Chapter 13: Chapter 13

ODETTE

Ever since I revealed my secret to Sterling this past weekend, I knew it was only a matter of time before everyone else found out.

The first step was to call Tyler, then Reece. I needed to gauge Tyler’s reaction before I asked Reece for help. Sterling was right—Reece was the person to help me. He had a legal background and would ensure I understood my rights.

I’d been delaying the call to Tyler all morning. I knew he was going to explode, but it was now or never.

Taking a deep breath, I pressed the phone icon next to his name. The phone rang three times before he answered.

“Odette?”

“Hi.”

“I’m glad you called me. I missed you.”

~I can do this. I can do this.~

“Don’t try to sweet-talk me. I’m calling for a reason.”

“I’m sorry that I lost my temper,” Tyler said, trying to win me over.

“Tyler, what happened is in the past; we’re over. I called to tell you something important, so listen.”

“OK.” He sighed.

“I’m pregnant.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, a doctor confirmed it.”

“Are you taking it away from me?” Tyler asked, accusingly.

“I want full custody,” I snapped.

“You can’t do that.”

“I can, and I will. You’ve hit me in anger multiple times, and I’m afraid you’ll do the same to the baby.”

“I’ve been getting help,” he admitted.

“I still don’t trust you.”

I was not falling for this. He’d told me in the past that he would get help. I had to think about the baby now.

“I’ll fight you for this. I deserve to be a part of this child’s life.”

“And this child deserves to grow up without an abusive father.”

“You’ll be hearing from my lawyer, Etta.” Tyler hung up without giving me a chance to respond.

He handled it better than I thought he would, but now I was terrified that I’d lose this child before it was even born.

***

“Good afternoon. How can I help you?” the lady at the desk asked.

“I’m here to see Reece Meyer.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No, but I’m a family friend. My name is Odette Hart.”

“I’m sorry, but Mr. Meyer is extremely busy. You’ll need to make an appointment,” she said as she started typing again.

“Can you tell him it’s important?”

The secretary was about to refuse, but Reece walked out of the conference room and saw me.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Okay. Follow me to my office.”

His office was neat and tidy. His files were in order and not scattered all over his desk. He had one photo; it was a picture of him and his mother.

“If you don’t have a minute, I can come back.” I was secretly hoping he would say he was too busy.

“Nonsense, it must be important if you showed up.”

“It is, and I need your help…” Telling Reece was harder than I thought. A lump was forming in my throat, and I found myself not wanting to tell him because I didn’t want him to pity me or be angry with me.

“I need your help with a custody issue.”

“Okay…I’m already a little confused.”

“Last week, when I fell, I found out I was pregnant.”

“Wow.” He took a deep breath and slid his hand down his face.

“I’m assuming you told your ex?”

“Yes, and he wants custody. It sounded like he wanted joint custody until I told him no.”

“I hate to say no, Etta, but this is a conflict of interest for me. I can’t take you on as a client.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense.”

“Let me finish. I can ask one of my partners to help you. It’s not going to be easy unless you have proof of the abuse, and even then, it may not play out in your favor, especially if he’s getting help.”

I didn’t know what came over me. Without warning, I burst into tears. I wanted to say it was the pregnancy hormones, but at this point, I thought I was just overwhelmed.

“Hey, don’t cry,” Reece said as he left his desk to sit next to me.

“My life is such a mess, and I’m asking you to get involved, and it’s not fair to you.”

“I would do anything to help you. You mean a lot to me, and you being pregnant with some jerk’s baby isn’t going to change that. This isn’t ideal, but we will learn to deal with this. It’s a bump in the road.”

“How can you be so kind and still want to be with me?”

“I’m not a jerk, and I like children, so it’s not a dealbreaker. I just hated that you didn’t tell me right away.”

“I was freaking out. I told Sterling on Saturday, and then we had a bonding experience over how messed up our love lives are,” I said.

“Are you free tonight?” he asked.

I sniffled and nodded.

“Good, I want to take you out to dinner,” he said.