After Divorce, I Won The Christmas Lottery

Prologue It might be true that every woman hates being served with divorce papers. But what if you win the lottery, worth billions of dollars, and you can only claim it after divorce? After three years of marriage, Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Stanford, walked in on her husband in bed with another woman 5 days before Christmas. Not just any woman, her annoying 20-year-old cousin, Tiffany, who she allowed to live with them, when she was stranded. Her husband, Kyle Stanford, then served her with divorce papers, and gave her 48 hours to sign them. She leaves her home a broken woman, but an unexpected encounter with a stranger, leads to Liz becoming the only recipient of the Christmas lottery draw worth billions of dollars. Not wanting to lose her new fortune to her cheating husband, she seeks out a divorce attorney to help her. Her best friend, Robyn, referred her to an old college friend, Zander Caine. He just happened to be the hottest, up-and-coming attorney in town. He agreed to help her pro bono, because he had always been secretly in love with her. Will Liz decide to teach Kyle a lesson? And what will Kyle do when he discovers his ex-wife is the newest billionaire in town? Will Zander help shield her from the harsh life that comes with being wealthy? Chapter 1 Liz In five more days, it's Christmas. The most joyous and festive time of the year for everyone except me. This year I am sitting in a park, reading through the divorce papers I just got served with. ...“It is recorded that the immovable property situated at 3 Owl Close, Bantry City, is to be transferred to the plaintiff, Kyle Stanford. The defendant, Elizabeth Stanford, agrees to register the change of ownership with the Banter City deeds office within 7 days of signing this agreement.” What f*****g bullshit. That is my house, bought with my money. And he wants me to agree to sign it over to him? Does he think I am an i***t? I read further, and my blood started boiling even more. ..."I, Elizabeth Stanford, hereby relinquish any and all claims for spousal support because I have not upheld my spousal obligations. I agree to accept a once off p*****t of 5 000 USD as goodwill compensation from the plaintiff. I further agree to seek no future financial compensation from the plaintiff upon the signing of this agreement.” Right now, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. This is all so absurd, I can’t believe the man I love would do this to me. Was I so blind that I never saw what an asshole he really was? I looked up from the papers, and looked out over the lake and I saw an elderly woman about to slip. I threw down the papers and ran over to her just in time to stop her from falling into the lake. I pull her back and hold onto her. “Oh my, that was close.” She says and chuckles. “Are you okay? Come, let me help you over to the bench. You need to sit for a bit.” I said and helped her to sit. “I am fine, thanks to you.” She said, smiling. I took her walking stick and hung it over the side of the bench, and sat down next to her. “Can I get you anything? Some water or something to eat?” I asked, knowing I didn’t have money, but I would definitely use my last to help her. “No, don’t worry, I am fine dear. Why are you sitting here alone? Shouldn’t you be at home with your family?” She says, looking at my wedding ring that is still on my finger. “I don’t have any family anymore, so it’s just me,” I say. Then she looks at the divorce agreement next to me. “Sometimes it helps to talk things through.” She says and I smile. “It’s a messy story,” I say. “Well, messy story, I am Mary. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She says and I chuckle. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Mary. My name is Elizabeth, but I prefer Liz.” I said and she shook my hand. “Now come tell this old woman your problems. You would be doing me a favor. My life is very dull and in need of someone else’s drama.” She says, and I have to chuckle. I like her, she is sweet and funny. I wonder why she is out here alone? Maybe she has no one too. Maybe I should tell her, they always say it helps to talk to a stranger. I then proceed to tell her the whole messy story. An hour earlier… I got home around lunchtime from the best spa day ever, thanks to my early Christmas gift from my bestie Robyn. The voucher was for a couple’s treatment, but my husband, Kyle, was very busy today, so he couldn’t come with me. Robyn is out of town, so I braved the spa treatment alone. I had