“All right,” she eventually agreed. “What about Friday?”
“Fine. We’ll meet at your place. I’ll be over at eleven. Text me the address.”
“Okay. I guess I’ll see you then.”
She hung up. I lowered the phone and stared out of the window into the darkening sky. In the span of twelve hours, my entire future had changed and been derailed off into the unknown. I was now faced with a decision I’d never thought I’d have to prepare for. I was torn and conflicted as I tried to process the storm of emotions raging within me.
4
Ella
“Ella, did you hear me?”
My head snapped up to find Frank staring at me in concern. We were inside a small meeting room just outside the courtroom.
Frank Hyde (yep, like Jekyll and Hyde) was my lawyer. He was a sharp and logical man in his late fifties. He and my mother had been friends for as long as I could remember. As I’d grown up and become more aware of such things, I realized that Frank liked my mom—probably even had feelings for her. Feelings she didn’t seem to return. I’d asked her once when I was a teenager why she didn’t get together with “Uncle Frank.” She was still a vital and interesting woman, who any man would have been proud and lucky to have as a partner. At the time, I may have compared Frank’s tall, graying, good looks to George Clooney. My mother had laughed in an embarrassed but cute way and said she was way too busy raising me. When I’d tried to disagree, she’d winked at me and added that she didn’t want to let a good friendship be ruined by a failed romance. I had to admit I’d been a little relieved (yep, I was selfish like that) to have her decide I was her main focus. Funny enough, and against all the odds, she and Frank had managed to maintain their warm and loving friendship after all these years.
Frank was also the go-to guy for any serious concerns we had in our household. The second I’d called to tell him about my situation with Jacob, he’d offered to represent me. I didn’t know what I would have done if it hadn’t been for him.
“Yeah, sorry, Uncle Frank. There’s just so much going on. I’m trying to clear my head before we go in there.”
Frank placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “I’ll be there the entire time. “If you get overwhelmed, I’ll step in. You can do this.”
I nodded.
“Now I want you to remember that this is a family court hearing, Ella,” Frank cautioned. “It’ll be set up more like a meeting than a courtroom, like you see on TV. There will be a judge in the room, and a court clerk to take notes. There’s a filing clerk, but they won’t be there today, they just keep the court’s files up to date and organized, and schedule hearings. I might deal with them, but you won’t have to. Our judge has a law student helping with legal research, preparing the case, and anything else they assign them. Finally, a bailiff will be there to keep order and security. Apart from that, it’s you and me, and Jacob and his lawyer. It seems like a lot of people, I know, but you’ll be sitting at a table with me, Jacob, his lawyer, and the judge only. Once we get started, you probably won’t even notice the others.”
If it had been any other day I would have burst into that room, armed and ready to deal with whatever Jacob threw my way. But, the situation with Marcus had drained me emotionally. It had been a few days since he’d demanded to meet Nylah, and as Friday drew nearer, I was growing increasingly anxious. I didn’t want my daughter to meet him if he was going to blow in and out of her life. How was I to know if he’d stick around? That’s what I was most afraid of. She didn’t need another man in her life she couldn’t count on, even if he was her real father. All the uncertainties… I wouldn’t allow her little heart to be broken.
Frank must have sensed it because he leaned in close and asked, “Are you okay with what I’ve explained to you?”
I nodded, a little distracted.
“Did Jacob say something to get to you?” Uh-oh. His face was getting a little red. “Did he intimidate you?”
“No.” I shrugged. “Well, kind of.”
Frank was adamant about me keeping my distance from Jacob, and I was more than happy to agree. I didn’t want to talk to the bastard, anyway. All he ever did was try and degrade me. I could live without that, thank you very much.
“He’s texted me a lot, but I haven’t answered.”
“Good. You need to block his number.”
“Trust me, I’ve tried. Every time I do, he just gets a new one.” I sighed, exasperated. “God, he’s like a freaking annoying gnat that won’t give up.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I feel like my brain’s scrambled—it’s like tiny little devils playing ping-pong in there. I have so many thoughts, and I can’t keep track of them.”
“Don’t think about anything else.” Frank reached out and squeezed my hand. “Right now, you just have to think of this moment and this meeting. You can worry about the other stuff afterward. I need you to stay focused on the here and now.”
Easier said than done. “You’re right.” I gave him another nod. I took several deep breaths, trying to center myself (and get rid of the damn ping-pong players inside my head—nasty little suckers!). On the fourth, I managed to push aside my concerns about Marcus. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Frank gave me a reassuring smile and then opened the door, leading me to the courtroom. The first thing I noticed when I entered was that Jacob was already there. I wasn’t surprised he’d arrived early. He was always punctual, annoyingly so. I felt his gaze following me as I moved to sit in one of the two empty chairs across the table. Frank took the seat next to mine.
We had barely sat down before Jacob addressed me. “You’re looking a little tired, Ella. Anxiety getting to you?”
Of course it is, you dick, I thought to myself. If we weren’t in family court, I would have said it out loud, but I wasn’t about to do anything to jeopardize my case. Instead, I bit my tongue and kept my eyes firmly trained on the chair I thought the judge would soon be occupying.
He knew I struggled with anxiety. Throughout our marriage, he’d always used every opportunity to throw it in my face, when he wasn’t completely ignoring it, of course. Eventually, I stopped trying to communicate and kept my thoughts and fears to myself. Needless to say, that hadn’t helped, either.
Even now that we were separated, my silence didn’t mean anything to him. He seemed to get just as much thrill out of attacking me as he ever did. I couldn’t stand to see his mocking smile, and, oh, I longed for the day I could wipe it off his face.
Little did he know, I had a secret weapon—Marcus.
Jacob couldn’t get full custody of Nylah if he wasn’t her father. Plain and simple—and if he couldn’t get custody of Nylah, he no longer had a hold on my life. I could write him off as a bad dream and never look back.
However, in order to prove Nylah’s paternity, I knew I needed evidence. My only chance would be Marcus’s taking the DNA test, then I could show it to the judge, and this would be over. With Jacob’s money and influence, I wasn’t going to take any risks, and I was halfway to getting that proof. But, I didn’t want to say anything to anyone until I could prove Nylah’s paternity.