“So…” Hiromi sighed heavily, leaning back in his leather chair, the tension in his shoulders still visible. He dropped a stack of papers onto his desk, his fingers brushing over them before picking one up to read again. He’d already gone over the documents countless times, but he scanned the paragraphs once more, as though trying to etch them permanently into his memory.

Your case, which should have been a straightforward divorce, had turned into a legal quagmire. Hiromi had handled hundreds, maybe thousands, of such cases before—divorces, custody disputes, settlements. This one, though, was different. Your partner was adamant about not letting you go, dragging out the process at every opportunity. Their lawyer, relentless and unscrupulous, used every tactic in the book to stall proceedings and keep you trapped.

Hiromi held a letter from their lawyer, the contents of which were enough to make even his experienced jaw tighten. Divorce cases were usually mundane to him, but this one struck a nerve. He wasn’t just your lawyer—he’d seen the pain in your eyes, heard the tremor in your voice when you described the abuse. He was determined to get you out, no matter how many hurdles he had to clear.

“This doesn’t look great,” he admitted, setting the paper down and meeting your gaze across the desk. His voice softened slightly. “But we’ll figure this out, okay?”

He leaned forward, his tone firm yet reassuring. “At the next hearing, I need you to be completely honest with the judge. No more holding back, no more downplaying."