by Ebony Olson
"I moved to Scotland permanently in September. There are no formal custody agreements, and, in fact, other than a handful of afternoons, Darius has had nothing to do with our son. I'm seeking full custody of both children and a divorce."
Jack sat back. "The custody will most likely not be an issue. However, you've been married nearly two years, living together or not. Legally, you are entitled to financial recompense for that time, and certainly child support." Jack twiddled his fingers. "You're right, his lawyers are going to go for the neck to stop you getting a cent."
I placed the envelope on his desk. "We have a prenup. I don't want his money, his business, or anything from him. All I ever wanted was him, and I can't have that. I want a divorce and my children. That's all I want."
Jack sat forward, astounded. "He's worth billions, Ms. Blake. You should at least go for the child support."
"I am worth millions, Mr. Carter. I don't want his money, and I don't feel right taking child support for children he won't see. If he feels the need to financially contribute, he can put the money into a trust for them."
Jack reached across the table, taking the papers and pulled them out to read through it. He finished, stroked his chin in thought. "No one even knows he married you, do they?" Jack asked, a spark in his eye. "Last I heard, he's still being voted bachelor of the year down there in London."
I tilted my head. "Are you playing dirty, Mr. Carter?"
Jack shrugged. "I'll draw up the paperwork. If he agrees to your terms without issue, you'll be divorced before anyone knows the wiser. If he fights it..." Jack smirked. "We'll see how he likes having his private life in the tabloids."
"I don't want my private life in the tabloids, Mr. Carter," I scolded.
"Oh, I wasn't going to mention your name, Ms. Blake. There would just be a rumor, that's all." Jack smiled, standing. "Can you come back next week to sign the papers?"
I nodded and stood, taking Jack's offered hand. "No dirty tactics, Mr. Carter. No rumors. Just the divorce."
Jack assessed me. "You must love him very much. Normally, even if you weren't a gold digger, the hurt of being cast aside is enough to make a scorned lover go for the vault."
I smiled at the reference. "Did you use to moonlight as a bank robber, Mr. Carter?"
He laughed. "No. Until next week, Ms. Blake."
I went home. Bill was out on the trampoline with Jacob, writing notes while Jacob jumped all around him. I smiled and went out to join them.
***
I stormed into Jack Carter's office a week and a half later and threw a tabloid down on his desk. "Did you do this?" I asked angrily.
"Mora," Jack jumped up in surprise. He looked at the front of the tabloid and growled. "No. It's too early to show our hand. I only sent the paperwork yesterday." Jack shut his office door, instructing his assistant to cancel his next meeting. "Sit down, I'll sort this out."
I sat down and listened while Jack called someone. He asked to speak to the journalist who ran the story. 'Darius Rafal secretly marries then dumps his pregnant wife’ glared at me from the front of the tabloid. Thankfully, it didn't mention me by name, but it wouldn't take long for someone to find it. I'd seen it while shopping this morning and jumped on the train to Edinburgh to confront Jack.
"I see. Well, I need to know where the leak came from or my client will litigate the paper for slander," Jack threatened. "Oh, but the story is so wrong. No, I won't. You can ask Mr. Rafal for that. I want the name of your source, or at least who they work for." Jack started tapping his pen.
A smile blooming across his face. "I see. No, that is enough. Only that you are two years late on the story." Jack hung up and looked at me. "It came from his public relations office," Jack explained. "There is a second part of the story that will be released in a few days, which will claim you cheated on Darius and are pregnant with your lover's child."
I stared at him, bewildered. "Why?"
Jack looked at me like I was a young, naive child. "To discredit you, Mora. They are going to burn you publicly so you don't dare ask for a cent."
"But I haven't."
"Yes, but you are entitled to it. The prenup allowed for you to be paid a percentage of his profit for every year you are together," Jack reminded me. "As you said, they are going for the neck with this."
I felt ready to vomit. "I can't believe Dare would let this happen." My heart was beating in my chest so hard.
"He is protecting himself, Mora," Jack explained. "They're idiots. We could have settled this quietly and without issue."
