by Annie Jocoby
“My heart almost stopped when that judge said that I was going to jail for a year. You probably should have warned me about that.”
“Yes, I apologize. Basically, though, if you violate probation, you will serve your sentence in the county jail. So, please, stay clean. I’ll also give you the information that you need to enroll in your anger management course.”
I shook James’ hand. “Thanks,” I said. “For everything. And, you don’t have to worry. I’ll make sure that I stay clean for the year. In fact, I’ll make sure that I stay clean from now on.”
James smiled. “I believe you. Have a good holiday.”
“You, too.”
Dalilah and I then left the courthouse. “Well, Dalilah, the nightmare is almost over for us. Now, let’s concentrate on you getting your divorce, and we can truly move on.”
Dalilah nodded her head, and said nothing.
I furrowed my brow. Something was going on with her, still.
I was scared to death to find out what.
Chapter 54
Dalilah – Five days later
There was one good thing that came out of Nick’s visiting me – he was able to give me the name of a highly-recommended attorney who was familiar with Nottingham. That was important to me – to find an attorney who literally knew what I would be facing if I kept this child. And I had to make a decision, soon, because Luke was starting to get suspicious and had been harassing me about seeing a doctor. I guessed that he was relieved from the stress from his criminal case, he was able to concentrate more on my problems.
“Come on, Dalilah, you’ve been feeling like crap for weeks now,” he said. “I think it’s about time that we go in for some tests. I’ve been reading on the Internet, and it sounds like you might have some kind of virus. Epstein-Barr is something that I’ve been reading about. It causes mono, which is another thing that I worry about, but it also causes problems all on its own. Or chronic fatigue syndrome. I don’t know, Dalilah, there’s something wrong, and I think that we need to find out what it is.”
“Luke, please, I don’t want to see a doctor right now. Just give me a few days, and I think that I’ll be feeling better.”
“Okay, but if you are still feeling crappy by the end of the week, you’re going.”
“Agreed.”
So, I knew that I had to see an attorney as soon as I could. Nick arranged for this attorney to fit me in, because Marissa Herschel was the most sought-after family law attorney in the city. I was grateful that she had an opening, and I was able to squeeze in.
I got to her office, and went right back to see her. She was a petite woman, only about 5’2” and a little over 100 lbs. With her black hair in a tight bun, glasses and conservative clothing, she looked like a kindly aunt. But I knew her reputation, which was that of a ball-buster, so I knew that appearance belied her underlying true grit.
“Dalilah,” she said, “have a seat. I know that you were referred here by Nick O’Hara, so I’m really glad that I was able to fit you in.”
I sat down. “I’m really glad that you could fit me in as well.”
She looked at me with a smile. “So, tell me why you’re here.”
“I need a divorce and I also need legal advice.”
“Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place.”
“I specifically need advice about the man that I’m married to, Blake Nottingham.”
At that, Marissa’s demeanor changed. “Blake Nottingham. Well, what can I tell you? He has Steve Singleton as his attorney on permanent retainer. I don’t know if you know the reputation of attorneys in this town, but Singleton is known to be the most aggressive.”
“Okay. Well, let me tell you my situation. I’m pregnant. I don’t think that the baby will belong to Nottingham, because I’m with somebody else. Somebody else whom I love very much. This other guy, I think he’s the father.”
Marissa nodded. “Well, as you probably are aware, Nottingham will be presumed to be the father of the baby in this situation, but that’s a rebuttable presumption.”
“Yes, I understand that,” I said. “You know Nottingham and you know this Steve Singleton. I understand all about judicial discretion and best interest of the child standards and all of that. How likely do you think that Nottingham will have claims on this child, even if DNA definitively proves that the baby isn’t his?”
“There’s different factors to take into consideration,” she said. “What judge we would get is a large factor. Unfortunately, Mr. Nottingham is very friendly with most of the judges on the bench, but there are a few that he isn’t friendly with. And there are judges who would be much more likely to allow DNA evidence to rebut the presumption than other judges. Because some of the judges are old-school and believe that a child born of the marriage is a child born of the marriage, while others have a more liberal attitude. It really will be the luck of the draw in this situation. I wish I could be more definitive, but that’s the way it is with judicial discretion.”
“Okay. Best-case scenario.”
“I would give you a fifty-percent chance of prevailing and being able to rebut the presumption of paternity.”
“Worst-case.”
Marissa screwed up her mouth. “Worst case, we get a judge who not only is friendly with Mr. Nottingham but is also old-school. If that happens, I would say you have very little chance of prevailing. Maybe a 2% chance in that case.”
“And that’s assuming that Nottingham’s attorney doesn’t play any kind of dirty tricks.” I knew that would be a part of the bargain.
“Well, his attorney, Mr. Singleton, is certainly known for his aggressiveness. You definitely have to take that into account as well.”
I nodded my head. “Well, I think that you gave me the information I need. How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing. I’m doing this as a favor to Nick. But if you decide to hire me, then I do charge $400 an hour.”
I knew that was really a discounted rate, probably because of her close ties with Nick. “Thank you. You’ve been very helpful.”
I trudged out of her office, and took a deep breath. It was freezing, so I pulled my coat tightly around me and, shivering, I went into a coffee shop and ordered some treats.
I was putting off the inevitable, but I was more clear, after talking to Marissa, on what it was that I had to do.
I sat at the coffee shop, though, because I wanted to be the person that I was just a little bit longer. There would be no turning back after I made my decision. I would be a woman who terminated a pregnancy. I didn’t know how indelibly changed I would be if I did this. I didn’t know if I could look in the mirror after this, let alone sleep at night.
But there was one thing that I did know. It all became clear to me as I sat there in that coffee shop, contemplating my options over a cake pop and cup of hot cocoa. There was no way that I could do this and hide it from Luke. That would be an absolute recipe for disaster. There would be, forevermore, something between us, and he would never quite know exactly what that something was.
But it would be something that might end up destroying us.
I took a deep breath. My hands were shaking, and I could feel the tears threatening. Too many tears wasted on a psychopath. I made a mental note not to shed another tear about anything that man did to me. Not to mention to Luke. No more tears, Dalilah. He’s not worth it.
Luke had to be a part of it. He either was going to hate me, or he was going to understand. Most likely he would hate me. But I would surely hate myself if I didn’t tell him, and I could tell that I would also end up irrationally blaming him. I didn’t want to lash out in anger and frustration, when the only person that I should be angry and frustrated with would be myself. The air needed to be cleared, and he had to be there with me. It was his baby, too, so we would have to do our grieving together. It was the only path forward, and I was glad that I at least came to that conclusion. God forbid I didn’t. God forbid.
My heart was in my throat
. I had to make the phone call that I hoped never to.
“Luke,” I said, picking up the phone. “We need to talk.”
Want to know what happens next? The next installment, Trapped, is available for pre-order now! Don’t miss it!
Books by Annie Jocoby
Beautiful Illusions
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Deeper Illusions
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End of Illusions
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Broken
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Saving Scotty
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Ever After
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Fearless
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Please note that Fearless and Secrets and Lies is related to these above books, as the main character, Dalilah, is the daughter of Iris and Ryan, who are the hero and the heroine of the Illusions books.
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