Page 70 of Wandering Closer

“I’m doing alright. I have Thoren here with me. What’s going on?”

“Well, there’s good news and bad news. Good news, we have a court date on November 18th, about two and a half months from now. My team has been combing through texts and emails, as well as paperwork, and we have some pretty damning evidence against them. I never make a guarantee, but I would be shocked if we didn’t win this case. I am pushing for the CEO to step down, but I doubt that will happen. We ran some numbers and are aiming for a three million dollar payout, and again, I would be surprised if you don’t get close to that.”

I slump into the corner chair, trying to take in her words. Shadow’s nose bumps my knee, my sweet girl always being there for me. My hand delves into her fur, letting her calmness wash over me as she rests her head on my lap. I’m probably going towin this lawsuit. Knowing I was wronged and validating that are two different things. Thoren’s soft eyes are trained on me when I look up, but his hands are white knuckled in his lap, waiting for the bad news.

“Now for the bad news, which I suppose could be good, too, if you choose to look at it that way. In the month that I’ve had your phone, Tyler has reached out twenty-two times. Fourteen texts and eight phone calls where he left some pretty demeaning and threatening voicemails. I can’t tell you what to do, but as your lawyer, I am going to kindly suggest that you get a restraining order against him and that we open a criminal suit against him as well.”

Thoren is up and out of his chair before she even finishes speaking, pacing the room as she talks. “Are you worried about him coming here and hurting her?”

“No, I don’t think that will happen, but we have enough from these messages to do both those things. In the last voicemail, he mentioned sending something to her, but didn’t say what. I would like to protect Lily’s peace and keep him from harassing her any further.”

There’s a part of me that wants to know exactly what he said, but the other part is glad I don’t. How I spent two years with such a cruel and callous man, I will never know. Unease is written all over Thoren’s face. He’s by my side in an instant, grabbing my free hand with his as he strokes a hand down my face.

“It’s up to you, baby, but I think we should do it. I can call my dad and my parents can meet you at the police station to file the report. I also think you should consider the lawsuit. If you want him personally to pay, this is the best way.”

I can see his anger brimming just below the surface, and I get it. I feel that same anger at the audacity of Tyler to keep trying to mess with my life when I only ever loved him. Yes, Itold his wife that he was cheating on her, but if he didn’t want her to know, then he shouldn’t have done it. From her response, though, I was under the assumption that she already knew, or at least suspected.

Tyler took something from me by making me the other woman. I won’t allow him to take my peace now that I have finally found it. For most of my life, I have allowed myself to live as a half authentic version of myself. I saw the box that my parents, professors, coworkers, and men set out for me to fit into, and I molded myself to fit into it for them. The parts of me that didn’t fit, I tried to hide away for so long. It wasn’t until I started writing my first book that I allowed myself to stop hiding who I really was and step outside that box.

I am not as cutthroat and heartless as my career sometimes demanded me to be. I am not the career focused woman my mom wanted from me, or the soft-spoken and obedient woman Tyler wanted. My desires lie outside of being materialistic and the societal expectations of women. I don’t want the fancy house and car with the big career and family on the side. I desire a quiet life in a small town, with a love unlike any other. To be surrounded by friends and family that truly want to support each other through life and to pursue my passion of writing, even if it doesn’t make me rich. It is time for me to fight for that woman.

If Michele were here, she would tell me to say screw that guy and do everything in my power to make his life hell for what he put me through. I look up to her in so many ways, but especially for her ability to be unapologetically herself. Channeling my inner Michele, I put my metaphorical foot down.

“I would like to do both. What do my next steps need to look like?”

Thoren’s eyes shine with pride, his shoulders slumping with relief over my choice. Although I didn’t do it for him, I’m gladhe’s getting some comfort from it. He has been my stronghold through everything; taking on all my pain, sadness, and anger from the situation and never once complaining about the weight it has put on him. He is my constant, my steady Oak tree standing through the whipping winds and pouring rain. With his hand, warm and reassuring on my thigh as he kneels before me, his eyes filled with a tenderness that makes my heart swell, I know. I am so deeply in love with Thoren James.

“I will send you an email as soon as we get off the phone. It will have everything you need for the police to start a restraining order. If you can send me the name of the officer you speak with, I can make sure he puts a rush on it and we get it signed ASAP. As for the lawsuit, I will get everything together and have it ready so he can be served with that and the restraining order at the same time. I bet I can make sure it happens at work in front of everyone. God, I love poetic justice,” she chuckles, and I can’t help but agree with her.

Kinsley promises to keep me in the loop with everything before letting me go. Thoren’s lifting me from the chair and smashing me into his broad chest before I can put the phone down. I sink into his embrace, soaking in his strength and heady amber scent. He lifts up my dress until his rough hands are on my skin as he wraps me tighter to him, letting his fingers trail along my sides as he squeezes. His chest rumbles with his deep laugh as his touch causes goosebumps to erect over my skin.

“Sorry, just needed to feel you. I’m so damn proud of you, baby.”

“I’m scared,” I admit against his shirt.

“Yet you did it, anyway. You are so strong, Lily. I will be by your side through every step. You can do it on your own, but anytime your fear tries to break through, just look to your side and I will be there.” He unwraps himself from me, smoothing mydress back down as he goes. “I’m going to call my parents. Are you still hungry?”

I nod, scooting the chair closer to his desk. Shadow follows me closely, not moving more than a few inches from my side. I pull out the sandwiches and the little bag with slices of turkey I had added for my best girl. She gently takes them from my fingers before gobbling them whole.

Thoren relays the gist of the phone call with Kinsley to his father before asking him if he will meet me at the police station in an hour.

“You can’t come with me?” I ask when he hangs up.

“If you need me there, I will be,” he says, unwrapping his lunch. “My parents will be there either way.”

“No, it’s okay. It should be a quick and easy thing, and it’s not like you can do anything.”

His eyes hold mine, both of us still feeling rattled. “Thank you for bringing me lunch, and getting Shadow a treat. I’m sorry it got derailed.”

“Not your fault, just another day with more of my baggage.”

He takes a bite, chewing as he looks down at the desk. When he swallows it, he grabs a water bottle from the bag to wash it down with. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I have strong shoulders, and I can unpack like nobody's business. Your baggage is nothing, sweetheart.”

Tears prick at my eyes as Thoren once again chooses me. After a lifetime of feeling like a burden, a second choice, a thought thrown in at the end, Thoren is showing me that I am his first choice. His only choice.

We eat our lunch in companionable silence as I replay my conversation with Kinsley. I still don’t know what he would send me unless he has similar thoughts as Michele and glitter bombs or a bag of dicks are what he has in mind. That isn’t his style, though. He has to be in control, the one with all the answers,the biggest man in the room. I know he can’t stand the idea of someone fighting back against him, showing the small, insecure man he really is.

I toss our trash when we finish, grabbing my discarded purse. I’m ready to get this next part over with. I slip onto Thoren’s lap, snuggling into him one last time before I leave. He nuzzles into my neck, pressing his full lips to my sensitive skin there.

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