The courtroom smelled like old paper and cold tile. The kind of sterile that never felt clean.
I sat beside my lawyer while the judge reviewed documents that could rip Carla's rights to shreds.
Psychological profiles. Bank fraud reports. Immigration violations. Abandonment records. Max's pediatric history—signed by me. Photos of bruises she once left on her previous partners. Statements from hospital staff.
But nothing felt enough.
Because Carla was smart.
Manipulative. Charismatic. The kind of liar who believed her lies long enough to make others believe them too.
And now?
She was playing victim.
"Your honor," her attorney said, "this woman—this Jaimie—was the one who seduced my client's husband and stole her son."
I wanted to explode.
To flip the table.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExsSOiLwBe
To scream You weren't there when he cried in his sleep. You weren't there when he begged for bedtime stories or had fevers or drew his first crayon family and Jaimie was the mother.
But I bit my tongue.
Because rage wouldn't win this case.
Truth would.
The worst part of every night?
The silence.
After the meetings. The hearings. The back-and-forth of legal firepower... I'd return to my tiny rented flat. No Jaimie. No Max. Just the moonlight over a plain cot and my memories.
I missed her.
Not just physically.
But the way she filled a room with certainty.
The way she held my wrist when I doubted myself.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5sN1cKz2p
The way her eyes dared life to try and break her again.
Sometimes I caught myself reaching out across the bed, forgetting she wasn't there.
One night, I sat in bed, phone clutched tight, scrolling through our photos.
The one of her teaching Max to bake.
The one where she kissed my cheek during sunset at the Isabela farm.
The one where she sat at the piano in nothing but my shirt, playing Moon River with closed eyes.
God.
My whole body ached.
Not just from missing her—but from craving the way she made me feel alive.
I closed my eyes.
Her scent. Her fingers. Her lips against my jaw. Her soft laugh when I told her she was dangerous.
I wanted her so badly, it nearly broke me.
Not just in body.
But in soul.
And yet...
I stayed away.
Because this wasn't about what I wanted.
It was about keeping her and Max alive.
And until Carla was gone for good...
I had to be the villain.
Even if it killed me.
14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSN4u9fjNos
