Chapter 7

Ciara Walters looked like she belonged on a runway that in a courtroom. She was absolutely stunning, her dark skin and luscious, jet-black hair making her look more like a wealthy heiress than a cutthroat lawyer.

She was wearing a navy blue suit, and her Louboutin heels dangled off her feet as she sat across from David and me. Her piercing green eyes settled on me, and I felt small and insignificant in front of her as she stared into my soul.

"So, let me get this straight," she said in a crisp English accent. "You want me to take on what could turn out to be the biggest and messiest divorce case in the country, without even getting paid?"

"A settlement can be agreed afterwards," David said. "You owe me, Walters. Don’t forget that."

She glared at him as he said this, and something about the way she looked at him made me feel uneasy. But I knew David wasn’t that kind of man. He would never cheat on Brenda. No matter how hot Ciara Walters might be.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Ciara chuckled as she leaned back into her seat. “This is going to be a bloody nightmare. The press coverage alone will make me want to jump off the Manhattan bridge. Celebrity divorces are always juicy stories. They’ll be on us like moths on a flame.”

“It comes with the territory, Walters,” David said. “So will you do it?”

Her gaze shifted back to me, and she leaned into her seat before she sighed and rubbed her chin. “I’ll need to speak with her privately.”

David didn’t look too pleased with that statement, but he stood up and walked out of the room after placing his hand on my shoulder encouragingly. Once he was out, I stared back at Ciara and tried to look apologetic. She was doing me a favour after all, taking a case like this blindly without knowing how much she was going to get paid.

Her lips tightened as she remained silent, the only sound between us being the slow tapping of her nails on the desk. She looked like she was sizing up her prey, and I tried not to seem so intimidated by her steely eyes. I imagined what it would be like to stand across from her in a courtroom as she tore me to shreds, and I instantly knew I wouldn’t want that.

“So,” she said finally, “what’s your deal, Mrs Reynard?”

“Excuse me?”

“Your deal,” she said. “Your angle. What are you trying to get out of this.”

“I-I don’t understand.”

She leaned forward slowly, her eyes hardening as she said, “This isn’t going to be a picnic, love. This is war. If you think this is going to be easy, think again. You’re about to have your entire life torn apart, bit by bit, and leaving the naked, ugly truth for the entire world to see. All of your carefully crafted secrets, all those little intimate moments that were only between you and your husband, they’ll be ripped apart in a courtroom and you’ll have nothing left to hide. Are you really up for that?”

My palms were sweating as she said this, and I shifted nervously in my seat. My heart was beating wildly against my chest, and my throat had already gone dry. Ciara seemed to realise what was going on, and she slid a glass of water towards me. I gulped it down instantly, then poured another glass and downed it as well.

“You’re not ready for this, Olivia,” she said. “I can tell when someone is going to break down in the courtroom, and everything about you tells me you can’t withstand the pressure. You’ll be devoured alive.”

My ears started to ring as I imagined myself in the stand, looking down on Marcus and his lawyer as they tore me apart and made me look like an evil, pathetic and disgusting partner. The man I once loved would probably think of me as nothing but a stain on the bottom of his shoe, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that.

“Sweetheart,” Ciara said, “let’s just reach out and agree to a settlement. I’m sure your husband will be more than happy to settle in order to keep this out of the papers and not drag it out for too long. You want my opinion? Let’s try to get some sort of settlement.”

It would have been the wise thing to do. Take a sizeable payout and start over. I could do that. I should do that. But then the image of him and Emily flashed in my mind, and I balled my hands into fists.

“Are you married?” I asked, looking up at her.

“Never was,” she replied. “My ex-boyfriend decided that my sister was hotter than me, so he ditched me and ran off to the Philippines with the skank.”

“Well then you don’t know what it’s like to completely devote yourself to one person and have them destroy everything in the blink of an eye,” I said through gritted teeth. “I gave Marcus every bit of me. I gave him my heart, my body and soul. I put my entire life on hold for him. And he took all of that and bashed it on the floor. He destroyed everything about us, and everything we’d ever stood for, just so he could get his dick wet. I’m not go to sit back and let him get away with this. I understand that it will be tough, but I’m not going to let him get away with it. I want what I’m owed. Then I’ll pack up and leave, and he’ll never see me again.”

I could have sworn I saw a satisfied grin in her eyes as I said this. She had been staring at me like I was a little girl, but now she looked at me with a little bit of respect. When she sat up, there was no more power imbalance between us. We were on a level playing field now. And I already knew that she would take the case.

“That’s what I wanted to see,” she said, chuckling. “I’ve been in enough cases like this to see that the men always get what they want. We’re always dealt the short end of the stick, and they get to walk away with everything they’ve ever wanted even after screwing us over. Well fuck that. I’ll be damned before I let another bastard walk away with a smile on his face after screwing a sister over.”

“So you’ll take the case?” I asked.

“I already did, sweetheart,” she said with a smile. “About two minutes ago when you were giving your little speech. And you have my word, we’re going to rip Marcus Reynard to shreds and get you exactly what you’re owed. He wants to fuck your best friend and get away with it? Screw that. By the time I’m done with him, he’ll be living on the streets and begging for change.”

“Thank you,” I said, beaming at her as relief flooded through my veins. I couldn’t believe my luck, and I finally started to believe that things were going to turn out just fine.

“I’ll file a petition and have the divorce papers ready today,” she said. “Since he doesn’t have an attorney yet, it might slow things down for a day or two. But we’ll get through this in no time. I’m sure the judge would want things to be concluded quickly and amicably, given the fact that the public’s eye will be fixed on this case. This will tip the scales in our favour. Chin up, Olivia. If I were you, I would already be booking a six figure vacation in the Caribbean.”

“Thank you so much, Ciara,” I said. “I really appreciate this. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“You can thank me after I bankrupt your ex-husband and destroy his entire life,” she said. “When we’re done with him, Marcus will wish he’d never been born. For now, just tell me everything I need to know. Start from the moment you first laid eyes on him, until yesterday when you caught him with your best friend.”

And so I did. I spent the next hour telling her about my life with Marcus. I told her about the early days, when he spoilt me with lavish, expensive gifts that cost more than my parent’s mortgage. I told her about the trips we took together, and how sweet and romantic he was. I told her about Rome, and how he proposed to me after a romantic dinner date. I told her about the wedding, the honeymoon, the adjustment to married life and how I was suddenly thrust into the limelight as Marcus Reynard’s wife. And then I told her about the first cracks in the marriage, the constant arguing, the fights, the ugly nights when I would lock myself in the bathroom and cry until my throat felt raw and empty. I told her about how he completely changed, and how we stopped talking completely. I told her about the moment I first started to suspect he was cheating on me, and how I slowly followed the trail until I caught him yesterday. By the time I finished, I was soaked in tears and trembling all over. But I also felt relieved, like a weight had been lifted off my chest finally.

I left that office feeling like an entirely different woman than when I’d walked in. Ciara was ready to fight for me, and I was finally feeling optimistic. As David walked me downstairs to get a cab, I started to believe that things would turn out just fine. And when he promised to swing by my apartment later to check on me, I was glad to remember that there were still some people out there who cared about me.

Perhaps if I wasn’t so happy, I would have noticed the familiar black Porsche parked across the street. And perhaps if I had been paying attention, I would have noticed Marcus staring at me from behind the wheel, a murderous look in his eyes.

I’d made my first move, but he was already ten steps ahead.