Page 9 of Aquarius Awakening (BLP Signs of Love #20)

Reality Strikes

A series of loud knocks startled me out of my sleep.

I initially thought I was dreaming. The knocks persisted, so I forced myself out of bed.

I grabbed my silk robe from the other side of the bed.

My body ached, and exhaustion slowed down my movements.

I closed my robe as I approached the door.

When I checked the peephole, I saw a white man in a suit carrying a manila envelope.

While I wasn’t expecting anything, Milani could have sent me something.

She and Imani were the only ones who knew where I stayed.

I decided to open the door slightly. “Can I help you with something?” I asked.

“I’m looking for Faith Baxter. Does she reside here?” the older gentleman inquired.

“I’m Faith Baxter,” I confirmed.

“Mrs. Baxter, you have been served,” he declared as he forced the envelope into my hand and walked away.

Once the initial shock of the interaction wore off, I closed the door and locked it. I placed the envelope on the counter as Imani entered the living room. I almost forgot she was staying with me for a few days.

“What was all the commotion so early in the morning?”

“Apparently, I’ve been served,” I informed her.

“What? By whom?” she asked.

“That’s a good question,” I noted as I picked up the envelope to look at its contents. As I scanned over the paperwork, I felt my nostrils flare.

“Mason filed for divorce. He wants our prenup thrown out. I can’t believe he’s being such an asshole,” I fumed as I paced back and forth.

Imani shook her head, sharing the anger I felt. “If he wants to fight, you give him a fight. Mason is doing this to try to hurt you. Remember, you’re levelheaded, so don’t let emotions take over right now,” she advised.

“It’s hard to be levelheaded when he keeps coming for me.

The Aquarius in me just wants to go fuck some shit up.

I’m tired of him trying to take my kindness for weakness.

I couldn’t give him a baby, so he wants ownership in my business.

This is crazy,” I ranted. The pacing wasn’t helping, so I found my way to the balcony.

When Mason mentioned the divorce, I still wasn’t completely sold that we were truly over.

I hoped he was taking our time apart to think about us.

Now, as I held onto these court documents, he proved his words weren’t said out of anger.

When I checked the date on the documents, they had been filed the day after our last conversation.

Mason had really been over our marriage a long time ago.

I never shared this address with him, so how could he have found me?

I heard horror stories of couples fighting over everything during their divorce.

Now I seem to be living a real-life nightmare.

He wanted us to sell the condo in the city.

The house in Long Island that he didn’t care for, he wanted to keep.

On top of that, he stated he had given me the initial investment for Love Faith.

With his initial investment, Mason argued he should be a co-owner in the business.

I was going to be sick. This was too much.

Against my better judgment, I allowed him to invest in my business.

At the time, he posed it as a wedding gift.

Love Faith was much smaller than it is now when we first met.

I had been in business for two years before I met Mason.

As I was just getting my feet wet in the industry, he gave me money to cover business expenses.

After that, I secured my first major client.

There was no way to determine whether his investment led to that.

It was all so frustrating. I never thought my marriage would end like this.

The prenuptial agreement was supposed to protect both of our assets.

I had no idea how long I had been on the balcony before Imani came to check on me.

“I know you’re upset about Mason, but how did things go with Jacob last night? You came in pretty late, so it must have gone well,” she teased.

“Really? Since you need to know so badly, I had a good time with Jacob. We went to the cute coffee shop on Pine Street and closed the place down,” I shared.

“Are you going to see him again? Please tell me he’s single,” she insisted.

I rolled my eyes. “Why does he need to be single?” I asked.

“Read the room, girl. I’m in search of a new brother-in-law. The old one was a clown. Jacob seems to have long-term potential,” she joked.

“Yes, he’s single, but I’m not yet. I told him I was separated, but we could work on our friendship. Sorry to burst your bubble, but you won’t be getting a new brother-in-law anytime soon,” I assured her.

“We’ll just see about that. Let’s get dressed. We need to get some food. You’re going to need a shark of a lawyer to get rid of Mason’s ass once and for all,” she affirmed.

Imani and I spent hours in search of a shark to represent me in my pending divorce from Mason.

Whatever feeling of sadness I had over the end of my marriage dissolved.

Based on the quotes I received from these divorce attorneys, I needed to be done with him for good.

We were currently headed to meet Lisa Gallovan.

