Page 50 of Due Process
Since then, I had been working hard to rebuild some type of trust with my boys. It was painstaking and unhurried, but I wanted nothing more than to gain their favour and develop a healthy relationship with them.
I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed. They were so full of joy and light that their shine was enough to dull out the dark, if only for a little while. And much to my delight, we were making progress. Very slow-going, but meaningful.
The weekend before, for the first time, I’d managed to get Phoenix down without any tears. But what made my heart skip a beat was the half-chuckle I earned from Eli. I now lived for that rare noise, and wanted to bottle it up to fill my days.
My wife, on the other hand, was a self-inflicted depressing spiral. I hadn’t given up hope on Stella, but I knew I couldn’t keep bulldozing her and demanding forgiveness for actions that were unforgivable. So, I pushed back against my own nature and actively decided to respect her space and judgement, no matter how her absence tore me up inside.
It was always the small things—the sensation of slipping into a barren bed that used to be ours, or when I entered the walk-in wardrobe to catch the subtle scent of her lingering perfume.They were remnants of precious memories that took me over unawares, which had me levelled to the ground in a mental breakdown within seconds.
Useless tears lined my lashes as I stared down at the countless documents that would dictate the rest of my life.
I was on the verge of losing my wife, my career, my freedom… all because of my own selfishness. It was time I took responsibility and stopped hurting my family.
Breathing in deeply, I swiped at my eyes and cleared my expression.
“Michael, where do I sign?”
Chapter 28
FELIX
I lounged on a lawn chair, watching over Eli and Phoenix as they chased each other around the backyard. The sun descended behind their backs, their smiling faces shining golden with a specific brightness that only came with innocence.
They were carefree and comfortable, and the sight had me so damn grateful that my eyes started to burn. However, the scene was bittersweet… due to the one vital part that was forever missing.
I hadn’t spoken to or seen Stella since that disastrous day in the boardroom, communication strictly made between our lawyers and her dad, who did the go-between drop-offs for the boys—although I wouldn’t really classify his brooding silence and occasional grunts as conversational. I didn’t blame him. My behaviour had been unacceptable, both in the way I treated his daughter and the drunken night I had tried to break intohis house. When I had apologised, he barely gave a nod before turning to leave. That was more than I deserved.
It had been a week since I had dismantled my life on paper and agreed tomostterms advised by Michael.
First, I tackled Stella’s second agenda—a fresh contract emailed since I had so thoroughly destroyed the previous one.
I meticulously combed through the transfer documents of Stella Financial Management. It was painful and surreal, but I knew I had already lost my company the minute I lost my wife. The papers were signed. I asked for no recompense—my silent apology to the company I had built and loved.
Then it was time to address agenda number three. I actively worked with law enforcement to bring Heather down. Since she was being obstructive and combative, I flipped the narrative and offered my full, transparent cooperation.
Lies had become the norm for me, so what were a few more? I admitted to everything, despite the fallacy that I knowingly agreed with Heather, to transfer funds from my own company on the numerous dates specified. I confessed that I aided Heather in concealing and facilitating her fraudulent activity. And I acknowledged that I failed to report the conduct and gave them full access to my accounts and emails, providing material assistance.
However, Stella’s first agenda was something I couldn’t fully accept or even think about.
The divorce contract remained at the bottom of my sock drawer, untouched and threatening. As deadly as a buried landmine, ready to go off at the slightest provocation.
Every time I thought about separation and the breakdown of our marriage, I felt physically ill, as if my body was in complete denial of being ripped away from my soulmate. And to know that I was exclusively responsible for it all…. Yeah, I was living in an agonising hellscape of my own creation.
The next day, I was due in court to receive the verdict for my countless indiscretions. Although I took the plea deal, Michael warned that I could still be facing eighteen months in low security federal prison.
Going to jail was a steep price to pay, due to me being legitimately innocent in most claims. But I had no proof against the accusations, only my word. And over the past eight months, I had shown exactly what my word was worth.
I had brought that viper into our orbit, feeding that gluttonous beast with my ego. SoIalone had to deal with the aftermath. The trickling consequences were already impacting my family, and I refused to cause more damage.
With regret settling in my bones, I sank deeper into my chair, choosing to shut my crying eyes to bask in the laughter of my sons, not knowing when or if I’d hear it again.
I sat next to Michael, adjusting my cufflinks, trying and failing to calm my rising anxiety.
I was unsure if I was overheating from the packed courtroom, my tight three-piece suit,orin direct retaliation to the inner turmoil choking me from the inside out.
Then it happened. The judge called my name.
I was suddenly a zombie, my body moving on autopilot as Michael guided me forward, past rows of public seating, when an instinctual spark hit me out of nowhere. My head snapped to the side, scanning the crowd, and my gaze collided with two sparkling blue orbs that I’d recognise anywhere.
