novelxo Acts of Atonement: Chapter 10
IT’S THE DAY of the hearing and I’m ready to get this circus over and done with. Because Heather had a change of heart, our attorneys thought it best to meet beforehand to try to resolve any preliminary issues before bringing our case in front of the judge.
We’re at my attorney’s office, sitting in a conference room waiting on the she-devil herself. The woman who allegedly wants to renege on her termination of parental rights is running late. Figures.
“We’re giving her ten more minutes and then we’re heading to the courthouse. I don’t give a flying fuck if she’s now claiming to be the next Mother There—”
Interrupting me mid-sentence, Heather walks into the conference room—acting as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“Good of you to grace us with your presence, Mrs. Hawthorne,” my attorney, Daniel Mathers, chides. Not receiving the desired response, Daniel turns to her attorney of record and gets down to business. “Now if we could please tend to the issues at hand. It is my understanding that your client is wanting to withdraw her request for termination of parental rights.”
Heather’s attorney, Samuel Martin, tsks at Daniel. “You should know better than to address Mrs. Hawthorne directly when she is represented by counsel.”
“Save it, Martin. I was merely extending my salutations. Now, stop trying to get off base and answer my question.”
“Well, yes… in a manner of speaking, Mrs. Hawthorne would like to withdraw her request for termination of parental rights. I say this because Mrs. Hawthorne is withdrawing her petition for divorce, therefore making the termination of parental rights moot.”
“That’s fucking bullshit!” I roar loud enough for the entire building to hear. Daniel tries to calm me down but I’m shaking with rage, making his effort pointless. To make matters worse, I make the mistake of looking across the table at Heather’s smirk of utter satisfaction, which only serves to make me angrier.
Realizing any attempts to calm me are futile, Daniel turns to Heather’s attorney. “Martin, you know as well as I do that she can’t just withdraw her petition. You’ll have to petition the judge and ask them to dismiss the case without prejudice. The fact that your client walked out on a one-year-old child and has been missing from her life for the past couple of months makes it highly unlikely the judge will do so without prejudice.”
“I know the process, Daniel. Thanks for the refresher on civil procedure though.” Martin chuckles.
Yes. The motherfucker chuckles like he hasn’t just dropped the craziest bomb on us.
Daniel keeps on as cool as a cucumber. “If you are in fact aware of the process and procedure for requesting dismissal, then please enlighten me as to the purpose of this meeting.”
“It was Mrs. Hawthorne’s hope that we would approach the judge with a joint petition for dismissal.”
“You’ve got to be goddamned kidding me!” I slam my fist on the table in frustration. “That’s got to be the most idiotic idea she’s had yet. I can tell you right now, there is no way in hell this will be a joint petition.”
“There you have it, Martin. We will not be agreeing to your requests.” Daniel moves to stand and I follow. “We’ll be seeing you in court.”
We’ve just left the courthouse and the judge has ruled in Heather’s favor, dismissing the case without prejudice. To say that I’m shocked would be an understatement. “What in the hell happened in there? I thought you said it wouldn’t be likely for the judge to rule in Heather’s favor.”
Daniel shakes his head while narrowing his eyes as if deep in thought. “I have never in all my years of practice encountered anything like that. Are you sure there is no connection between Mrs. Hawthorne and the presiding judge?”
“What are you saying? Like, does she know him?”
“Yes. Does she know him or have any familial relation to the judge? Anything that would make the judge biased toward Mrs. Hawthorne.”
“Not that I know of, but you bet your ass I’m going to be looking into that. So where the hell do we go from here? You know I don’t want to be married to that woman a minute longer than I have to.” I pull out my phone to see if I’ve missed any calls from Bella. If I’m being honest, she’s also a major reason I can’t stand being tied to Heather any longer.
“I’ll head back to the office and prepare a petition for divorce and custody agreement. Hopefully the next judge assigned to your case has a better head on his shoulders.” Daniel shakes his head before continuing. “This does make the whole custody situation trickier, but in the meantime I can set up an emergency hearing seeking an injunction against Heather. This would keep her from doing certain things like accessing funds or making decisions that involve Harper.” Daniel pulls a card from his coat pocket and hands it to me. “This has my personal number on it. Call me if she tries anything crazy.”