hoped that Kyle would come with me, he has been so distant lately. We haven’t had s*x in more than three months. But I am optimistic that tonight will be the night. It is nearly Christmas after all. This is my favorite time of the year. Who knows, maybe this year, I will be the recipient of a Christmas miracle. I walk through the front door and go to the kitchen to start prepping for dinner. I know Kyle is working late, but I still want to cook him a good meal tonight. I heard a banging noise coming from upstairs and I frowned. No one is supposed to be home. Kyle is at the office, and my 20-year-old cousin, Tiff, should be at the store where she works. I took her in five months ago, when she had nowhere to go. I don’t particularly like her, but family is family. I grab the baseball bat we keep next to the kitchen door and head to the foyer. I slowly and quietly walked up the stairs, careful to avoid the creaky third step from the top. I listen, and hear the noise is coming from my bedroom. The closer I get, the more my heart sinks. I can clearly hear two people having s*x. Did that b***h really bring one of her conquests to my house to f**k them in my bed? She is a bit loose, if you catch my meaning. But I made it clear that we won’t allow random strangers to sleep over. I should’ve been more specific and said we don’t want random strangers here period. I slowly turned the knob of the door and opened it. What I saw, froze me to the spot. The baseball bat fell out of my hand as I stared at the two people in my bed having wild s*x. When the bat dropped loudly on the floor, they were alerted to my presence. They both look at me, Tiff with a smirk and Kyle with wide eyes. “What the f**k are you doing here?” Kyle asks me as he gets off Tiffany and puts his boxers back on. “I live here. What the f**k are you doing f*****g my slut of a cousin?” I yelled. He picks up a file, and stomps towards me. He grabs me by my arm and pulls me out of the room. “What the f**k Kyle? Is she why you don’t even touch me anymore? How could you do this to me?” I said as the tears started to fall. “Oh, don’t f*****g start with the waterworks. You brought this on yourself bitch.” He says with so much venom, that it stops my tears immediately. Who is this man, and what has he done with Kyle? He has never spoken to me like that before. Am I being pranked? The smell of s*x in the air is a clear reminder that this is in fact happening. “I brought this on myself? So, I put your d**k into her nasty overused p***y?” I asked, now feeling the anger I tried to suppress. He backhands me and my eyes widen as I touch my cheek. He has never struck me before. He looks at me and I see his eyes soften, and he reaches for me, but Tiffany comes walking out of my room naked. “What’s taking so long baby? You owe me a climax.” She says, coming over and running her hands over his abs. “You f*****g shameless b***h. I gave you a home and this is how you repay me?” I say and she chuckles. “It’s not my fault you don’t know how to satisfy your man. And happy holidays, by the way,” she says, smirking. I punched her nose so fast; she had no time to react. She falls back and knocks her head against the wall. Kyle grabs my arm and glares at me, while she screams in pain as blood starts coming out of her nose. “What the f**k is wrong with you?” he asks me. “What is wrong with me? Are you f*****g kidding me? f**k you and your new whore.” I said and turned to walk away. I need to get out of here. He grabs me roughly again and gives me the file he was holding. “I want a divorce. Sign these god-damn papers and get the f**k out of my house.” He says, and I look down at the file in my hand and then back at him. “Your house? And if I refuse?” I asked. “Then you will just have to watch us f**k the life out of each other.” He said and I chuckled darkly. “Go ahead. But I would have myself checked if I was you. You don’t know where her nasty ass has been, and with whom. You are f*****g three quarters of the men in the city when you f**k her. Good luck with that.” I said, and, freed myself from his grasp and walked down the stairs. “f**k you, b***h!” Tiffany yells after me. “No, thank you, but please enjoy f*****g Kyle. He isn’t worth much anyway. Enjoy faking your orgasms.” I yelled. Kyle runs after me, and I can see the malice in his eyes. I grab a knife from the kitchen counter and point it at him. “Don’t come any closer,” I say, and he stops. “I will give you 48 hours to look over the divorce agreement. Come back here on Monday and give me the signed papers, my lawyer