My Wife Killed Me, Now I’m the Apocalypse Billionaire

Chapter 2: Settlement

Jessica's heels clicked fast against the pavement as she hurried up the driveway. Her phone was still warm in her hand from the call with her mother, who had been practically screaming about Sean's "little stunt." Margaret's exact words had been, "Get back here before that fool actually does something stupid."

She pushed through the front door and found Sean sitting at the kitchen table, calm as a stone, scrolling through his phone like it was any other Tuesday afternoon. No red face, no clenched fists, no sign of the emotional outburst her parents had described. That unsettled her more than anything.

"Sean, we need to talk." Jessica pulled out the chair across from him and sat down, folding her hands on the table with the kind of patience she usually reserved for difficult clients at work.

Sean didn't look up from his phone. "About what?"

"About this divorce nonsense. Mom called me in the middle of a meeting. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?"

"I wasn't trying to embarrass you, Jessica. I was stating a fact." Sean finally set his phone down and met her eyes. His expression was completely blank, like he was looking at a stranger on a bus.

Jessica felt something cold move through her stomach. This wasn't the Sean she knew. The Sean she knew would have already apologized twice by now, would have started backtracking the moment she walked through the door. This version of him just sat there, watching her with flat, quiet eyes that gave away absolutely nothing.

What is wrong with him today?

"Sean, listen to me. I know things have been hard lately. I know my dad can be a lot sometimes. But you can't just throw away our marriage because of one bad afternoon." Her voice softened, and she reached across the table to touch his hand. "Think about Jack. He needs his father."

Sean pulled his hand back slowly, not fast, not angry, just a smooth, deliberate withdrawal that made Jessica's fingers close on empty air.

"Don't use Jack." His voice was low and even.

"I'm not using him, Sean. I'm thinking about our family. That's what married people do." Jessica let a tiny crack into her voice, just enough to sound wounded. She had used this exact tone a hundred times before, and it had never once failed to bring him back in line.

Sean leaned back in his chair and studied her face for a long moment. Then he tilted his head slightly, like a man examining something under a microscope.

"Jessica, how much do you think Jack looks like me?"

The question landed like a slap. Jessica's carefully constructed expression flickered. Just a micro tremor around her eyes, a tiny tightening of her jaw, but it was enough.

"What kind of question is that? He's your son." Her voice stayed steady, but her left hand moved under the table and gripped her knee.

"Is he?"

Two words. That was all it took. The color drained from Jessica's face in slow motion, starting at her cheeks and moving down to her lips until she looked like she had been standing in a freezer.

"Sean, what are you talking about? Are you feeling okay?" She forced a small laugh that came out thin and brittle. "You're acting really strange today. Maybe you should lie down."

"I'm feeling better than I have in years, actually." Sean's mouth curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Here's what I'm thinking for the settlement. I walk away clean. No assets, no property claims, nothing. You keep the apartment, the car, all of it."

Jessica blinked. Whatever she had been bracing for, that wasn't it. "You want to walk away with nothing?"

"Nothing. And I'm giving up custody of Jack. Full custody goes to you. I'll also stop all child support payments effective immediately." Sean listed the terms like he was reading a grocery list, no emotion, no hesitation.

He knows. He doesn't have proof yet, but he knows. How does he know?

Jessica's mind was racing behind her calm exterior. If Sean pushed for a DNA test, everything would unravel. The affair with Zach, the lies about Jack's parentage, the years of careful deception. Her parents would find out. Their social circle would find out. And worse, if Sean decided to fight dirty in court, he could drag the whole mess into public record.

But he was offering to leave with nothing. No fight, no claims, no custody battle. Just a clean exit.

Let him go. Let him sign the papers before he changes his mind. You can always come back for money later. He's too soft. He'll always be too soft.

"Sean, you're being ridiculous. I don't want a divorce." Jessica kept her voice gentle, almost sad, but the calculation behind her eyes was running at full speed. "But if this is really what you want, if you're truly set on this, then I won't force you to stay."

"Good. The civil affairs bureau is open until five. We can go now." Sean stood up and grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair.

"Now? Today?" Jessica's composure cracked for a real second. "Sean, people don't get divorced in one afternoon. There are things to discuss, arrangements to make."

"I just made the arrangements. I get nothing, you get everything. What's left to discuss?"

Jessica opened her mouth, then closed it. He was right, and that bothered her. When a man is volunteering to walk away empty handed, there is nothing to negotiate. Any objection she raised now would only give him time to reconsider, or worse, bring up the Jack question again.

"Fine." Jessica picked up her purse from the counter. "If this is what you need to do to feel like a man, then fine. Let's go."

The drive to the civil affairs bureau was fifteen minutes of silence. Jessica kept glancing at Sean from the passenger seat, searching his profile for any sign of doubt, any crack she could wedge her fingers into. There was nothing. He drove with both hands on the wheel, eyes forward, jaw relaxed, breathing steady. He looked like a man driving to pick up dry cleaning.

This isn't right. Something happened to him. People don't change like this overnight.

At the bureau, they took a number and waited on plastic chairs in a fluorescent lit hallway that smelled like floor cleaner and old paper. A woman two seats down was crying quietly into a tissue. Her husband sat beside her, staring at his shoes.

"Last chance to change your mind." Jessica crossed her legs and examined her nails with practiced indifference.

"No." Sean didn't even look at her.

"You're going to regret this, you know. One day you'll wake up alone in some empty apartment and realize what you threw away." Her voice carried just enough sweetness to sound concerned, but underneath it was the sharp edge of a woman who was already planning her next move.

"Maybe." Sean watched the number display on the wall click forward.

When their number was called, they walked to the window together. The clerk, a tired looking woman in her fifties, slid the forms across the counter without looking up. Sean filled out his section in under two minutes. Jessica took longer, reading every line, her pen hovering over the signature box.

"Are both parties entering this agreement voluntarily?" The clerk finally looked up, her eyes moving between them.

"Yes." Sean's voice was immediate and clear.

Jessica hesitated for exactly one second, then signed. "Yes."

The clerk stamped the documents, entered them into the system, and printed two certificates. She slid one to each of them across the counter.

"Your divorce is finalized. Have a good day."

Sean picked up his certificate, folded it neatly, and tucked it into his jacket pocket. He turned and walked toward the exit without a word, without a backward glance, without any of the drama Jessica had been quietly preparing herself to manage.

Jessica stood at the counter, holding her own certificate, watching his back disappear through the glass doors. Her expression was calm, almost bored, but her mind was already three steps ahead.

He'll come crawling back in a month. And when he does, I'll squeeze every last penny out of him. A man this spineless doesn't stay away for long.

She slipped the certificate into her purse, smoothed down her hair, and pulled out her phone. Her thumb hovered over Zach's name in her contacts. She typed a quick message.

"It's done. He gave up everything. Call you tonight."

She dropped the phone back into her purse and walked out into the afternoon sun, already calculating how long she should wait before making her first move to get back at Sean's wallet.