Page 73 of The Reality of Us
Owen paused and looked at her. Really looked at her. Her clothes were wrinkled, and there were bags underneath her eyes. Despite her standard bravado, Camille was missing some of her usual polish.
She pulled her phone out of her bag. “I want you to convince my mother she needs to divorce my dad. Come back to Queensland with me.”
Owen didn’t hesitate. “I can’t do that.”
“Can’t or won’t? She needs help, Owen. Someone who can explain the process and how it will work. Someone who cares like you do.”
Owen picked up his tie and retied it, hoping Camille would pick up on the subtle hint. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to get involved.”
“But you owe me! I didn’t tell anyone about you and Alice when I could have. Hooking up with her lawyer wouldn’t be a good look for her.”
How could a day go so far off the rails before it was even nine o’clock? Owen took a deep breath and forced himself to release it slowly. He made sure his words were even and calm, the opposite of the feelings swirling inside his body. There was an immediate need to protect Alice. Followed by the desire to protect the honour of the business he was working so hard to build and the complications it would have for Raff if Owen suddenly started working for the Arturos.
“I don’t owe you anything.”
With a heavy sigh, Camille tossed her mobile back into her bag. “Can’t you just do it because it’s the right thing to do, then?”
It was like someone flicked a light bulb on in front of Owen’s eyes.
It had to be the right thing for him.
And this just … wasn’t.
Nothing was more important to him than his family, and he’d do everything he could to always protect them. He realised with a start that when he thought of his family, Alice was right there too. She was already more important than anyone else had ever been. Regardless of what had happened just before, he still wanted her more than anything. Wanted his new life to keep growing and getting better and better.
He wasn’t going to blink just because Camille tossed a thinly veiled threat his way. “I can suggest some lawyers who may be able to help you, but that’s it.”
“What if I—”
Owen cut in. He wasn’t even prepared to let Camille finish her sentence. “I won’t change my mind. No is my final answer. You can see yourself out because we’re done here. We’re done. Do you understand me? I’ll take my next meeting in the conference room.”
And he strode out of the room without a backwards glance.
This wasn’t the first time Owen had made a grown man cry. It probably wouldn’t be the last, either. Owen waited for Rob to get a hold of himself. The rain tapping against the windows of the courtroom mirrored Owen’s mood.
“I’m sorry. I understand you have to ask these questions but I’ve changed. Sam has two parents who love him.”
Owen resisted the urge to straighten his tie, tap his fingers on the wooden table in front of him. His argument with Alice had tipped him off-kilter and still lingered in the back of his mind. Made him question if there was any possibility that this could end well for him. His feelings were already too big, too much.
Jessica’s laser-focused determination to fight for Sam made perfect sense to Owen. Sure, she was probably going to be disappointed by the outcome of this custody case. But she was there next to him, shoulders straight, eyes forward. She was unapologetically going after what she wanted. The shitshow with Camille this morning was similar. Even if it had been one of the easiest ‘no’s of Owen’s life, he could still understand why his ex had asked him to help, appealing to what Teddy always called his ‘saviour complex’.
Rob blew his nose loudly.
Owen shifted in his seat. This was the part he was struggling with. The unexpected greyness of the situation. He’d never expected to find himself in this position, sympathising with a gambling addict. Back when Jessica had first explained what had happened, it was easy to cast Rob as the villain. Even when he’d analysed the situation from different angles or played devil’s advocate, there was no avoiding the fact that it was the actions of the guy sitting in the witness stand, gently weeping into a crumpled tissue, that had brought them all to this moment.
But still, Rob had showed up. Made changes that seemed genuine. He was trying to right all his mistakes.
Shades of grey were creeping into all the facets of Owen’s life. He couldn’t help but think of Alice—there was no point pretending she wasn’t always on his mind—and how quickly she’d unravelled this morning. Her embarrassment colouring all her decisions. Helping her realise there was nothing she couldn’t conquer was the one problem he couldn’t seem to solve.
Jessica’s chair creaked. Owen swallowed. Personal feelings aside, he had a job to do. “You originally wanted equal custody. Why did you change your mind?”
“I had an unrealistic view about how this was all going to work out,” Rob said.
“What does that mean?”
“I was thinking about what I wanted. Not what would be best for Sam. He doesn’t know me. We need to rebuild our relationship, and that takes time. I can be patient. But I can’t do it if I’m not even allowed to see him.”
Owen frowned at his notes. Every word out of Rob’s mouth chipped away at their argument. What was he supposed to do? Drag out all of Rob’s past indiscretions and failures? Take him apart on the stand? Hit him with statistics about the chance of addicts relapsing? Try to undermine the man’s confidence which could have a devastating impact on his sobriety? That’s what Malus, Mendax and Associates would’ve expected of him.
