The days bled into one another, and Kyle was living the dream life with Jane. He didn’t find his mind wandering, except for thoughts of sex.
Calista did things to him that Jane paled in comparison to. There were certain sexual acts you couldn’t do to a girl you saw a future with.
This was one of those moments. Kyle realized that he would never be able to treat Jane like a whore—at least not for now.
She wasn’t about that life, and there was no way that would change overnight.
Kyle knew it was possible to shape her into that, but it would take time, and his nuts couldn’t wait that long.
It was the day of Cassandra’s custody hearing. She was worried and nervous, despite the lawyer reassuring her that things would go well, as such cases tended to be biased toward the mother.
She couldn’t shake the thought that her husband had the upper hand. He was never the type to enter something he didn’t think he could win.
This was what had her worried. She thought about calling Kyle, but she had already bothered him enough.
He wasn’t her man, and their relationship was based on an agreement.
She didn’t want to overwhelm him with her problems so early, and she knew that if she did, Kyle would abandon her.
There was nothing she could do if that happened. They weren’t bound by any legal documents, even though the money currently in her account could sort out her life for a few years.
“I told you, there’s nothing to fear, Miss Cassandra,” the female lawyer reassured her. The fact that she was a woman meant that she could relate to this case on a deeper level.
“I can’t help it. I’m sorry,” Cassandra apologized.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. This will be one of the easiest cases in my career,” the lawyer downplayed the difficulty to reassure her, but Cassandra was lost in her thoughts.
The chances of losing custody were slim, but they weren’t zero.
That was what frightened her. And there he was, her husband, walking through the hall.
Unlike her, he looked confident and smiled all the way through, greeting people there. But this only made Cassandra more anxious.
Why did he know so many people? That could only mean one thing: he had either been here before, or these people were his friends.
“Miss Cassandra, is there anyone we could call?” the lawyer asked, but Cassandra didn’t understand why she would ask this.
This only caused her to freak out more.
“Call? Why? What’s going on?” Cassandra questioned, but the female lawyer gripped her hands firmly.
“You’re anxious. We need you calm for the trial. Financial stability is very important in cases like this, but I need you to calm down,” the lawyer reassured her, her soothing voice washing over her.
“I’m calm,” Cassandra said with a deep breath.
She knew not to involve Kyle; he had already done more for her than necessary.
Asking for his presence would not only be doing too much, but it would also disrupt Kyle’s daily routine.
“Get ready. Remember, don’t speak unless spoken to. I will handle all the talking…” The female lawyer was doing a decent job of reassuring her because she truly believed that this case would be an easy one.
There was nothing left for Cassandra to do but trust her lawyer, Jessica.
–
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and the first hearing was done. Jessica was asked some rather unexpected questions that took her off guard, despite arguing that the baby needed his mother due to his age and the need to breastfeed.
But for some reason, the judge wasn’t moved by this and remained adamant on certain things that shouldn’t even have been considered factors. Discover more stories at empire
The fact that the divorce was going through was one thing, but she made a shocking discovery: the house.
She was losing it in the divorce, and this was used as a strong basis for her inability to care for the baby.
Jessica couldn’t bring up the bank account balance because it didn’t match her wages.
There would be questions about how she got it, and if it showed that a random man sent it, it could be considered manipulation.
Why? There was a chance that he sent it for the sole purpose of presenting it to the court, only to take it back when it was over.
This had been done before, which was why lawyers avoided using this route as a strong defense.
But Jessica also noticed that the judge was biased. There was no doubt that his verdicts favored her ex-husband, which was unusual.
However, the case was adjourned, giving them time to re-strategize.
“What now?” Cassandra asked, scared that her biggest fears were about to come true.
“Now? I’m afraid you have to show that you’ve acquired a property to raise your child in. But not only that, I think presenting a partner would help sway the judge and show that you are more than capable of providing not only shelter but a father figure,” Jessica said. Her tone, however, didn’t sound worried at all.
She wasn’t swayed because, despite this hurdle, she was confident that they would win the case.
–
Kyle waited for updates. Cassandra sent him a text message informing him when the hearing was about to start, but he was also waiting for a text back on how it went.
“Are you alright? You look worried,” Jane asked, but Kyle nodded to confirm he was fine.
“I’m just thinking about a friend. She’s having a custody battle but hasn’t gotten back to me about how it went…” Kyle explained.
This was the truth, every word that came out of his mouth.
Jane was surprised, but a bit jealous that he was worried about another woman right in front of her.
However, one thing she had to accept was that Kyle had a life outside of hers.
Even though she hated to admit it, and despite trusting him with all her being.
This was a woman thing, and Jane was slowly becoming territorial over him.
“I—I think everything will be alright…” Jane tried to reassure him.
“You sure? Why do you say so?” Kyle questioned.
The truth was, she had no idea, but it seemed like the right thing to say.
“Because you’re involved. Everything just works out with you…” Jane muttered with a sheepish smile.
“I’m like a superhero, huh?” Kyle relished the thought.
Jane managed to ease his worries, even though one couldn’t really call it that.
Kyle wanted to see if Cassandra would back out because a big part of the reason she accepted his terms was because of her child.
He didn’t have to wait long, as a text soon came.
Jane knew who it was without asking, but kept her mouth shut.
She liked that Kyle was transparent with her and wasn’t about to make him regret that decision.
Kyle’s facial expression didn’t change, so it was hard to read him.
“Is everything alright?” Jane asked before Kyle put away his phone and sighed.
“It looks like this is going to be more difficult than I thought,” Kyle responded.
–
Calista couldn’t believe another woman had answered his phone. She knew how busy he was, so this only made her wonder who that woman was.
Ella had told her he had a girlfriend, but after meeting up with him, he was able to give her the reassurance she needed to know she was still of use to him.
This was proving to be a hassle. Calista knew that developing feelings might have been a mistake because Kyle held all the cards right now.
There was nothing she could do about it either. It was too late to pull back because Kyle had already done so.
However, Calista knew she had to step up her game if she had competition.
She wasn’t going to lose out—this was the mindset she knew she had to adopt.
She couldn’t sulk and moan about how she wasn’t the only woman; she only had to worry about holding her current position.
Lorenzo was seated beside her, but she did a good job of masking her current frame of mind.
“Hey, Lorenzo, what do you think about polyamory?” Calista asked out of the blue.
This question caught Lorenzo off guard.
“I believe the human soul wasn’t meant to be shared with just one person. A single person can be the soulmate of multiple people,” Lorenzo responded.
It made sense that he was polyamorous—he was European—but this response wasn’t what she expected.
She had thought he would be disgusted, but his answer made it seem like a normal thing.
She, herself, had seen multiple men simultaneously, but they weren’t aware of each other, even though they suspected it.
But Kyle was blatantly waving it in her face. Was this all just a game to make her overthink things?
If he did have a girlfriend, wouldn’t that make her his mistress?
Calista needed answers, and there was only one way to get them.