Pain lanced through my abdomen. I cried out.
"Mora?" Jack jumped up, suddenly worried.
I was panting, my heart hammering so loud. I collapsed out of the chair, my abdomen cramping.
Jack cursed, throwing his office door open. "Call an ambulance now." Jack dropped down next to me. "Breathe, Mora, you need to breathe."
I sucked in a breath, but it just made the pain worse. I cried out again.
"Mora..."
The ambulance arrived. Jack explained I was seven months pregnant and suffered a fright. I was taken off to the hospital and put on a drip to stop the contractions. Rebecca arrived with Henry sleeping in his pram just after lunch.
"Bill called. What happened?"
I told Rebecca the story, how I applied for a peaceable divorce and what Darius had done, and what they were planning on doing.
Rebecca looked mortified. "What can I do?" Rebecca asked.
"Call Dare," I whispered. "Tell him what happened, then take me home before any journalists realize I'm here."
"Okay." Rebecca took out her phone and stepped to the window. "Warren, put Dare on," she demanded politely. "I don't care if he's meeting with the queen, put my scumbag brother on the phone!" she hissed. "Because I'm standing in Mora's hospital room after that little stunt this morning nearly cost her the baby. That's why!"
I knew the moment Darius took the line. "I can't believe you would do this, Dare," Rebecca scolded. She listened, looked at me, gave a small shake of her head and relaxed a little. "Yes, I'm with her. Yes, I've known where she's been all along. No. Because you coming here right now would only make it worse."
Rebecca wiped her brow as if she was sweating, but she wasn't. "You broke her heart too many times. No, I called to tell you to call your lawyers off. Mora found out what they are planning to say about her. She got upset and went into early labor, Dare. She nearly lost the baby because of this. So call it off, sign the papers, and let her go already. Stop torturing her." Rebecca hung up the phone and put it away.
Rebecca walked back to the bed and took my hand. "He wants to see you."
"I heard."
"He's threatened to cut me off if I don't tell him where you are," Rebecca confessed.
"You need his support, don't you?" I asked seeing her unhappiness.
"Tim and I would struggle without his support," Rebecca admitted.
I exhaled. "Do what you need to do, Bex. You're his sister, not mine."
"I'll delay as long as I can." Rebecca squeezed my hand. "I'll go see the nurse and see how long they think until you can leave."
***
Two hours later, Rebecca had me home in my own bed. I was so tired, but I couldn't sleep. I couldn't believe Darius's public relations people, and it would have been them, not his lawyer, had acted without speaking to him first. What possible good did they think would come from it? I knew them, had worked with them. There was no way they would have said boo without Darius first signing off on something, especially something like this.
It was past midnight when my phone started ringing. I picked it up and saw Jeremy's profile picture. "Jeremy, it's late," I grumbled.
"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked quietly, his voice filled with concern. He sounded echoey.
"Doctor says I need to stay calm, no stress or upsets," I murmured, trying to keep my blood pressure down.
"The baby's okay?" Jeremy slurred a little.
I frowned a little
. "Jeremy, are you drunk calling me?"
"I'd be asking what you were wearing if I was drunk calling you, Mora," Jeremy slurred a little more. "Although, yes, I've been drinking with Dare all night. It's how I know what happened." There was background noise like air movement. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay and that ‘Two’ is too."
I was silent, not because I didn't want to answer him, but knowing he'd been drinking with Darius all evening. Thinking of Darius, my chest started shaking heavily with restrained sobs. I was trying so hard to calm myself. It was too soon and my body wouldn't handle it.
Again, there was that background noise like he wasn't alone in the room. I considered he was probably in bed with Cassandra, or even in the nursery with a restless Ashelynn.
"Mora?"
"Why did he... do it?" I sobbed. My breath catching in my distress. "I asked for... nothing. I just...wanted the...divorce."
There was a loud noise like something crashing to the ground and a loud grunt on the other end of the line. I thought I heard Warren's voice but was struggling to hear over my own hitched breathing.
