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“Get your hand off my wife,” he intoned angrily, his eyes almost incandescent with anger.
Hendrix’s grin was smug. “She won’t be your wife for much longer.”
“I think Chloe might have a say in that,” William retorted, turning his angry gaze onto the blonde. “Think of our daughter, Chloe. Think of how often you want to see her.”
Hendrix felt Chloe stiffen, and he reached beneath the table and took one of her hands in his. “Chloe will retain full custody of the child. In addition, you will either offer to provide child support in the amount detailed here,” he nodded at Clint, who slid a piece of paper over the table, “or you will sign this form which legally breaks any ties between you and the minor.”
William laughed. A high pitched sound, a little like a stuffed pig. “What planet do you live on? That’s my wife. And it’s my child. If she wants to divorce me, you better believe I’m going to make her feel it for the rest of her life.”
“By using our child against me?” Chloe demanded with a firm quietness.
William locked eyes with her. “If that’s what it takes.”
Chloe shook her head slowly. “I’m never going to come back to you, Will.” She squeezed Hendrix’s hand. “Life’s moved on. For both of us.”
“With him?” He demanded hotly, pointing his thumb at Hendrix.
“That’s not important,” Chloe said. She dropped her gaze to the walnut grain of the table. “I left you three years ago, and I stopped loving you even before that.” William looked as though he’d been punched. “And I don’t know if you ever loved me. Everything about us was a mistake. Let’s not prolong it now.”
William stood, moving towards the large windows. He thrust his hands in his pockets, and for a moment, he created the impression of acceptance. Of weary dejection. But then he turned, and there was such vitriol emanating from his body that Hendrix knew it was about to turn much more sour than Chloe realised.
“I will never let you see her again.” He was talking only to Chloe.
“I’m afraid you won’t have a say in that.” Hendrix spoke for her. Chloe was shivering beside him.
“Wanna bet? The dossier I’ve got on her lifestyle,” he sneered the word, “would give any judge in the state a good reason to hand her over to me. Especially when you consider that I play golf with most of them.”
“Yes, that’s fascinating,” Hendrix’s voice was droll. “Unfortunately, you’re hardly the poster-boy for responsible living yourself, are you?”
They exchanged a look laced, from both sides, with pure hatred.
Hendrix kept his hand on Ellie’s, beneath the table, though he knew now he was living on borrowed time. “Affairs. Substance abuse. Gambling. Abuse. You’ve run the gamut of irresponsible living, haven’t you, William? In fact, I’d say some of your behaviour is downright criminal.”
William’s face puckered. He could barely speak, he was so enraged.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Hendrix would have stood, except that he didn’t want to break his contact with Chloe. “You’re going to sign this page.” He indicated the parental alienation form. “From this day forward, you will have nothing to do with Chloe or Ellie. You dare threaten Chloe, who is all that is good in this world, with outright lies? You think you’ll be able to make any mud stick to her?” His laugh was a harsh, angry noise in the now-silent room. “Chloe might get some temporary bad press, and she deserves better than that. But no court – no matter how tight you think you and your daddy are with the judiciary – would give your lies the time of day. She’s worked hard to make a life for herself. Her savings are impressive. Your fingerprints are all over their removal from her bank account. The sheer arrogance of what you did, and presumed you wouldn’t get caught with, beggars belief.?
? Hendrix’s eyes narrowed. “It’s almost as though you’ve got a track record of getting away with criminal behaviour,” he drawled.
“Shut up,” William responded angrily, obviously on the ropes. “Shut up!” He turned to his solicitor. “Tell him to shut the hell up!”
Ian cleared his throat. “May I have a minute with my client?”
“No,” Hendrix responded coldly. “You’ve caused enough delays already. My client wants this matter finalised. She’s waited a long time to get away from this man. She’s not going to wait any longer.”
Chloe looked up at Hendrix, in awe of how cool and calm he seemed. It was really going to happen. She’d never loved him more. Hope was an open window. She was on the verge, almost through it.
“You’re going to regret this,” William snapped, but it was all bluff. Chloe could see that. Something about Hendrix had set William off-balance. And it was working in her favour. She kept her eyes lowered, hardly allowing herself to blink, lest he change his mind. He picked up the pen, and everything inside of her shrieked and shook. The air around her seemed to glow with a rainbow of blinding colours.
She couldn’t help it, she lifted her clasped hands onto the table and leaned forward, her breath held, as she waited for him to sign.
Pen hovering on the line, he fixed her with one last glance. “This is what you want?” He demanded. “For me to sign away any right to our child?”
Her smile was wistful. What she wanted? No. What she wanted was to have loved a man who deserved it. To have made a baby with a man who deserved that child.
His eyes bore into hers, and then ran the length of her body. They froze on her hands.
The ring.
