My stare cut to Evan, and yep, the motherfucker yet again, was bristling.
“Tell me why, Gabrielle,” the judge urged.
“Things have been weird for a while,” she admitted. “My brother and I travel hours to go see him, but when we get there, he’s always working, and we have to stay with Rachel.”
“Is that a problem for you?” he asked.
“No,” Gabby stated clearly. “But it’s a problem for her. She doesn’t like me. The last time we went to Dad’s, she asked me to unload the dishwasher. I said I would, and then I got caught up in my book and forgot, and Rachel screamed at me.”
“Did she now?” the judge commented dryly.
Gabby nodded and went on, “She called me a fat bitch.”
A deathly silence settled over the room, and Rosie, who was still holding Gabby’s hand, squeezed her fingers reassuringly.
“How did that make you feel?” he asked.
“Like I didn’t matter,” she whispered.
Sitting back in my chair, I rubbed at the ache in my heart.
Evan rose from his chair. “Gabby,” he began, but the judge skewered him with a look, and he reluctantly sat down again.
“I didn’t care what Rachel thought of me,” Gabby went on. “But I thought my daddy would have my back. Instead, he didn’t believe me, and he called my mom a bitch when she confronted him about it. My mom’s not a bitch, Sir. She helps everyone out. She’s a Taurus and sees red and can have meltdowns, but she usually stomps upstairs and rants down the phone to one of her friends. She’d never call me a fat, lazy bitch.”
Rosie gave Gabs her ‘mom look’ and murmured, “Stop saying bitch, baby.”
The judge’s lips twitched, and he opened his mouth to ask another question but was interrupted by a door slamming from outside the courtroom.
A loud voice in the distance screeched, “Where is he?”followed by the angry clip-clopping of high heels on tiled floor.
My heart lurched, and I glanced at Atlas, who glanced right back at me before staring down at his boots to hide his grin.
It was showtime.
CHAPTER 27
ROSIE
“Evan!” a voice shrieked just as the doors to the courtroom flew open so hard they smacked against the wall.
An incensed Rachel stood there, purple-faced, looking as if she was about to explode.
She looked around with wild eyes, spotted my ex-husband through her rage, and with a screech, she launched herself at him.
A collective gasp went up as Rachel’s heels skidded, which only added more momentum to her lunge.
I had to give it to her—her aim was true—her hands flew straight for Evan’s hair, catching a fistful of it and making him yell as if he’d just been castrated.
Evan’s attorney leaped from his chair, and the court official looked on in horror at Rachel as she screamed in his face, “How could you?”
The clerk finally sprang into action and got on his walkie-talkie to call for security before trying to wedge himself between Rachel and Evan. But Rachel held on for dear life, her long, red nails gripping Evan’s hair like they were superglued to him.
Evan’s dad jumped out of his seat and stepped over to give the court official a helping hand, while Evan’s mom looked on, pale-faced and shocked to shit.
The men finally managed to separate Rachel and Evan, but not before she got a last swipe at Evan’s face, leaving three deep, bloody claw marks across his cheek.
Judge Merrick slammed his gavel down so hard I was surprised the wood didn’t split in half. “Enough,” he boomed. “I will not tolerate this in my courtroom.”
