The Divorce Hearing
906 Words
Chapter Five: The Divorce Hearing
Weeks passed. Each day was another brick laid in the wall between Catherine and the life she once lived.
The press had quieted—somewhat. Her parents’ legal and PR teams worked overtime to contain the narrative, while Catherine focused on healing, parenting, and reclaiming her name.
Today, the final thread of her old life would be cut.
The divorce hearing.
Catherine stood tall at the center of the courtroom, a cream blazer hugging her figure like armor. Her posture was dignified, her face calm—but her eyes? Her eyes were war.
Across from her, Ronan sat rigid in a charcoal suit beside his lawyer. He couldn’t look her in the eyes. Michelle wasn’t in the room—whether by shame or strategy, Catherine didn’t care. It didn’t matter. Today wasn’t about her.
It was about truth.
The judge, a graying woman with stern eyes, flipped through the case file before addressing the courtroom.
“Let us proceed with Case 517: Alaric vs. Alaric. Grounds for divorce are cited as irreconcilable differences, betrayal of trust, and emotional endangerment. Child custody and guardianship issues will be determined before the court.”
Catherine’s lawyer, Ms. Ramirez, stood.
“Your Honor, we are seeking a full dissolution of marriage, sole custody of the biological child, and full guardianship of the second minor—an infant boy abandoned by Ms. Reyes and raised for a year by Mrs. Alaric even knowing he is not her biological son.”
The judge raised a brow. “And what is the position of the defendant?”
Ronan’s lawyer stood. “My client, Mr. Ronan Alaric, is requesting joint custody of both children. While he acknowledges his past misjudgments, he believes that denying him access to his son would be a grave disservice to the child.”
Catherine's eyes flashed.
Her voice rang out, calm but razor-sharp. “He’s asking for custody of a child he used as a weapon.”
“Objection—” Ronan’s lawyer began.
“Sustained,” the judge said, but looked at Catherine with sympathy. “Mrs. Alaric, you may elaborate—briefly.”
Catherine stood. Her hands were steady, but her voice was thick with the weight of everything she had carried.
“For over a year, I treated that little boy as mine. I nursed him. Sang him to sleep. I gave him my name, my heart, my everything. Even though I knew he was the product of an affair until after, I had already become his mother in every way that mattered.”
She looked over at Ronan, who squirmed in his seat.
“Even after the truth came out, I didn’t abandon him. But Michelle did. She walked away. Ronan stood by her in court—protected her—while I was left to clean up the mess. Not just legally. Emotionally.”
Her lawyer nodded. “Your Honor, we have evidence of Ms. Reyes signing away her parental rights in a sworn affidavit. Mr. Torres did not contest Mrs. Torres’s guardianship when the children were placed under her temporary care by Child Welfare. He supported it in writing, yet now demands shared custody.”
The judge flipped to the page. “I see that here.”
Catherine took a deep breath and continued.
“I don’t want revenge. I don’t want to keep Ronan away out of spite. But I cannot—will not—let him or that woman influence my children’s lives. Not after what they did.”
The judge turned to Ronan.
“Mr. Alaric, is it true that you refused to press charges against Ms. Reyes and testified in her favor despite video evidence of her bribing a nurse to falsify hospital records?”
Ronan looked pale. “I… I did what I thought was right at the time.”
“And do you believe Mrs. Alaric was emotionally unfit to know the truth about her child’s birth?”
Ronan hesitated. Then, softly, “No.”
“Then why did you testify otherwise?”
“I was afraid,” he admitted. “Afraid she’d leave. Afraid I’d lose everything.”
There it was.
Catherine closed her eyes briefly. Coward.
The judge sighed and folded her hands.
“In consideration of the facts presented—the abandonment of the minor child by his biological mother, the continued care and stability provided by Mrs. Alaric, and Mr. Alaric’s willful concealment of a child’s identity and protection of the party responsible—this court finds that it is not in the best interest of the children to grant joint custody.”
Ronan’s head snapped up.
“Mrs. Catherine Alaric is hereby granted full legal and physical custody of both children. Mr. Ronan Alaric may file for supervised visitation in the future, pending psychological review and a child welfare recommendation.”
Ronan slumped in his seat.
“And regarding the divorce,” the judge continued, “the petition for immediate dissolution is granted on grounds of marital betrayal, emotional cruelty, and willful negligence.”
A sharp bang of the gavel.
“It is done.”
Ronan stared at Catherine, hollow.
“I never meant to lose you.”
Catherine looked him dead in the eye.
“No, Ronan. You never meant to fight for me. And that’s worse.”
She turned, the courtroom spinning behind her, and walked out the doors with her head held high.
- Writer
