CHAPTER FOUR-ELENA’S POV
1091 Words
It had been seven days of running in circles, hitting walls that didn’t just exist, they actually moved.
Every door I tried to open slammed shut before I even touched the handle.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Elena… we can’t take this case.”
“You’re up against someone very powerful.”
“It’s in your best interest to settle privately.”
This was from different offices and different lawyers but always the same lame answer.
I walked out of another law firm, my hands clenched so tightly my nails bit into my palms. My chest felt tight like I was suffocating. It wasn’t just rejection anymore. It was worse.
I was being blocked.
Every single time I thought I had a chance, something happened. Appointments got canceled last minute. Calls went unanswered. One lawyer had even pulled me aside, lowering his voice like he was afraid the walls were listening.
“You don’t understand who you’re dealing with,” he had said quietly. “This isn’t just a custody case.”
I did understand. That was the problem. Adrian wasn’t just fighting me. He was trying to corner me.
I stepped out into the hot afternoon sun, my head spinning. My phone buzzed in my hand. It was an unknown number.
I froze. Then I answered it.
“Hello?” It was silent. My grip tightened around my phone. “Who is this?”
A soft breath came through the line.
“Time is running out, Elena.”
My heart dropped and I hung up immediately.
My hands shook as I shoved the phone into my bag. He wasn’t even pretending anymore. He didn’t need to. He knew I was drowning.
******
By the time I got home, my nerves were stretched thin.
I pushed the door open quietly, my eyes going straight to Noah. He sat on the floor, surrounded by his toys, completely unaware of the storm swallowing us whole.
Relief hit me so hard my knees almost buckled.
He was still here.
“Mommy!” he beamed, jumping up and running toward me.
I caught him instantly, pulling him into my arms, holding him tighter than I should have.
“I missed you,” I whispered into his hair.
“Mommy, you’re squeezing me,” he giggled.
I forced myself to loosen my grip, brushing his curls back gently. “Sorry, baby.”
But I didn’t let go completely.
A sharp knock echoed through the apartment. My entire body went still.
Noah looked up at me, curious. “Someone’s here.”
My stomach twisted as I let out a deep sigh.
Not again. I thought to myself.
I moved slowly, placing Noah behind me without thinking. My heart pounded louder with each step toward the door.
I opened the door as I saw Adrian standing there, again. He looked terrifyingly calm.
My chest tightened. “You need to stop coming here,” I said immediately, my voice sharp.
His eyes flickered past me briefly and landed on Noah. Something dangerous flashed in them before he looked back at me.
“We need to talk.”
“No.” It came out fast and firm.
He didn’t react, argue or push. That alone sent a chill down my spine.
“This isn’t a request,” he said quietly.
My pulse spiked. “I don’t care,” I shot back. “You can’t just…”
“Elena.”
My name cut through me and somehow… it made me stop.
“I gave you a week to decide what to do,” he continued, his tone calm, almost indifferent. “You used it going to different firms to look for a way to fight me.”
My stomach dropped. He knew. Of course he knew. Every lawyer. Every call. Every step I took.
“I tried,” I snapped. “Unlike you, I don’t have people terrified of me.”
A faint smile touched his lips. “That was never going to work,” he said.
Rage burned through me. “Then why give me the time to look for a way to fight it?!”
“To let you understand that I am not one to toil with. Maybe you must have forgotten.”
The words hit harder than anything else. My chest tightened painfully.
Adrian stepped closer. “You’re out of options,” he said simply.
My fingers curled into fists. “I will never let you take him.”
His gaze held mine, unshaken. “You don’t get to decide that.”
The ground felt like it was slipping beneath me again. “I am his mother,” I said, my voice breaking despite my effort to stay strong.
“And I am his father.” The quiet certainty in his voice made something inside me crack.
Silence stretched between us. Then Adrian reached into his coat. My body tensed instantly but instead of documents….he pulled out a single neatly folded sheet.
“Sign this,” he said, holding it out.
I didn’t take it. “What is it?”
“It is a solution for both of us.”
My chest tightened. “I don’t want your solutions.”
“You do,” he said calmly. “You just don’t like them.”
I snatched the paper from his hand before I could stop myself. My eyes scanned the page. The words hit me like a physical blow.
Contract of Marriage.
My vision blurred. “No.” The word came out instantly but Adrian didn’t react.
“This would end the custody case,” he said.
I shook my head, stepping back. “No. No, you don’t get to..this isn’t..”
“You can stay in his life.”
My breath caught and all the words died in my throat. He watched me carefully.
“You can live with us,” he continued. “And raise him and you don’t get to lose him.”
My heart pounded violently. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real.
“But,” he added. The word sliced through everything.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
“You are my wife.” Adrian straightened slowly. Then his eyes returned to mine.
“You have forty-eight hours to sign it,” he said calmly.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“After that…” he paused. “I will stop asking and take what’s mine.”
The words hung in the air like a blade over my throat. Then he turned and walked away.
I stood there, frozen, my body shaking violently.
- Writer
