Page 32 of Lost Room Lawyer (Room #4)

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Hector

Despite the favorable outcome, Juri was clearly tense as we left the courtroom.

“You made it through,” I said, trying to offer him some encouragement.

“Yeah.Lucky for me I can’t be bought with money anymore,” he replied sarcastically.

The three guys had indeed offered him an outrageously high sum in hopes of reaching an out-of-court settlement.

“You showed real backbone. Not everyone can do that. Those guys will stand trial, and now that two of your former colleagues are also finding the courage to sue them, there’s a very good chance those three will end up in prison. All thanks to you.”

Juri scratched his arms nervously and cleared his throat. “So, uh… how’s everything going with you and Nico?”

I furrowed my brow in surprise. Where did that come from?

“Sorry. I just want to talk about something else.”

“Hmm…” I grumbled understandingly. I’d been trying to ignore the fact that my life was a complete mess this week. My attempts to reach Viktoria had all failed. At least finding success at work was comforting. “I haven’t heard from him,” I replied cautiously.

“What does that mean? Just a week ago, you guys were like honeymooners in the apartment…”

“Until my wife suddenly showed up,” I reminded him.

Juri stared at me as if we weren’t speaking the same language. “I don’t understand. You’re clearly into the guy. He’s super sweet.”

“I’m married. Forgot about that?”

“That’s no reason!”

I frowned in irritation. Juri seemed a bit too worked up for my taste, considering this really wasn’t any of his business.

“Luca said you’ve been staying in the apartment since Tuesday.”

“Yeah, because my wife kicked me out.”

Juri paused for a moment, then started pacing in a circle. “Sorry. This whole situation is just wearing me out, not to mention that I have a great lawyer who is totally blind to his own affairs.”

“How … What do you mean?”

“You’ll figure it out,” he said with a relieved sigh as he spotted Luca in the lobby.

Luca glanced around and beamed when he saw us leaning over the railing on the first floor. He then hurried to the big staircase, bounding up two steps at a time to reach Juri as quickly as possible. “Hey! You’re done already? I thought it would take longer.”

Without saying a word, Juri fell into Luca’s arms, burying his face against his neck. As Luca wrapped his arms around him with a smile, I even heard a sigh. It struck me like a spear with barbs, sending a wave of pain through my body.

Seeing the two of them reminded me of what I secretly yearned for hit me hard. I could talk about Nico and easily manage to lock away the feelings I had for him, but being shown and reminded that this was about more than just words choked me up.

Watching Luca gently stroke Juri’s head and whisper in his ear shattered all the lies I’d told myself to maintain my fragile facade. I longed for love and affection, for intimacy and togetherness—things Viktoria couldn’t give me.

How inevitable this chaos had been. With a heavy heart, I faced the greatest lie and the most humiliating moment of my life, feeling defeated.

“What did you do to him?” Luca asked, both concerned and slightly amused.

Juri was still in his arms, showing no signs of letting go.

“Everything went well,” I explained, trying to refocus my thoughts on work.

“They tried to silence me with 200,000 francs,” Juri murmured as he detached himself from Luca.

“Two hundred…! What?”

“They were even willing to pay more,” I said, retrieving my vibrating phone from my jacket pocket and pausing when I saw Viktoria’s name on the screen.

First, she refused to talk to me, and now she’s calling?

What does she want? Isn’t she working?

Luca noticed who was persistently calling. “That’s your wife, right?”

I just nodded.

“Did you two make up?”

“It’s complicated,” I answered, still focused on her name.

“Hector is slowly coming to his senses,” Juri said.

“Oh, really? That’s good to hear!”

I didn’t want to talk to Viktoria. Not now. Although … Maybe this was my chance to finally set things right. However, the surging hope was crushed by an unfamiliar feeling.

That’s not what you want! a voice inside me screamed.

Yes! It’s exactly what I want. After all, I have to think about my kids. And my clients! My reputation!