will be present.” He says and I scoff. “You f**k my cousin in my own bed, and then you still want to boss me around? You really are a son of a b***h Kyle. I will be here, but only because I can’t wait to end this marriage,” I said. I grabbed my bag and my car keys and walked out the door, but not before throwing the knife. It flies past his head and gets stuck in the wall. He can be glad I have a perfect aim, thanks to years of playing darts in college. I get into my car and drive away as fast as I can. Back to the present time… “And that’s how I ended up here. Kyle insisted I stay home, so even after I finished my bachelor's in law, I never passed the bar. I was so in love, I agreed to give him the perfect home.” I said. “My, that is quite a story, young lady. So, what are you planning on doing now?” she asks me. “I honestly don’t know yet. I have been wallowing in self-pity for the past few minutes,” I say. “While you figure out what to do, could you do me a favor please?” she asks me. “Sure, what do you need?” I ask and she smiles. “Can you go get us something to eat, I am feeling a little hungry.” She says and I nod. “What are you in the mood for?” I ask. “A corndog is fine, and can you also buy me a lottery ticket for the special Christmas lottery draw this evening? The winner gets 10.9 billion dollars,” she says. “Wow, that’s a lot of money,” I say and she nods. “It can make someone’s Christmas all the more special. Here, use these numbers.” She says and gives me a piece of paper with numbers scribbled on it and some money. “I will be right back.” I said leave to get the food and the ticket. When I came back a few minutes later, she wasn’t on the bench. I looked around but couldn’t see her anywhere. Where could she have gone so fast? I sat down and noticed a folded piece of paper stuck to the bench. I opened it and read it. ‘Dear Liz, This lottery ticket is all I could afford to give you. Those numbers will bring you luck. No matter what happens in your life, remember that it will get better. I hope to see you again, but if I don’t, I wish you nothing but good fortune and happiness. Enjoy the rest of the holidays, it’s going to be great. ‘Tis the season. Love Mary.’ That is so sweet of her. “Thank you, Mary,” I whispered. I actually was hungry; I didn’t have lunch. How did she know I needed this? I have to chuckle at the situation. I sat there for I don’t know how long, but when I looked up again, the sun was setting. My phone rings and I see its Robyn, so I answer immediately. “Hey bestie. How is your day going?” she asked me. “I had an awesome time at the spa. Thank you for the gift. Then I came home and found her husband of three years, balls deep in my w***e of a cousin. Then he slapped me, so I broke her nose. He then proceeded to hand me divorce papers and gave me 48 hours to sign them. Now I am in the park reading through the divorce papers and deciding whether to fight for what is mine.” I said. “What the actual f**k? I don’t believe this. Are you okay?” she asks. “No, I am certainly not. I want to fight this bullshit settlement because he plans to take everything, knowing I bought that house with my inheritance.” I said. “Get a divorce attorney.” She says and I chuckle. “I have no money to pay for one. I am sure he froze my accounts. I have exactly…” I said and looked in my purse. “Eighty-two dollars to my name and my car,” I said. I really am screwed “I can give you the money, Liz,” she said. “No Robyn, I know how much you earn, and I won’t let you use your savings for this.” I said. A couple walk past and I can’t help but overhear them talking about the lottery. “The first number is 3 and the second number is 12, check your numbers Larry, I will wait.” The woman says. Those numbers sound very familiar, that’s how Mary’s numbers started. “Just give me a second Robyn.” I said so that I could listen better. “Here’s your ticket you i***t. Now come on, check. The numbers are 3, 12, 18, 32, 47 and the bonus ball is 7,” the woman says. Hold up, those numbers sound so familiar. “Damn it, that 10.9 billion would’ve been the perfect Christmas gift,” he says. “Well, I am happy for whoever won it,” the woman says as they start walking again. “Robyn, can I call you back?” I ask and she agrees. I checked the news on my phone and looked for the lottery numbers. I took out the ticket Mary had me buy and checked it. I look at the numbers: 3, 12, 18, 32, 47 and the bonus ball is number 7. Oh, my God! I have all the winning numbers. I won the lottery. What the actual f**k? Can this really be true?