Page 17 of Due Process
“Not really.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“Actually, there is...” I sighed, so absolutely exhausted. “I need the contact for your divorce lawyer.”
Chapter 10
CURTIS
“I need the contact for your divorce lawyer,” Stella said, so nonchalant that I thought she was joking until I clocked her expression.
Her mask was stone cold marble—serene, beautiful anddiabolical.
On impulse, I shifted along the booth and yanked her into a crushing hug. I expected her to pull away, and I knew the situation was dire when she pressed closer instead.
The restaurant was a high-end establishment with cornered off sections to maximise privacy. So, when Stella’s hands circled my torso to fist into the back of my shirt, I openly stroked her hair.
She was trembling—the physical reaction natural yet altogether telling.
We held that position for what felt like hours, and I would have stayed there forever if she’d wished.
Unfortunately, I knew of that singular, crushing pain. I had experienced the same firsthand with my own divorce. No one entered the sanctity of marriage intending for it to end. Giving in to the severing of what you thought was forever, and letting go of that ideal was a soul-altering process.
Even more disbelieving was that Stella and Felix weren’t immune to the breakdown of having loved someone so completely.
They were the Johnsons; a power couple forged from genuine love and respect. And that was the only reason I had ever conceded to him.
Felix genuinely made her happy.So where did it all go wrong?
“I’ve got you,” I whispered into her crown. “I’ve got you.”
The three words repeated like a mantra as she latched on tighter, as if I were her life raft.
“What happened?”
She shook her head, hiding her face in my shoulder. “No one else can know… not even our dads. Can you keep this between us?”
That was when she tipped her head back and gave me those honest eyes, sparkling blue.
“As if you have to ask. I’m here for whatever you need.”
If only she knew how true that statement was.
I’m a selfish bastard.I desperately wanted to be that person for her. Fuckingneededto be the one she ran to for comfort and sought for safe harbour.
Just like she was that person for me.
From the moment I’d accepted the inevitable end of my own marriage three years before, Stella had become my sanctuary. The solid foundation that I could lean on—relyon. Some days, her presence alone kept me afloat, lifting some of the weight that threatened to bury me beneath the ugly custody battle for my son, Logan.
During that time, I inadvertently fell in love with Stella—again. Except this time, it wasn’t a silly crush I could pretend to push aside. Old echoes began to stir. When I became fully aware of my emotions, it was far too late to turn back and protect myself.
I knew it was wrong, that I had no right to my one-sided feelings. However, I could not shut them off, the function just as impossible as not breathing.
But, above all else, I was her best friend, and I’d never have done anything to jeopardise that. Stella didn’t deserve the burden of my unrequited love when she was happily blissed out with two kids and a doting husband.
Or so I thought.
Stella’s greatest asset was her loyalty. She was a naturally guarded person and found it hard to trust others. But once you breached that gigantic wall and were accepted as a part of her inner circle, you would find no one more devoted. Stella fought to the death for those she loved, and that was how I knew Felix had fucked upbad.