The fact that Viktoria didn’t even make it into that list hardly registered with me.

God! Everything was so messed up!

“Are you not going to answer?” Luca asked.

I was torn, unsure of what to do. Putting three rapists behind bars was easy; there were laws for that. Disproving a murder charge against a business mogul; a piece of cake! But saving my marriage … Fuck! I was completely incapable of contributing anything useful to the situation.

“Hec?”

Juri’s soft voice broke through my thoughts. I was still staring at the phone in my hand, which had now stopped vibrating. “Guess it wasn’t that important,” I mumbled, clearing my throat.

But then Viktoria called again.

“Seems important,” Juri said. “Maybe something about the kids?”

“Could be.” I apologized and answered the call. “Hello? Viktoria? What’s up?”

“Hello.”

Her voice sounded cool. Since she didn’t say anything else, I took a few steps back. “Aren’t you at work?”

“Yes,” she replied, and I could hear her closing a door behind her to cut out the background noise. “Listen… uh … Am I interrupting you?”

“No, I’m still at court but just finishing up.”

“Okay then … I feel somewhat obligated to let you know.”

“About what?”

“Nico Simeon was admitted last night. I had to pump his stomach.”

“You … wha…” My voice failed me, and I stood there, staring at the floor. “But …”

“He’s doing okay under the circumstances. I’ll keep him here for another night.”

“How …?”

“Listen, I can’t tell you more. I just wanted you to know.” Then she hung up.

“What the …?”

“Everything okay?” Luca asked behind me.

I turned around, trying to process the information Viktoria had just revealed. “That was … my wife.”

“Yeah? And is that a good thing?” Juri asked.

I gazed right through him. “She just … Nico is in the hospital. She had to pump his stomach.”

The seriousness of the situation immediately registered with both of them.

“Pills?” Juri asked, surprised.

“I don’t know. I … uh …”

I was in freefall, plummeting through the air. All my efforts to get my life back on track since Tuesday now seemed utterly meaningless in light of this situation.

Save my marriage?

Reunite my family?

Preserve my good reputation?

None of that mattered anymore. The fact that my own wife had brought me to this realization put me in a sort of shock.

“If he’s in the hospital, he should be feeling better soon,” I heard Luca say in the distance.

“You can’t know that,” Juri countered.

No, nobody could know that.

What if he didn’t get better soon?

What if the reason he was in the hospital was intentional?

What if he had tried to kill himself?

Could it be that Leo had mentioned the internship to him yesterday?

That was just a suggestion.

No, I couldn’t avoid the truth any longer. It wasn’t just a suggestion. It had been a solution to my problem. If we sent the intern packing, my life could go back to how it was before. But right now, a voice inside me was screaming.

I don’t want things to go back to how they were before!

I want Nico to be okay!

I want to see him shine again!

I want to hold Nico in my arms. Have him with me. Be with him. Laugh with him.

I felt lightheaded and leaned against the railing for support.

Fuck! This is not good. Not good at all.

If I thought my life was falling apart before, this was like a seismic event of the century. The very foundations of my world were shaking, and everything I had buried deep within myself came rushing out, exposing the countless lies I had built my life upon.

Nico.

In my mind, there was only him.

I needed to be with him.

Somehow.

Maybe I could pass myself off as his lawyer. Were there laws regarding this? What were these rules that dictated only immediate family could visit patients anyway?

In my mind, I was already at the hospital, but my body was frozen in place, clinging to the cold stone.

“Hec? Can we do something? You’re starting to scare me.”

“I … I have to go.”

“Are you going where you’re supposed to?”

“Yes,” I answered, almost choking on the word.

“Do you think it’s a good idea for you to drive now?”

As much as I appreciated Luca’s concern, I shook my head. “Forget it. I’m never letting you drive my car.”

“It was worth a try,” he said, shrugging and grinning widely.

“See you!” Finally, my body responded as I wanted. I felt unstoppable, running down the stairs and out to the parking lot.