"Mora, listen. He didn't do this," Jeremy defended. "He didn't even know about the papers before..."
I couldn't breathe. A low keening escaped my chest as I exhaled every bit of air in my chest continuously. I couldn't draw in a full breath, or even half a breath.
"Mora?" Bill came rushing into the room. His gentle hands taking my shoulders, the blur of his pale red hair and freckled skin hovering above my watery gaze. "Jesus, breathe, Mora." He pulled my body towards him, rolling me onto my knees, which instantly forced me to suck in a deep breath. "That's it, Mora. Just breathe," he comforted, rubbing my back. Bill took the phone from my hand. I could hear a commotion on the other end of the line but wasn't paying attention.
"Who is this?" Bill asked, still rubbing my back. He'd met Jeremy at my last performance in Paris two weeks ago. "Usually, yes, but I'm sleeping in the day bed in Jacob's room tonight in case he wakes up so Mora could rest. Hold on, Jeremy." Bill dropped the phone to the bed and helped me kneel back onto my ankles. "Easy, Mora." He handed me my glass of water.
I was breathing again, unsteadily, but easier. I took the glass, my hands shaking as I sipped the water to further help get my breathing under control.
Bill picked the phone back up and put it to his ear. "Jeremy, can you take me off loudspeaker please?" Bill walked away from the bed and put his back to me. "Fine. Then hear this. She can't handle much more, so wake the fuck up and leave her the fuck alone," Bill growled over in the corner. He said a few other things quiet enough that I couldn't hear before hanging up the phone and walking over to me. He pointedly put the phone on silent, opened my bedside table, and threw it in. "Idiot is drunk and not thinking clearly."
"Hey," I panted. "That idiot is my boss and therefore pays your wages."
Bill opened his mouth as if he was going to argue, frowned, and decided against it. "Yeah, well, he's an idiot too for making that call," Bill decided, sitting on the bed next to me. "Are you okay? Do you need me to get you anything?"
"Tell me it's going to be alright?" I asked.
Bill put his arm out, and I cozied into the hug offer. He laid us both back on the bed. "It will be alright, Mora. Get some rest."
Chapter Thirteen
"Mora," Jack Carter walked out to bring me back to his office. "I'm sorry it's taken so long to get you a resolution," Jack started explaining as I stepped into his office, and he shut the door behind me.
"I don't understand why this has been so complicated. He just has to sign the papers," I grumbled, rubbing my large belly. I was only three weeks shy of my due date now, but ‘Two’ had already engaged, which made sitting down and getting around rather uncomfortable. I just had to make it through Christmas and the new year.
Jack's face wasn't happy. "I know, I can't believe how difficult his lawyers have been," Jack groused. "Thankfully, they cleaned up that PR mess before it caused you any injury. Darius has been copping the brunt of that. That has been their excuse for the delay," Jack explained. "That they needed to focus on dealing with that mess before they could adequately give your request its due attention."
I gripped my thighs. "They aren't agreeing with the terms, are they?"
"No." Jack pressed his lips together unhappily. "They are refusing your application entirely."
I felt my nails digging into my leg through my pants. "What's he asking for instead?"
Jack watched me for a minute. "They sent me a video. It’s a press release Darius has recorded and will be released to the media tomorrow, hence why it was important I see you today." Jack turned his monitor to me and pressed play.
I watched as an interviewer took a seat opposite Darius. I recognized the popular late-night talk show host, but, for the life of me, I never bothered to learn his name.
"I'm talking with Darius Rafal tonight, infamous bachelor, billionaire, and Director of Lynwood Event Management. Darius is here to clear up the tabloid rumors of his quickie marriage, his wife's affair, and the resulting pregnancy." The interviewer and camera turned to Darius. "Darius, thank you for speaking with me. I'm quite honored that you chose me to be your first interview." Darius nodded politely. "Can we start with the big one? Are you married?"
