Page 46 of Give Me All Of You

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Baby, that’s not nothing. You over there looking like they’re ready to put my head on a chopping block. We’ll get together after the hearing tomorrow.”

“I’m scared,” I confessed.

“You have absolutely no reason to be scared. Everything will be fine. Trust me.” He placed a kiss on my lips and finished eating. Tomorrow would be here before I knew it, and I was dreading it.

∞∞∞

When Keith saw Hassan come into court with me and sit next to me, you could see the fire in his eyes and the heat radiating off of him. Journei stuck her tongue out at him and that made it worse. The icing on the cake, though, was Kari being there to witness Hassan escort me inside with his hand on the small of my back. Both of our parents were here and so wasRakeem. The children were at daycare. I asked Stephanie could Peace come just for the day, and she didn’t hesitate to allow it. The judge finally came inside, and Keith’s lawyer started his drawn out opening statement.

“Your Honor, My client, Mr. Bryers, is suing Ms. Malone for sole custody of their daughter, Infiniti Bryers. My client states that Ms. Malone doesn’t have the means to take care of the minor child. She resides in an unsafe neighborhood and only has a part-time job. Not only does Ms. Malone lack the capability to care for the child, but she is employed by a known cartel and her boyfriend is an associate of such. Mr. Bryers is seeking sole custody of the child, and he wants Ms. Malone to relinquish her rights to him and his wife.” I looked at Hassan when she said that because that wasn’t in the original paperwork.

“He can’t do that,” I whimpered.

“Shhh. Calm down, baby. Let Eric handle it.”

I tried to regulate my breathing as I shot Keith a menacing look. He returned my glare with a wink that made me want to throw up.

“Mr. Levey, do you have anything to say to say about these claims on the behalf of your client?” he asked Eric.

“I do, Your Honor.” He started flipping through his folder before he began speaking. “Your honor, all these claims against my client are false. She is very capable of taking care of her daughter. She’s been doing it without the help of Mr. Bryers since the child was born. I have sign affidavits from her daycare provider that state that Mrs. Ashby is the only parent that pays for daycare expenses. I have receipts and bank statements from both Mrs. Ashby and Mr. Bryers and there are no transactions to back up his statements, but my client has receipts showing purchases for a small child.”

“Mrs. Ashby? She’s not married!” Keith blurted out.

“Order!” The judge banged her gavel. “Continue counsel.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. Like I was saying, Mrs. Ashby has everything that she needs to take care of her child. She also has the help of her husband, his family and hers to continue to support them. Here are her bank statements and receipts.” He handed the bailiff the papers.

“Excuse me, Your Honor, but my client knew nothing of a marriage and lying under oath is punishable by contempt of court,” Keith’s lawyer argued.

“Marriage certificates are public information, but I have their marriage license right here, Your Honor.” He handed the certificate over. “And since they want to bring up lying, why not ask why Mr. Bryers lied about his age to a twenty-two-year-old young woman when he was already forty-one and married?” Eric smirked.

Keith’s lawyer’s face was red as fire.

“Also, since Mr. Bryers is a very well established thoracic surgeon, it should be more than fair that he contributes to the child’s well-being by paying Mrs. Ashby thirty-five percent of his salary monthly, retroactive to her birth.”

By the time Eric was done with Keith, you could see the anguish on his face, and I was eating it up.

“Oh, and I also have text messages between Mr. Bryers and Mrs. Ashby, and it clearly states that he won’t be doing anything for the child until Mrs. Ashby decides to start back sleeping with him. Most of those texts came after she was married to Mr. Ashby.”

I held my breath as the judge looked over all the evidence that was presented to her. It only took a few minutes before she began speaking again.

“Mr. Byers, stand up,” she instructed. “If I must say so myself, you are one of the sorriest excuses of a man that has ever graced my courtroom. Most men that come in here are in fact jealous, but you are jealous and vindictive. You have the means to take care of your child because the mother no longer wants to be manipulated by you? Then you seem to be upset that she has a man that’s willing to be there for her and your daughter since you refuse to.”

“I don’t need him to be there for my daughter,” he interrupted.

“Oh, but you do. That child lives with that man.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“How would you when you’re only concerned about what Mrs. Ashby is doing?”

“Your Honor, I didn’t even know she married this man. How can the court let him around my child?”

“The same way you expected us to allow her around your wife that Mrs. Ashby didn’t know about.”

She looked through the papers again.

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