Page 11 of Desperate Temptations (Immoral Starts)

TEN

ETHAN

Trent massages my shoulders. “Whatever happens, it’s meant to be.”

I nod, shrugging off his touch before walking into the lawyer’s office.

My lawyer, John, greets us with a tight smile and directs me to sit down. “Thanks for coming in. This is the Smith’s solicitor, Matt. He’s here to speak on behalf of the family.” He gestures to the other man sitting across the table, his eyes bouncing between me and Trent with a small frown.

I nod at Matt and Trent crosses his arms, glaring at the man.

He clears his throat. “Before we continue, we wish to consider an agreement. Ethan will not sue for damages or compensation, and will sever contact with the family.”

I scoff. “I don’t want more contact with them. I just want to know if she’s my daughter or not, so I can move on.” If she is, I’ll deal with how to handle her family, but only for her sake.

The lawyer presses the paper forward with his fingertips. “Then you should have no problem signing?”

I glance at my lawyer who nods and explains, “I glanced over it. You still have access to your assets and accounts, but you will no longer be associated with the company,”

Rolling my eyes, I shake my head. “And I’m assuming there’s also a gag order?”

Matt clears his throat. “Correct. No one wishes for this information to be made public, especially for the safety and wellbeing of the child.”

“Of course. I would never do anything to harm her.” I also know that I could never let information about the affair get out if she is mine because at this point it would only cause damage to her. Her mother is dead and… I’ll get over it.

My lawyer clears his throat, grabs the contract, and tells me to give him a minute to read through one last time before sliding it to me to sign.

I barely glance at it, not caring if they stripped me of anything and everything to do with their family. The financial lawyer has already tied up enough money for me to live comfortably without the urgency of finding a new job.

Scribbling my signature on the dotted line, I shove the paper toward the lawyer.

He pulls an envelope from his briefcase, his eyes flickering with an emotion I can’t place before it shuts down and he stares at me blankly.

“We haven’t filed this with the court. We wish to keep it out of the proceedings.”

My lawyer sighs. “They don’t want a paper trail should the child ever go looking.”

My heart clenches for a second. They want to erase me completely at this point.

“That’s fine,” I say through gritted teeth as the anxiety of my possible future lies in a flimsy envelope on the table.

I grab the envelope, tearing it open and pulling out the paternity test. My heart sinks as I read over the results. “She’s not mine,” I say, swallowing down the emotion clawing at my throat.

Trent’s shoulders slump and their lawyer shakes his head.

“No, she’s not.”

I attempt to smile, but fail. “Guess that’s why my wife kept her here. Probably knew.”

Trent reaches out, squeezing my arm before letting go. I slide the paper on the table away from me.

“I guess that’s it then.”

My lawyer clears his throat. “We’d like to go over the division of assets. Just so we’re all on the same page and can assure you’re fairly compensated.”

I rub a hand down my face. “I don’t give a fuck, really. I’m not going to go babbling to the media. This was the last thing tying me to them, and there’s no link.”

“But the house?—”

“Sell it.”

His face flushes a ruddy color. “And the company stocks?—”

“Sell them too. Liquidate it all, I don’t fucking care about the money.

I just wanted—” I say, raising my voice as I stand.

My lawyer calls after me as I walk out the door, but I ignore him, needing a moment to fucking breathe.

I rush out through the front door, gulping in the chilly morning air as I lean against the building with my hands on my knees.

In the next moment, Trent rubs a hand down my back.

“It’s okay to be disappointed.”

I look up at him, tears gathering on my waterline. “Is it?”

He shrugs. “Yeah, I wouldn’t blame you. She may not have been a good wife in the end, but you were with her for a long time. You loved her, the child is the last remaining piece of her.”

My nose tingles and I stand up straighter. “I don’t know how to explain how I feel. I just… It hurts, Trent.”

“I know,” he whispers as he pulls me into a hug. I rest my forehead on his shoulder and take a deep breath of his scent before moving back.

“Let’s finish this up and go home.”

I don’t comment on the strange expression that twists on his face because it makes my heart clench. So I give him a half-smile and then walk around him and back into the office.