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“What it means is that if he can claim you broke the contract by not having sex with him at any time that you knew for sure you weren’t pregnant, he can void the contract and you’d get nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing. No partnership and—”
“He wouldn't do that.” She knew him better than that, but a little voice whispered did she really? The man she thought she knew would’ve had no problem removing the monogamy clause. Hell, that man wouldn’t have put it in the contract in the first place. “But if he does, he’d still have to pay child support, right?”
“No.”
“What do you mean, no? It’s his kid even if we get divorced.”
“He won’t have to pay child support because he’ll have full custody. He doesn’t have to fulfill his end of the deal since you broke the contract. However, you’d still pay your part, and your part is the child.”
“Excuse me.” Alison’s stomach lurched, everything heading up her throat. She ran out of the office and to the restroom. She flung open the door and dropped to her knees in front of the toilet. All the bile and hate and hurt spilling from her until her body shook with nothing left to give.
She’d been so gullible. She’d known he was ruthless, but she’d thought he’d be different with her. She stood and rinsed her mouth. She was beyond stupid. He’d even told her that they’d never been friends. He must be laughing at her naivete every day. That ended now. When her pregnancy test came back negative, she was leaving—the contract, his house and her job. She walked back to the office. Terry and Dan were both still there, looking uncomfortable.
“I'm sorry.” She sat back down.
“No, don’t be.” Dan handed her a water.
“Is there anything I can do?” She took a sip of the water, and it burned her raw throat.
“There are some things we can try,” said Terry. “But if you want me to represent you, I need to tell you that I know Harker on a personal level. We're more acquaintances than friends but I want you to know this before you decide.”
“How do you know him?”
“We belong to some of the same clubs.”
“Of course.” She remembered Richard asking Dan about Terry. “Why am I not surprised? You're a member of La Petite Mort Club.”
“Yes, as well as some other organizations. However, I've represented clients against other members of the Club. My loyalty is to my client.”
“Is there anything I can do to get out of this contract?”
“First, we wait to hear from your doctor. If you’re not pregnant, it’s simple. We can either cancel the contract and I’ll try to negotiate with Harker’s lawyer to get you some sort of partial payment, or we renegotiate.”
“And if I am?” She touched her stomach.
“Did you ever refuse to have relations with Harker when you knew for sure that you weren’t pregnant? So, right after your period.”
“No. We haven’t been married that long.”
“Then there’s nothing for you to worry about. He can’t claim that you broke the contract.”
“Oh…uhm.” Cold sweat broke out across her skin.
“Uhm? What does that mean?”
“On our wedding night…I didn’t actually refuse him, but we did…I mean we didn’t have sex.”
“Why not?”
“I…He got upset because I laughed at him. Not really at him…”
Terry’s eyes widened a bit. “That could be seen as hindering his…uhm…” He cleared his throat. “It could be an argument that you impeded his ability to proceed with the contract.”
“What if I searched for him but couldn’t find him because he’d left. He’d gone to La Petite Mort Club. I was more than willing to go forward with the contract.” The words were bitter in her mouth. She’d felt horrible about that night and the jerk had been setting her up.
