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“What in the fuck?” Robert said as Judge Patterson glanced over and gave a warning to him.
“I will hold you in contempt of court, Dr. Jackson, if another outburst is heard from you.”
Yes. Please do show your true colors in front of the honorable Judge, Robert.
Judge Patterson raised her eyebrow and looked at Robert’s lawyer and then me. “How are we just now finding out this provision? This would have saved a lot of time.”
Standing, Robert’s lawyer said, “The trust documents were reviewed by my paralegal. I’m not sure how she missed this.”
Judge Patterson’s eyes about popped out of her head as she stared at Robert’s lawyer. Shaking her head, she turned to me. Attempting to hold my smile back, I cleared my throat.
“As the court knows, I was newly assigned to Mrs. Jackson’s case. After going over the documents numerous times, it was clear there were some missing. Those missing documents arrived only last week.”
Taking in a deep breath and letting it out sharply, Judge Patterson nodded her head and said, “I see. Well, clearly it would have been nice if someone had noticed this major section in the trust fund documents was missing.”
Nodding my head, I said, “I agree ma’am.”
“Continue on, Mr. Walker.”
“Yes, your honor,” I said as I reached for another envelope.
Judge Patterson leaned back in her chair, as if waiting for the show to continue on.
“We’d like to go ahead and address the accusation of my client, Mrs. Jackson, having an affair with Jeremy Hines. I have here a sworn affidavit from Mr. Hines stating he has not seen Mrs. Jackson in over five years and has been living in the United Kingdom with his partner, Joshua Rimm, where they are raising a daughter together. He has stated that at no time in the years he has known Mrs. Jackson, have they ever engaged in any sexual conduct.”
Robert stood up. “This is bullshit! They fucked in college! I know they did.”
Judge Patterson slammed her gavel so hard that it echoed through the courtroom and Sierra let out an audible gasp. Pointing to Robert, Judge Patterson said, “Sit down, Dr. Jackson. One more outburst from you and you will be held in contempt.”
Turning around, I looked at Robert’s lawyer who glared at me. Turning to Robert he whispered something, nodded his head and then stood and addressed the judge. “Your honor. My client would like a moment to speak with his wife in private.”
Judge Patterson looked at me and I shook my head no. “My client wishes to proceed. This trial has been pushed back multiple times and she longs to move on with her life.”
“With you!” Robert called out. Judge Patterson glared at Robert.
“Mr. Walker, do you have anything else to present since it seems you’re on a roll this afternoon?”
Giving her a smile, I walked back to the table and looked at my father. He sat back in his chair happy as a clam, while Sierra sat there with a blank expression on her face.
Sifting through the papers, I pulled out the last two bits of ammo I had. The affairs. Sierra sat up taller and folded her hands across her lap as she gave me a smile. Glancing over to my father, he nodded.
Turning to the front of the courtroom I held up the first piece of paper. “I have here in my possession a sworn affidavit from a forensic accountant who went through the last three years of Dr. and Mrs. Jackson’s bank statement. The statement states Dr. Jackson was slowly draining the joint account he and Mrs. Jackson shared and depositing it into an alternative funding account. This account is considered a part of the marital assets.”
Robert leaned over and began talking to his lawyer who kept nodding his head.
“Your honor, I also have sworn affidavits from two women who previously worked at the same hospital as Dr. Jackson, stating they both had sexual relationships with Dr. Jackson while he was married to my client.”
Judge Patterson motioned for the affidavits. Reading over them, she set them down and cleared her throat. “Mr. Walker, is your client going to be asking for her portion of these marital assets?”
“No, your honor. My client only wishes to be granted the divorce and is waiving all rights to her portion of the marital assets.”
Nodding her head, Judge Patterson, said, “Fine. I’m ready to make my ruling.”
Everyone stood as I heard Robert behind me whispering frantically to his lawyer.
“I hereby rule in favor of Mrs. Jackson and grant her divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. No additional compensation will be granted to either party.”
Hitting the gavel again, it echoed through the courtroom as Robert stood up. “Wait. No wait.” Turning to Sierra, Robert said, “Sierra. We can make this work! Why are you throwing our marriage away?”
