "I still can't believe I finished high school."

"I always forget that we aren't living in the same year. I shrug. "So, what do you want to do?"

"In a few days, I'll be moving back to New York. He says yes, and my eyebrows go up. "Your timing was good when you tried to set up a hangout!'

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