Page 117 of Vows In Corruption

The red scratch mark just below his left eye and the folder that he has in his hand. Without thinking, I close the distance us and start surveying him.

“What happened to your face?” I place finger slightly on the scratch and it causes him to flinch.

“It’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing.”

He places his hand over mine and pulls my touch away from his face but doesn’t let go of me.

“Ella, I’m fine. The scratch doesn’t matter. What I have I my hand does.”

He holds up the folder that’s in his other hand and my eyes travel over to it. When he hands it over to me, I’m hesitant to open it, but I do anyway.

The second that I read the words at the top of the first page, a wave of confusing travels over me.

“A custody declaration?” I ask, look up at Bennett for answers.

“Keep reading.”

With uncertainty, I do with he says and read through the file that he just handed me.

It’s paperwork citing that Josiah Sinclair has not only giving me full custody of Charlie but he has also giving up his parental rights and made me her legal guardian.

Tears escape from my eyes as I put together what this means.

Josiah isn’t going to come after us anymore and there is no more threats of him taking Charlie away from me.

I never thought that this would happen, yet I’m holding the evidence in my hands.

But how?

I look up at the only man that can give me the answer.

“How did you do this?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just accept that it’s done and that you will never have to deal with Josiah every again. Charlie is yours and it will stay that way.”

Tears run down my face and he reaches over and wipes them away.

This man has really made all my dreams come true.

There are three words that I want to say to him, but I keep them inside. I’m not ready for those words to come out, even if my heart is screaming for them.

Instead, I say two other words that I truly mean and will mean until the end of time.

“Thank you.”

30

BENNETT

Iknock on the door of the house with the perfect manicured lawn and I swear I could hear the anger that is swimming through my body seeping through my fist as it meets the wood.

But a hard knock isn’t enough to get the attention of whoever is in the house, so I decide to kick my foot against the woods instead and as soon as I do, I hear footsteps on the other side.

As the door opens, I’m met with the stench of alcohol mixed together with body oder and urine. I guess I know what this mother fucker did with the million dollars he received a three months ago. He wasted it on booze instead of bettering his life.

Pity.

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