Her will made it explicitly clear that no spouse or outside party could benefit from her estate.

When I showed Peter the document, he went pale.

All his manipulative plans had completely unraveled.

If we stayed married, the money would be donated to charity.

If we divorced, I would inherit it all.

We quietly finalized the divorce, and not long after, I received the full inheritance.

I moved into my mother’s house, gave it a beautiful renovation, and finally took the solo vacations I had only dreamed about before.

Peter thought he’d struck gold, but thanks to my incredibly wise mother, he walked away with absolutely nothing.

Thank you, Mom—for seeing what I couldn’t, and for protecting me even after you were gone.