“Of course. Thanks for your help with this crazy-ass bullshit.” I place my hand on Daniel’s shoulder, attempting to convey my gratitude before heading off toward my car. I need to put as much space as possible between the courthouse and myself.
Just as I’m about to reach my SUV, the bane of my existence steps out from behind a van parked next to me. “Hello dear husband. Do you want to give me a ride home?”
“Fuck. No.”
This woman really is crazy.
“Oh, come on. You heard the judge. We’re still married in the eyes of the law.” Heather sneers at me while flipping her hair. “So technically, the house you’ve been shacking up in is community property and half of it is mine.”
“Stop trying to act like a lawyer, Heather. The house was purchased before the marriage and we weren’t married long enough for you to have made any substantial improvements that would qualify as marital equity. All of this was already outlined in the prenup, which would have left you with nothing had your initial petition for divorce gone through. Is that the real reason you wanted the case dropped?”
“Careful, William. You don’t want to take that tone with your wife. It’s abusive and we wouldn’t want that getting out, now would we?”
Not only is this woman crazy, but she’s also delusional.
“Heather, you’re wasting my time. If you have any more insane demands, you can direct them to my attorney. You’re getting served with another petition for divorce, and I won’t be petitioning for its dismissal. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to the house.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you…”
“Do what, Heather? Try and get my life back from the crazy train you’ve hijacked it to?”
“You’re only filing for divorce because of that homewrecker you’ve been shacking up with. It would be such a shame if she discovered what stock you really came from.” An evil smile spreads across Heather’s lips. “I’d watch my back if I were you. You never know when the past will come back and bite you in the ass.”
At her words, a deep sense of foreboding seeps into my bones. She couldn’t possibly know, could she?
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Heather. How about you stop playing games you know you have no chance of winning.” I open the door to my SUV and get in, not wanting to give her another second of my time. Whatever the hell she’s scheming, she can do so on her own time.
I’m in my home gym trying to shake the sense of dread Heather’s infused into my soul, but so far nothing is working. After running five miles and hitting the weights, I still can’t rid myself of this nagging feeling.
I’ve replayed past conversations trying to figure out if I ever said anything that could have clued her in on our family’s history. But nothing comes to mind. If she knows something, she sure as hell didn’t learn it from me.
Serving as a reminder, her threat is further incentive to keep her away from Bella. Not because Heather might actually know something, but because it proves she’s set her sights on Bella and could try to harm her. This cements my resolve to keep her at a distance. She doesn’t need this kind of drama in her life.
I step out into the hall and toward the sauna housed in my private quarters. Maybe a good steam will get rid of the deep chill that’s overcome my body. Lost in my head, I don’t watch where I’m going and crash right into the very person I’ve been trying to avoid.
“Pay attention when you’re walking, Bella. We wouldn’t want you hurting someone because of your carelessness.” I raise an eyebrow at her knowing full well that it was totally my fault.
“Seriously? You are the one who ran into me.” Bella narrows her eyes and purses her perfectly pouty lips. She’s fucking gorgeous when she’s mad. “Besides, if you hadn’t insisted on me taking the room right down the hall from you, I wouldn’t even be in your way.”
Well if I wanted her to dislike me, I think I’m doing a pretty damn good job of it. “It’s safer this way. Keeping you close, that is. Which reminds me, do you have an answer on moving into the guest house?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Bella rolls her eyes and lets out an annoyed breath. “You’ve been avoiding me like the bubonic plague, and if you do happen to run into me, you treat me as if I were a nuisance. Why in the world would I want to live anywhere near you?”
“So that’s a yes then. Should I call a mover to get your stuff from Aiden’s?”
“Are you deaf? That was a no. N. O.”
“Right. We’ll talk about this later, when you’re not acting like a child.” Not waiting for a response, I walk past Bella and into my room. No is not an acceptable answer. The best way to keep her safe is to keep her close, regardless of whether or not I can have her. She’s living on my property—end of story.