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CHAPTER 84
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A vow of hate CHAPTER 85
CUSTODY BATTLE: DAY 1.CHRISTIANThe sterile and stale air of the courtroom pressed down on me like a physical weight. My shirt collar felt impossibly tight and the scratchy fabric mirrored the agitation clawing at my insides. I couldn’t believe I was sitting here in this courtroom, with strangers who just wanted to have a juicy bite of some gossip sitting behind me. I couldn’t believe the fate of my child’s future lay in the hands of a scrawny old looking judge and the jury who knew nothing about our lives. But the most annoying part of it all was the amount of media attention this case was getting— more articles and think pieces were released each day, and an army of paparazzi and press waited outside the courthouse, ready to pounce once we were done.Across the aisle, Chloe sat composed. She looked unbothered and poised, and that did nothing to soothe the churning in my gut. If anything, it made me mad. Beside me, Hazel’s hand trembled in my grip. Her knuckles were white against th
A vow of hate CHAPTER 86
CUSTODY BATTLE— DAY 2.HAZELThe next couple weeks that followed after our first court date were hell, to say the least. Text messages and calls from random numbers blew our phones up. It was so bad that we had to change our phone numbers. We barely left the house for fear of being pounced upon by the press, and Christian even worked from home. But thankfully, we had a great support system. Christian’s entire family drove to our home almost every single day, as did Olivia. I called mom and explained what was happening, and why I wouldn’t be visiting her as often as I usually did. She tried to make me feel better, but there wasn’t much she could do from the hospital, and that was one more thing I cried myself to sleep about. Sarah helped fill in the void a little bit though— my mother in law was truly the best and I couldn’t be more grateful. Overall, we just tried to make things as normal as possible at home for Valerie, so she wouldn’t notice a thing. Christian even got her the tiny
A vow of hate CHAPTER 87
Days bled into weeks, the sterile air of the courtroom became a constant companion. If I thought the first day was bad, it was ten times worse now. Christian and I endured witness testimonies, closing arguments, and the agonizing wait for the jury's deliberation. Each day, we returned home, barely able to breathe till the next court hearing. We tried to go back to the normal routine of thing, but it was hard. I sneaked out a few times to the hospital and sat and talked with mom. And most importantly, we showered Valerie with all our attention. Sleep came in fitful bursts, haunted by dreams of her tear-stained face.Finally, the day arrived. A nervous tension filled the courtroom as the jury filed in, their faces unreadable. Judge Moore rapped her gavel, her voice firm as she got straight down to business. "Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict?"The foreman, a middle-aged woman with kind eyes, rose. "We have, Your Honor," she announced. I felt a bead of sweat roll down my
A vow of hate CHAPTER 88
I dashed into the hospital still dressed in the black dress I had worn to court. “Hazel, slow down or you’re going to fall.” Christian warned behind me, increasing his pace to match mine.I ignored him and headed straight for the elevator. I had tunnel vision right now and the only thing I saw was my mother. I could barely even hear Christian or any other sound around me. It all became background noise. Mom wasn’t in her room. I looked around frantically. “Where is she?”“Hazel…” Christian tried to pull me to him but I pushed away from him.“Where is she? Oh my God. What if… what if she’s—”“Hey, let’s calm down okay,” Christian said, trying to pacify me. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”“I don’t even know what’s going on… why would they keep me in the dark like this?” My heart was beating extra hard, and a thousand scenarios crossed my mind. My blood ran cold, and I started shivering. If my mom wasn’t in her room, it only meant one thing right? I recalled the urgency in
A vow of hate CHAPTER 89
MARKI tapped my finger impatiently on the table as I scoured the small cafe. I checked the Rolex on my wrist.“Damn it,” I cursed under my breath. This was what I hated about women, especially women like her. I hated waiting. I sipped on my drink and waited for ten more minutes before I finally spotted her from the large window highlighting from her car. She drove a Benz and dressed like those rich who did pilates girls did. She had an air of arrogance and entitlement to her. She looked like she was a bitch. And that was exactly what I was going for.Jackpot.“Mark Thompson?” She asked as she finally stood in front of me.I raised an eyebrow in response, gesturing about the empty cafe. She rolled her eyes and gingerly placed her birkin down on the table and took a seat. “You didn’t order me a drink?” She asked with her perfect bitchy tone— just as I had expected.I folded my arms across my chest and matched her energy perfectly. “I didn’t know what kind of drink you like.” I lied, b
A vow of hate CHAPTER 90
2 WEEKS LATERCHRISTIANThis entire day had been weird. I had left home in a positive mood today. I’d had breakfast with my wife and our daughter, and drove the office after peppering a thousand sloppy kisses on Valerie’s face— Grandma kisses as she called it. But once I stepped foot into the building, it was like the veil of happiness had been lifted, and in its place, was a looming darkness. Stupid things kept going wrong, things that shouldn’t be wrong at all; like the photocopying machines not working, my secretary running into the office a late and sweaty mess, or the fact that the clients I was supposed to be meeting today had randomly decided to just not show up. I looked at the spreadsheets in front of me and groaned internally. I just wanted to be home with my family. My phone rang with a loud shrill. I looked at it in annoyance, contemplating whether I should answer it or not. Finally, with a sigh, I reached over and answered."Christian Walker speaking," I said, my voice m
A vow of hate CHAPTER 91
CHRISTIAN My wife remained a huddled figure on the bed. I moved beside her but somehow still felt so far away. Her words cut deep but I understood why she had said them. She was grieving, even if there wasn’t a single teardrop on her face. I thought about Sandra– I thought about her peaceful and nurturing energy and all the time we had spent together. She would no longer be confused or agitated. She would no longer be in pain or be trapped within the confines of this room anymore. Sandra had always said she wanted to be a bird, to spread her wings and fly wherever the wind carried her. She would be able to do that now. But while that thought was a bit comforting, the weight of all the other things she would no longer be able to do was much more daunting. Especially the fact that she would no longer be able to tell me stories of the woman who was now grieving for her. Hazel didn’t want me there, but at the same time, I knew she didn’t want to be alone. And I couldn't bear to leave he
A vow of hate CHAPTER 92
The house was quiet. Hazel had once again gone to bed after another night of silence. She hadn’t eaten much dinner– that had become the norm recently. She barely touched her food, barely drank anything that was offered to her. She answered my questions with a soft hum or barely decipherable shakes of her head when i tried to engage her in any kind of conversation. She didn’t say a word to Tina, and that was saying a lot because they used to spend hours together just gossiping about nothing and everything at the same time. The only time I saw a ghost of a smile on her lips– albeit a fake one– was when she was talking to or playing with our daughter. She would try to keep up with Valerie’s young and bubbly energy for as long as she could, but she always gave up after a few hours, and when I saw that her fake smiles were beginning to be a little harder to keep up, I would gently steer Valerie away from her. And everytime, she would slowly go up the stairs to her room without so much as a
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