Chapter 39 Compromising Over And Again
“Do you guys know each other?” I asked, slightly baffled.
Looking overjoyed, Benjamin answered, “We’ve met once, and we had a great time chatting. Am I right, Mr. Keaton?”
I only became more bewildered than before. Why does that sound more like a threat even though Benjamin sounded nice?
What was weirder was the trace of panic that I saw flashing across Julius’ eyes.
Something was definitely up between the two. However, I chose to believe Benjamin since he was, after all, introduced by James, and his relationship with Dominic must be pretty close too.
Whatever. As long as I can get a divorce and get all the problems solved, anything’s fine.
“Tell me, what do you want today? Please speak your mind today so that the next time it’ll be at the court when we meet. It’s incredibly annoying to do a meet-up so often like this.”
I had to say it felt different with a professional sitting beside me.
Julius frowned and seemed somewhat infuriated. Nevertheless, he did not say anything else and only pulled out two sheets of paper from his briefcase.
At that instance, I saw what they were. On the heading were two words: Divorce Agreement.
I did not expect Benjamin to guess it right.
As Julius passed me one set, he said, “If there are no issues, then we can proceed to sign the papers and head down to the Registry Office after this.”
In place of me, Benjamin helped to receive the papers from Julius.
There was as though a surge of being snobbish and acting all high and mighty within me, and to be honest, it was a great feeling.
After reviewing it, Benjamin asked me about matters regarding matrimonial assets—cars, housing, and savings—in front of Julius.
Ever since our marriage, we had stayed in the house Julius bought. As a celebratory act, we had both forked out money to do some minor renovations to the house before our wedding.
As for the car, we bought it with my dad’s money. Back then, Julius’ faked righteousness and pretense to rely on himself had my parents coaxed and made them think he was a thoughtful man.
As such, even with his multiple rejections, my dad ultimately still forked out money to buy a mid-range car that looked presentable enough for us.
As for savings, there were none. Julius was not fond of me ever since after our wedding night. Thus, we would only spend our own money normally.
Apart from those, I would also buy some daily necessities at times, but those were small amounts that I did not want to harper.
“That’s basically all of it. Did I get it right, Julius?” I deliberately questioned him to see what kind of attitude he would have.
After all, one had to remember that he had once asked for fifty hundred thousand as one of the divorce terms previously.
Benjamin coldly glanced at him to find that Julius’ expression froze a little as he nodded.
“Ahem. Ahem.” Benjamin coughed, and with a solemn expression, he continued, “Based on what both of you have said, there aren’t any problems except for one point. Mr. Keaton, as the wrong party in this marriage due to your extramarital affair, my client has requested compensation for her emotional damages.”
I could not react in time to Benjamin’s words. Does that mean I don’t have to fork out money, and instead, I’ll get some compensation?
Thinking that Julius would not agree to it, I was proven wrong. Not only did he not reject that, but he had also agreed to it readily and even said he could pay a hundred thousand as the compensation.
What a huge surprise! Is this really Julius in front of me? Or perhaps Benjamin’s authority and dominance are too overpowering?
With how things took a turn, I was very contented. Not only did I not have to fork out money for the divorce, I even ended up with an additional hundred thousand compensation!
Nonetheless, Benjamin did not think alike. As I was in joy over the results, I heard him speak, “Mr. Keaton, do you think the damage you’ve caused to my client is only worth a hundred thousand? How about this; I won’t ask for too much either. We’ll settle at five hundred thousand. That’s also the amount you’ve originally asked for, so I deemed it’s more than appropriate.”
Oh my gosh, it seems like the tables have turned! At that moment, Benjamin was shining so brilliantly in my eyes.
The Julius in front of me had all along felt like a submissive person today, until this particular moment.
He abruptly stood up from his seat and pointed at me as he snarled, “Liliana! I’ve agreed to your request for a divorce, and I’ve agreed to the compensation too! Don’t you try your luck with this!”
I was stunned. Does he think that I’m the one who ordered Benjamin to do all that?
On second thought, I figured it was no big deal if he thought that way. After all, Benjamin was fighting for my rights. Furthermore, Julius did not seem to feel he was overboard when he had asked me for five hundred thousand either.
As I opened my mouth and got ready to refute his words, Benjamin lightly tapped my shoulders and calmly replied, “Mr. Keaton, this seems like a huge sum, but for you, who’s a sales director of Yorkshire Corporation, it’s nothing but a bonus from a major deal.”
“Besides, Ms. Zanetti didn’t ask for the whole sum now. We can always sign the papers first, and you can do the payment periodically afterward.”
Again, I froze in shock. I could not believe Benjamin would know every detail of Julius so well, including where he worked and his position in the organization.
After hearing Benjamin’s explanation, Julius’ face paled even more.
Perhaps he had clenched into the table too tightly that even his fingers turned white.
“If you agree to the terms I’ve mentioned, I can draft two new sets of the divorce agreements and print them out right now.”
Benjamin added on, leaving Julius no time to consider.
Then once again, my opinions and knowledge toward Julius had been completely overturned. He agreed to it.
With that, Benjamin swiftly took out the laptop that he brought along and drafted the agreements before borrowing the café’s printer to print them out.
We each signed on a set and exchanged it to sign again before the procedure was considered completed.
Julius was probably burning in rage that he almost tore the paper while signing on it.
Following that, we headed toward the Registry Office, with Benjamin still following along with us.
As I laid my hands on the divorce certificate, I was in disbelief at how fast and smooth-sailing the process was. It seemed like I was in a dream.
With that said, my inner self was ecstatic. It was a feeling that no words could express accurately. I had finally ended this disgusting relationship with Julius, and what was more, I had earned a sim of compensation from it.
When I received the full sum from Julius, I would donate half to charity and the other half to my parents.
At the thought of it, I was feeling delighted.
“Mr. Keaton, do remember to pay the compensation on time, and that’s all. Take care.” As Benjamin put forth those words, I sensed how Julius’ whole body had frozen in place.
After Julius’ departure, I was on cloud nine. It felt so good to regain my freedom.
The next thing I had to do was to repay Benjamin. If it wasn’t for him, I would not walk out a free person today.
But I was a little tight for time, and besides, it would seem too hasty of me to repay his kindness now. Hence, I deemed it was not possible to do it today, and so I put on a sincere tone and said, “Mr. Chance, I appreciate your help today. Tell me when you’re free; I’ll treat you to a meal and pay you your legal fees too.”
“Don’t stand on ceremony. But I’m more than willing if there’s a free meal. As for the date… Oh, excuse me; let me get the call first.”
Upon excusing himself, he went ahead to pick up the call.
“Hey, you’ve called at the right timing. It’s all taken care of, and I’m more or less done I guess. There are no big hiccups.”
Figuring that he was probably referring to my case, I was instantly curious who the caller was.