Robert’s lawyer got Robert to settle down as the judge left the room.
My father clapped his hands and then pulled me in for a hug. “Damn good job, Aaron. I’m proud of you, son.”
Smiling, I nodded my head. “I learned from the best.”
Turning to look at Sierra, she was sitting back down with a stunned look on her face. Sitting down next to her, I took her hand in mine. “It’s over, Sierra. You’re free of him and he isn’t getting a damn thing from you.”
Turning her head slowly, Sierra said, “It was too easy. That was too easy. I mean . . . you just walked in and rattled off some information . . . and then . . . it was done.”
Laughing, I said, “I told you I was the best lawyer in Austin. He will never bother you again, Sierra.”
“It’s over? I mean. We’re divorced?”
Holding back my desire to lean over and kiss her, I nodded my head and whispered, “It’s over, baby.”
Sierra stood up and turned to my father. Taking her into his arms he hugged her and whispered something into her ear that caused her to start laughing. Turning to me, Sierra threw herself into my body and held onto me for dear life.
Whispering in my ear, Sierra said, “Thank you, Aaron. Thank you so much.”
Closing my eyes, I held her tight. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you, Sierra.”
When I let Sierra go, I turned to see Robert glaring at us. Before I knew what was happening, Robert made his way over to Sierra and grabbed her by the arm.
“You’re mine, Sierra and I’m not going to let you walk away from our marriage like this.”
My father grabbed my arm and held me back. “Aaron, let her handle it.” Glancing at my father, I knew he was right. Turning back to them I took in a deep breath and held it. I wanted to pound the hell out of Robert.
Sierra grabbed Robert’s hand and pushed it away. “You are nothing to me, Robert. Nothing. Go find your whore now and move on with your life. I fully intend on moving on with mine and you are not a part of it.”
Robert stood there stunned. Turning on his heels, he quickly left the courtroom.
Sierra took a few moments to get herself together as my father let me go. Turning to Ryn and Azurdee, Sierra smiled. “It’s time to celebrate!” she said as she hugged Ryn and Azurdee and began making her way out of the courtroom.
Gathering up my files, my father took me by the arm. “Aaron, something is not sitting right with me.”
After placing the last file in my briefcase, I looked at my father with a slack expression. “What do you mean?”
Shaking his head, my father let out a frustrated sigh. “He walked away too easily.”
Pulling my head back, I pushed my eyebrows together and said, “Because he knew he lost, Dad. He had nothing, and with the additional affairs being brought to light, he didn’t have a leg to stand on.”
Pushing his hand through his hair, my father looked around the courtroom as if searching for answers.
“No, I mean he walked away from Sierra too easily just then. He clearly realized right at the end the mistake he made by cheating. Do you really think he’s going to walk away from her just like that, after that outburst?”
Tightening
my hands into fists, I forced myself to loosen them. “I think he was pissed he lost, Dad. He’s pissed because I think he thought he was going to get the money and Sierra.”
Shaking his head, my father wore a worried expression. “I’m not sure, but I think now would be a great time for you to take some time off. Maybe go on a trip somewhere and properly ask Sierra to marry you. I’ve seen too many cases where one of the spouses realizes the mistake that was made and they try to fix it. And by fix it, I’m not meaning in a good way, Aaron.”
My heart began to beat rapidly in my chest. “I’d love to do that, Dad.”
Placing his hand on my shoulder, he gave me a weak smile. “Keep your eyes on her, son. I have a feeling Dr. Jackson isn’t going to ride off into the sunset.”
Giving the side of my arm a light tap, my father turned and headed out of the courtroom. Leaving me standing there wondering if I had just woken up a sleeping beast.
ALMOST FOUR MONTHS HAD PASSED since the divorce trial. I hadn’t heard or seen Robert or Lisa since. The first few weeks after the trial, I found myself looking over my shoulder. Robert’s behavior rattled me, but Aaron assured me it was a man who had just had his balls busted and was pissed off.
Walking into the nursery, I glanced at the three newborns as they all slept peacefully. Never in my entire career had I walked into this room and felt the desire I had been feeling the last two months. I wanted a baby. Aaron’s baby.