According to the reviews that I found, she was the best. What no one tells you is that the retainer for a good attorney is ten thousand dollars.

Lisa’s hourly rate was one thousand dollars.

The car pulled in front of the tall glass building in the heart of Manhattan.

I was surprised she could see me on such short notice.

If she were such a shark, why would she have time for little ole me?

Imani and I made our way to Lisa’s office on the fiftieth floor of the tall building.

During the elevator ride, I found myself fidgeting with the bracelet on my left wrist. I only fidgeted when my anxiety rose.

Imani tried to distract me with a meaningless conversation.

Until I had someone who could handle Mason, nothing would work.

We exited the elevator and approached the large glass desk. The pretty receptionist with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes greeted us. “Welcome to Gallovan & Associates. How may I help you ladies?”

“Faith Baxter here to see Lisa Gallovan,” I answered.

“Mrs. Baxter, welcome. Please follow me,” she instructed as she stood to lead us to Lisa Gallovan.

As we followed behind the receptionist, Imani grabbed my hand.

I was so grateful she was with me for the moral support.

If she hadn’t been with me this morning, I wasn’t sure how I would have reacted.

Every thought that raced through my mind was to hurt Mason.

I wanted him to feel the pain he caused me to feel.

My anger wanted me to find a way to make him feel as small as he had made me feel.

Moments later, we approached an extensive set of smoked glass doors with large gold handles.

After a soft knock, the receptionist opened the door.

She proceeded to enter the office as we followed.

Lisa Gallovan stood up from behind her desk, a petite woman with a blunt bob cut and stunning green eyes.

“Mrs. Baxter, nice to meet you. Please take a seat,” she instructed.

“Nice to meet you as well, Ms. Gallovan. This is my sister Imani,” I introduced.

“Nice to meet you, Imani. Ladies, please call me Lisa. So, tell me about this husband of yours,” she insisted.

I took a deep breath before digging in my bag to provide Lisa with the paperwork. “I was served this morning at the rental property I’m staying at. Mason and I have been together for five years, but two weeks ago, we decided to divorce,” I explained.

“Did something happen to bring on this decision?” she inquired.

“Well, yes. We have been undergoing infertility treatments unsuccessfully for the past couple of years. During this time, Mason has been verbally abusive to me. More recently, he didn’t come home for two days, which prompted me to move into a rental.

I thought it was temporary, but this paperwork says otherwise,” I explained.

“I see, so based on the summons and complaint, there is a clause in the prenuptial agreement that he wants to enforce—the infidelity clause. Did you see that?” she asked.

I looked over the page that I misinterpreted this morning. “No. I thought he was challenging the validity of the prenuptial agreement. There was no infidelity on my part,” I responded.

“Understood, Mrs. Baxter. If I may be frank, I had the displeasure of meeting Mason, which is why I wanted to meet with you. Our husbands serve on a charity board together. I went to a fundraiser a few weeks ago. My husband introduced me to your husband. Mason was with another woman who was very pregnant,” she explained.

“He could have been talking with a colleague. What made you think they were together?” I asked.

“Aside from the hand holding, they kissed while they slow danced. All night, he affectionately rubbed her belly,” she detailed.

My hand covered my mouth as I gasped. “That’s why Mason was in such a rush to divorce me. He cheated on me and is having a baby,” I uttered in disbelief.

“We’re going to hire a private investigator.

We want to catch him with his mistress. If that doesn’t work, I’ll ask someone from the fundraiser to sign an affidavit.

They can attest to having seen him with the other woman.

We are going to enforce the infidelity clause but in your favor.

I love nothing more than seeing my clients get what they deserve.

I’m sorry you weren’t successful in your fertility journey.

I can, however, make sure you win in this divorce,” Mrs. Gallovan assured me.

“Okay, Lisa. Girl, get my sister everything she deserves and more. I told you that you needed a shark. Everything will be just fine,” Imani added.

We sat in Lisa’s office for another hour, going over some additional details. She was very knowledgeable with over twenty years of experience. I was grateful to have found her. While I tried to put on a brave face, the news of Mason’s infidelity was hard to swallow.

I was no fool. I knew there was someone else. The fact that Mason had a child on the way was hurtful. In one of our last arguments, he said he shouldn’t be punished because I couldn’t give him a baby. Mason got his wish. He would get his family, but everything else would be mine.