Chapter 9 - CLAIRE DID NOT GET AN ANNULMENT

The court did not grant annulment.
That surprised people who only understood the story through headlines.
Rebecca explained:
“The evidence supports coercive and deceptive conduct. But marriage validity and marital misconduct are different questions.”
Claire nodded.
“Then divorce.”
“Yes.”
She did not care about the label anymore.
The divorce took nine months.
Adrian fought over property.
Claire had a prenuptial agreement protecting separate assets.
He challenged it.
Lost.
He demanded reimbursement for wedding costs.
Mostly denied.
He sought confidentiality.
Claire agreed only on narrow personal details, not on evidence relevant to regulatory or legal matters.
Evelyn never became Claire’s best friend.
That would have been too neat.
But they stayed in contact.
Once, Evelyn said:
“I wish I had done what you did.”
Claire answered:
“You left.”
“Eventually.”
“That counts.”
Adrian entered a longer treatment program after the divorce.
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Claire did not track whether he changed.
That was no longer her job.