Chapter 18 - The Choice Andre Wouldn’t Make
Rachel revised the mediation proposal.
Full financial disclosure.
No restriction preventing truthful communication concerning jointly owned funds.
No new debt secured by marital assets without written consent.
No further transfers above ordinary household expenses without notice.
Andre rejected it.
Not entirely.
One clause.
He refused the restriction concerning Wells Family Ventures.
His attorney wrote that Andre needed reasonable freedom to conduct legitimate business activities.
Nia stared at the email.
“He still wants to keep doing it.”
Rachel replied carefully.
“He wants operating flexibility.”
“With money from where?”
“That’s the important question.”
They proposed that Andre could operate any business using clearly separate post-separation earnings or existing business assets, but not joint funds.
He rejected that too.
Nia finally saw the choice plainly.
She had asked Andre to choose transparency over unilateral control.
He wanted both marriage and control.
When she called him, she asked one question.
“If keeping Wells Family Ventures exactly as you want means losing me, which do you choose?”
Andre went silent.
Nia waited.
“I don’t accept that choice.”
“You don’t have to accept it for it to exist.”
“You’re giving me an ultimatum.”
“No. I’m telling you what I can live with.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“It isn’t.”
Andre’s voice sharpened.
“So I’m supposed to destroy everything I’ve been building?”
“I didn’t ask you to destroy it.”
“You want to control every transaction.”
“I want joint money to require joint agreement.”
“That’s control.”
Nia closed her eyes.
“No, Andre. That’s marriage.”
He hung up.
She cried afterward.
Not because he rejected her.
Because he genuinely did not understand the difference.
The next morning, Nia told Rachel to prepare the divorce petition.
Saying it made her nauseous.
Rachel asked twice if she was certain she wanted to file rather than simply continue separation.
“Yes.”
“Why now?”
“Because I realized transparency is not something he thinks I’m entitled to.”
Rachel nodded.
They reviewed claims, property, children, and practical consequences.
Nia and Andre had no children together.
Maya was Nia’s daughter from a previous relationship.
Malik was Andre and Keisha’s son.
That meant their divorce would not require custody litigation.
Nia was grateful.
The children had enough instability already.
Rachel explained that marital property, debts, business interests, and potential dissipation would require careful tracing.
Nia signed.
The petition was filed.
Andre was formally served three days later at Denise’s house.
He called Nia immediately.
“You filed?”
“Yes.”
“You actually filed.”
“Yes.”
“You couldn’t wait?”
“For what?”
“Counseling.”
“You rejected financial transparency.”
“I rejected your lawyer’s language.”
“You rejected the principle.”
“That’s not true.”
“Then agree now.”
Andre said nothing.
Nia closed her eyes.
“Exactly.”
He sounded broken.
“You’ve wanted out.”
Nia’s anger returned.
“Do not rewrite this.”
“I’m not.”
“You told another woman our marriage was over months before I knew we had problems.”
“I told her what she needed to hear.”
Nia laughed through tears.
“Listen to yourself.”
Andre’s voice dropped.
“I love you.”
That hurt more than anything else.
“I believe you.”
He went silent.
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you divorcing me?”
“Because love is not the only requirement.”
Andre breathed heavily.
“I can change.”
“Maybe.”
“You don’t believe me.”
“I believe you might.”
“Then give me time.”
Nia looked at the spreadsheet open on her desk.
“Time was what you used while I didn’t know.”
Andre began crying.
“So this is it?”
“No.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means filing is the beginning of a legal process. Not the end of our lives.”
“Can we still talk?”
“Yes.”
“Can I come home?”
“No.”
He swallowed.
“Okay.”
After the call, Nia removed her wedding ring.
She did not throw it.
She placed it in the small ceramic dish beside the bed.
That evening, Maya came home.
She noticed immediately.
“Where’s your ring?”
Nia sat beside her.
“Andre and I are having serious problems.”
“Are you getting divorced?”
Nia’s heart broke at how quickly children find the word adults avoid.
“We might.”
Maya stared at her lap.
“Is Malik still my brother?”
Nia could not speak for a moment.
Then she wrapped her arms around her daughter.
“You and Malik get to decide what you mean to each other.”
Maya began crying.
Nia held her.
Her phone vibrated on the dresser.
A message from Keisha.
Andre just told Malik he might have to sell the gym because of you.
May you like
![92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Father’s Arrival Exposed a Secret Powerful People Had Buried for Years]](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_590/2026/11/clone-0-0915d882-53d7-4d17-b43a-a010ca1a1068.webp)
Nia closed her eyes.
Even after being served, Andre was still using the children to carry his story.