"Yes, I am," Darius smiled. "Nearly eight years ago, I met and fell in love with the daughter of my mentor, Marshall Blake. She had just moved to England to live with her father after growing up in Australia with her mother." Darius's eyes sparkled. "It was love at first sight for both of us, but she was just beginning university, so it wasn't until three years ago that we started a relationship. We've been married for two years next month."
"Why keep it a secret?" The host asked.
"We didn't keep it a secret. The people who mattered to us knew and were present for the wedding," Darius defended. "Mora and I are both private people and only wanted a small private ceremony for our closest friends and family."
Photos from our wedding day flashed up on the screen. I sat, gobsmacked. He was making out that we'd been happily married all this time.
The host smiled. "It looks like it was a lovely ceremony."
Darius smiled politely. "It is one of the happiest memories of my life."
"And you're a father?" the host asked.
"I am," Darius grinned. "Mora conceived on our wedding night." Photos from the christening flashed on the screen. Darius and I at the baptismal font while Jacob was christened, and then the photo of Darius and Jacob I'd asked Alex to get.
The host laughed. "Well, you obviously enjoyed your honeymoon."
Darius just sat with the pasted smile on his face.
"To be clear, this isn't the pregnancy that the papers are claiming you walked out on your wife for?" the host asked.
"No," Darius frowned. "Mora is currently pregnant with our second child, due next month."
"And it's definitely your child?" The host was playing devil's advocate.
Darius's eyes grew hard. "We can tell you when this child was conceived. Mora is a musician and tours quite regularly, as well as recording with other artists. Our schedules had kept us apart for a time beforehand." Darius's jaw tightened. "And I trust my wife. She has not been with another man while we've been together." I rose a brow at his nice play on words. "We love each other very much."
"The rumor that your wife has left you seems to be the one that has kept steam this past month," the host prompted.
"This is about the only thing the rumors got half right," Darius stated clearly. "Mora has in fact moved out of England and set up house back in my home in Scotland. We want more children and space for our kids to run around so while I was tied up with the transfer of my company, Mora went ahead to set up our new home."
"Stop!" I shouted at Jack. "Did he just say he sold Lynwood?"
Jack frowned. "I believe so, although they didn't press for clarification on that."
The interview rounded with Darius commenting on how the st
ress of the rumors nearly caused me to lose our child, and he asked the media to respect that I'm currently in a delicate state and to respect our privacy. I looked at Jack and blinked, confused as he turned his monitor back around.
"He just made out to the nation that we are still happily married," I stated, still processing what I'd just heard. He's sold Lynwood.
"Yes. As I was saying, Mora, Darius has rejected your application for divorce altogether." Jack clasped his hands together. "If you want to proceed, we can subpoena him into the court and force it on him. It will be likely that the judge will order the prenup to be adhered to, and Darius will be able to request custody." Jack sat there waiting for me.
If he's sold Lynwood, his obligation to Fehu stops, or does it transfer?
"Mora?" Jack prompted. "I need to know how you wish to proceed."
"Um." I bit my lip. "It's all rather a lot to process, and with ‘Two’ nearly here, I'd rather not get locked into a heated legal battle right now." I pulled myself out of the seat awkwardly. "Do you mind if I wait for a month or two and get back to you?"
Jack smirked, dropping his pen on the desk. "I think that would be wise, Mora. I'll send you a final invoice and keep your file open for six months."
"Thanks, Jack." I shook his offered hand and waddled out of his office. That was not how I expected this afternoon to finish.
***
The taxi dropped me off at the gate, and I walked the kilometer up the driveway slowly. My back was killing me. I was still walking five kilometers a day to keep my fitness up, so it was more the slow process of waddling rather than walking that frustrated me. There was a strange car parked in the car port as I approached the house. "Bill, Jacob, I'm home," I called as I came through the front door.
Jacob came tearing around the corner from the sitting room. "Mama," he squealed. I picked him up carefully. "Dada here," Jacob laughed, pointing to the sitting room.
I froze for a moment. Swallowing hard, tears already pricking my eyes as I stepped around the corner to find Darius sitting on the sofa talking to Bill. They both stood as I entered the room. "Dare," I breathed his name.