Chou looked miffed that Ellie had decided not to explain her issues more thoroughly, but seemed satisfied enough that this was a course of action with some thought. "It's the first time that a member of the Wong family has decided to divorce so it took me some time to figure out the whole process. New York's annulment process is a lot more conservative than other states. It would have been much easier if you had filed in New Jersey. But that's ok we will make it work. The reason for the divorce will of course be fraud in that you are unable to have children. Since you both had a civil marriage instead of a religious marriage the most important piece of evidence will be the doctor's notice that you are not able to procreate. It pains me to ask you this, but do you have these types of testimony ready to go?"
Ellie looked up from Chou's hands to his magnified eyes. She nodded quickly. "It won't be any issue from my end. It is medically possible. Also, if I do later have children, it could be classified as a medical miracle. It should be proof against anyone who would like to contest the marriage. I am airtight in defense. I can have the documents sent to your office right away. Seeing my affairs are in order, how are things on Henry's end?"
Chou cleared his throat as he adjusted his glasses. "It's nothing to worry about as it is about time for Mr Womg to have his annual physical anyways. But Henry will be having his family physician do the necessary procedures to send in to my offices as soon as his schedule permits. So far, he has not."
Ellie hoped that having the conversation with his general physician would not be awkward as Henry explained his annulment filing. It would probably be, she mused.
"Will this be a straightforward process at all? I know I have a lot of expert testimony on my end that I was near death, but Henry's intentions were less sincere if you read closely. Will the judge be forgiving? I don't want to go through a drawn out appeals process?"
Chou took off his glasses as he considered her question. He leaned back into the red leather of the booth seat in which they were both sitting. The warm light above them showing that his wrinkles had receded now that they were focusing more on the law aspect than the personal. "I do know several judges in the area who are sympathetic to the late Conrad Wong. Henry being his son should be good. You are also a race car driver who had a tragic accident. The combination of tragedies should play in your favor. The will was the talk of the town when it was read. It was seen as cruel. It does not go beyond the realm of possibility that the two of you found solace in your sadness then which turned to a mutual horror that you could not have children. It's a very sympathetic story that's bound to hit emotionally enough to pull this through. I know Conrad was incredibly angry that Henry wouldn't marry and carry on the family's good company. It was quite a battle of wills that we all saw. It was all out in public. To have a desperate female get away from all that is quite the tale. Your story should get tears if I can render it justice. I'll bet you my job if I can't but you little lady leave that all to me."
The way he had waxed on lyrically about the situation made Ellie wonder if he had at one point in his life read teenage romance novels. Ellie looked at Chou critically, she wouldn't be surprised if it was his dark secret. She knew it would be incredibly rude to ask, but it would do him good as long as he got the job done. As long as the legal situation was taken care of, was it really all that horrifying if he had lifted some help from Stephanie Meyer?
They continued to discuss the various facets of the issue until Ellie had a complete understanding of the legal course they were undertaking. Chou gave her a timeline as well as to when she needed to do specific tasks. Ellie left the law office holding a full file of documents feeling confident that she would be without a guilty conscious very soon.
Ellie checked her watch and was happy to see that she still had plenty of time before the last bus left in the direction she wanted to head to next. She checked her phone and found that Nolan had texted her about an hour before to tell her that he was at Wu's offices and not his apartment. It took her several moments to figure out the best way there which turned out to be a subway train. Ellie then, took the train west to get to the hospital where she was going to find Nolan. Ellie had assumed that she would have to wait, but was surprised to see her own brother waving at her from the reception desk. There was an iPad in his hands where an wlderly patient had been trying to sign in. The task was taken over by a nurse practitioner while he happily greeted his sister with an open grin and an overenthusiastic grin. "Guess who's also a secretary at his lady's office? It's going to be me. Henry said I can manage this clinic if I finish my MBA which he recommended I do online. I can't." Nolan led Ellie over to a set of hairs before sinking into one.
Ellie cuddled into him as she pushed him so she would have room next to him. "I never thought a clinic job would make you happy. What about the lab? What about your PhD? You can't just throw away your old dreams because you have money now. That's not why I gave you an inheritance. Or is this because of your engagement?"
"Of course it's the two things combined. Love makes a man see himself in a new light. I still can't believe that she said yes. I got the diamond i stead of giving one. But this is me Ellie. You know I love cleaning and organizing things. I just love seeing my love being as relaxed as possible while she is working. It's good for her and it's a flowing environment where everybody shines. The patients love coming here. And you know Janna is just the glowing star that everybody is seeing in a new light. New patients are coming in to the practice like crazy."
It had been such a long time that Nolan had been this excited about anything that Ellie couldn't stop her instant smile. "I can't believe that you proposed so quickly after not even knowing her for long. I'm so happy that she wants to keep you."