“We were friends for three months before—”
“Was there any overlap at all between the time you were married to Marc and when you and Lucas were more than just friends?”
I put my face in my hands, thinking of that one night at Lucas’s apartment before Marc left. Marc could sleep around and party all throughout our marriage, but I was about to be punished for my one indiscretion—and it pissed me off.
“Samantha, please, as your lawyer I need to know—”
“Two days before Marc left. So yes, there was an overlap. Now what?”
Lucas pulled me closer to him and rubbed my back.
“Calm down. She just needs to know, so she’s prepared.” Lucas whispered in my ear as he tried to soothe me, but it wasn’t working. I was equal parts infuriated and scared out of my mind.
Robyn was expressionless, all business.
“Did anyone see you together? Were you ever in public?”
“No, we were at his apartment one night, and I came home early the next morning. Marc was packing for Chicago when I got home. We had a fight, and I threw him out. Two days later, I called you to draw up separation papers.” I crossed my arms and hid my hands so they wouldn’t see them shaking. My stomach dropped as I realized karma may be coming to collect.
“I don’t think it will be hard at all to prove your marriage soured long before that point. And Marc never contacted Bella the entire time he was away? Never sent you any child support?”
“Nothing. He did ask about Bella the night he signed, and I told him he could see her; he just needed to be consistent. I didn’t even press for child support. I don’t know what’s making him do this.”
“I do.” Lucas snickered. “It’s not him that’s doing this.”
Our heads snapped toward Lucas at the same time.
“Marc’s mother didn’t like the fact you and I seemed serious, andreallydidn’t like how close Bella and I looked when we picked her up from their house. She’s pissed her son has no relationship with his daughter, so she’s trying to force it and make sure she doesn’t get left behind when we start our own family.” I noted Lucas said ‘when’ not ‘if,’ and even in my scattered state, my heart fluttered.
“Now that I think about it, you may be right. He barely spoke to her this weekend, still has no interest in her and is just following what his mother wants. Jesus, this is frustrating! We can’t prove this and stop it?” I pleaded with Robyn, who now had sympathy in her eyes.
“Right now, my advice is to let her go over there without fighting it. She’ll only be there every other weekend for the time being. And—this is very important—donotget into an argument with Marc or his mother. If there is an issue, call me right away, and I’ll take care of it with his lawyer. I know the next few weeks are going to be hard, but if it’s really Marc’s mother behind all of this, it will come out soon enough. In the meantime, I’ll do a little digging and see if I can speed that up.”
Robyn turned to me, and this time had a sad look on her face.
“As far as Lucas moving in, he still can, but if he has an apartment, he should still keep it in case anyone checks. We don’t want to give them ammunition to use against you.”
I nodded, putting all my faith in my friend, who I prayed was as smart as I always thought she was.
* * *
After Bella went to sleep,I decided to take a nice long shower. I had painful tension in my neck, and my eye was twitching. Robyn had told me not to worry, and Lucas was optimistic—at least in front of me— and tried his best to set my mind at ease. Neither was very successful in making me feel better. I tried to remember that itwasonly every other weekend right now. As much as I wanted to rip the hair out of Jeannie’s head for putting us through this, I did take a small amount of comfort in knowing she would take care of Bella.
I stood under the showerhead with my eyes closed, letting the hot water hit the back of my neck to maybe provide some needed relief. I’d been running on pure adrenaline for two days between finally getting the papers signed, Nicole-gate, breaking up, Lucas moving in, and now prepping for a custody battle. Now feeling the aftereffects, my body was beaten and tired.
I also couldn’t shake the feeling that this was my fault. I happily let Jeannie have Bella all those weekends so I could enjoy alone time with my boyfriend. It gave her a false sense of entitlement to my daughter and a say in how I lived my life.
My eyes were still closed, my muscles relaxed from the steam of the hot water. The shower curtain opened, making me jump.
“It’s only me.” Lucas stepped into the shower and put his arms around me.
I hadn’t even heard the bathroom door open. “Sorry, babe. I’m so out of it. My neck hurts, and I think my eye is starting to twitch. It’s been a long couple of days.” I rested my head on Lucas’s chest as he massaged my shoulders.
“No one is takingBella away from us. Both my girls are staying with me, so there’s no need to worry about anything.” Lucas’s hands moved up from my shoulders and massaged my neck, right where the knot was. I moaned at how good it felt.
“I wish I was as sure as you are.” Lucas kissed my forehead as his hands slid down to the small of my back, pulling me closer.
“Trust me. We’re going to be fine.” Lucas pulled back and put his finger under my chin. His sandy brown hair looked almost black now that it was damp. My eyes trailed the water that dripped from his neck, down his chest, over his abs, and lead to his bulging hard-on, dripping off the tip. Lucas caught me looking and smirked.
