The Marriage Act(73)

‘Close the door,’ she asked, not wanting the pool’s maintenance man outside to overhear their conversation. ‘It’s complicated.’

‘What is, that you’re divorcing him or making up shit as to why?’

‘He’d never lay a finger on you,’ said Nora. ‘Yes, he’s mean and he says nasty things, but he’d never hit you. You have to retract it, Mum. It’s not fair.’

‘Fair? Do you think it’s fair that he tricked me into signing a document to upgrade us to a Smart Marriage making it harder for me to leave him?’ Corrine replied. Her children stared at her blankly. ‘I assume he didn’t mention that part? Apparently we were divorced for a day and then remarried and I didn’t have a bloody clue about it. That’s the kind of fairness your father believes in.’

Nora and Spencer looked at one another and then back at their mother.

‘Look, our divorce has been on the cards for a long, long time,’ she continued. ‘We were going to tell you when you’d both settled into university, but clearly your father has decided to play by his own rules again.’

‘There isn’t going to be any university,’ said Nora, her voice wavering.

‘Of course there is,’ said Corrine.

‘Not according to Dad. He said all your money is tied up in investments. A divorce means you’ll have to split what’s left and you’ll end up in a higher tax bracket so there won’t be enough to cover us or Freya. And we won’t be eligible for the married parents student loan discount as you’ll be divorced.’

Corrine shook her head. ‘You must have misunderstood him. I’m sure that’s not the case.’

‘That’s exactly what he told us,’ said Spencer. ‘Why would he lie?’

‘Because that’s what he does! He’s desperately trying to find a way to control me and now he’s doing it by threatening your futures.’

‘Maybe he’s doing it because he still loves you?’ said Nora.

‘Nora, darling, you know that’s not true. He doesn’t like that I’m not giving in to him any more and that I’m not going to put up with his crap. You will be going to university even if it means I have to find a job and work all the hours God sends to get you there. If I back down now, I’ll never be free of him.’ She rose to her feet and hugged both her children at once. ‘It’ll be okay, I promise you.’

As they left her alone, fear clouded her face. The increasing desperation in Mitchell’s behaviour was a warning. The worst could still be yet to come.





FREEDOM 4 ALL



Think you’re better off married?

You’re wrong.

Here’s what the Government doesn’t want you to know.

? Unmarried women with no children are happier than married mums. Middle-aged married mums suffer more mental and physical conditions than their single, childless counterparts.

? Married women are more at risk of heart disease. They frequently internalize stress, which takes its toll on their heart.

? Marriage weakens your social ties. You’re less likely to visit parents and siblings or spend time with friends and neighbours if you’re wed.

? Marital conflict hurts men worse than women. Repeated arguments over the same subjects can cause inflammation in the body and a reduced appetite.

? Married mums are too busy with families to worry about the big society. Single women are more politically active than men, helping with fundraisers and rallies.

? Being married can make you ill. The stress of worrying if your partner still loves you weakens your T-cells, making it harder to fight off infections.

Statistics provided by independent research





55


Jeffrey




‘Appointment: Friday, seven thirty p.m., dinner with Priti and Devon,’ began the Audite’s synthetic voice.

Luca and Noah looked to one another across the dining-room table. Noah was already shaking his head, second-guessing what was to follow. He drained his gin and tonic in one long gulp.

‘Postponed,’ both he and the Audite said together.

‘Did they leave a reason?’ he continued.

‘Reason given – stomach upset,’ it replied.

Noah rolled his eyes. ‘Well, that’s a new one. In the space of a few days, we’ve had a sick grandfather, a broken heating pump and a cat with cancer as excuses for cancelling arrangements.’

‘Postponing,’ said Luca.

‘Don’t kid yourself. We’re being cancelled left, right and centre. We are toxic.’

‘We’re not, it’s just bad timing.’

‘Luca, don’t try and placate me. Everyone knows our situation and they’re giving us a wide berth because they don’t want to catch whatever we have.’

Jeffrey was pleased with himself. Along with introducing himself to some of the neighbours as their Relationship Responder, he had also contacted not only people listed in the Marital Support Bubble that Noah and Luca had provided when they’d signed their Smart Marriage contract, but everyone else in their contacts list too. ‘This is delicious,’ he said and used the back of his fork to slice into a vegan meatball in a sticky tomato sauce. ‘Where did you learn to cook so well, Luca?’