A little warning: things get kind of rough at the end of this chapter. There is a bit of violence, nothing too critical, but it's a bit intense and the language is crude.
The dapper man standing before her made Olivia's confidence at winning her upcoming battle soar; he was undoubtedly handsome, with a smile that could charm the panties off of nuns, and his eyes showed off a determination that signaled he never, ever lost. It was exactly the kind of thing she would need in a lawyer, especially going up against whatever Edison had cooking up. He was a partner in the same firm Lauryn's lawyer had retired from years earlier and, coincidentally, a friend of a friend of Olivia's from college. His grey suit fit him perfectly and the colorful tie he sported made him seem relatable, like he was just a normal everyday guy as opposed to the vicious attorney people made him out to be. And Olivia had to admit, he didn't seem very vicious – a little flirty maybe, but nothing about him screamed danger. Perhaps it snuck up on you when you least expected it, in which case, she thought, perfect. She wouldn't rouse that sleeping snake until she really needed him to spring into action and bite Edison in the ass.
The lawyer straightened his tie and offered his hand over the large desk that separated them. "So are we in business, Mrs. Davis?"
She took his hand, wincing at his tight grip as he shook it. "Call me Olivia. And yes, Mr. Wright, I believe we are."
The charming smile he wore widened. "Good. In that case, you can call me Harrison. Now, we've got a lot to discuss and I believe that the sooner we do it, the better," he said his smile dropping significantly and his tone evening out. He effortlessly switched into business mode. "So let's get to it. We'll start with finances. How many bank accounts are there between the two of you?"
Olivia began to list them off the top of her head. "There's Edison's savings account, which is a joint account but no one touches it. It's for emergencies mostly. Then we have a smaller account that we both use for business transactions, Edison has another account, I have one that he puts money into every month or so, the kids each have a college savings account, and," she leaned forward, lowering her voice as if they weren't in a private office with a door big enough to mute the sounds of nuclear warfare, "I have another one in my maiden name. It's some money my grandparents left me and my royalty checks. Edison doesn't know about it, though."
Harrison lifted an eyebrow at her. "Alright. So you're pretty well-off then, financially independent?"
"Yes, of course I am. I like to be prepared for things, emergencies. If something ever happened to Edison or me, you know."
He nodded. "I don't think you're the type of woman to marry a man for money but I have to ask this. Are you looking to get a certain amount out of this agreement?"
"No," Olivia replied immediately, very sure of herself. "That's not what this is about. I'm not trying to get anything from him. I just want out."
"And you want your kids."
She looked at him oddly. "Well of course, who doesn't? I'm not going to try to steal them away from their father, if that's what you're implying. He has as much a right to see them as I do. But he works all of the time, and travels a lot. Two small children need a stable home with a parent who can be there for them more often."
Pulling a notebook from his desk drawer, Harrison began to scribble something down. "So we're talking joint custody, but you'll have them for a longer period of time." He looked up from the paper to meet her eyes. "It should be easy, Maryland has a soft spot for mothers. If he decides to contest the settlement we draft, that is."
"I'm just going to stop you right there. He's not going to want to sign it."
The lawyer sat back in his large leather chair, resting his elbows on the armrests and interlocking his finger below his chin. "In that case, this might be a bit more of a challenge than I expected. Maryland is a fault divorce state, meaning unless you can prove your husband has committed some kind of crime or broken your vows, you won't be able to get divorced immediately. In order to get a no-fault divorce, you'll have to live apart for a full year before the court will agree to it. The vibe I'm getting from you is that you want out of this marriage as soon as possible. So tell me, is there anything you've got on the illustrious Edison Davis that can be used to expedite this process?"
"Not exactly. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it turned out he had a woman waiting for him in each state, but I don't have anything to prove it. And he's never hit me or the kids." Olivia bit her lip nervously, averting her eyes. "There is something…"
"About you?" He didn't sound surprised, as if he had been expecting her to bring it up. "Yeah, you might want to tell me about that now."
"He's been on this thing recently about me being 'emotionally unstable' and trying to say I've been struggling with post-partum depression for a year. Which I'm not, at all, but he seems to think it will work if he brings it up, or at least make me want to give up." She sat up straighter, rolling her shoulders back. "I'm not going to, so he can try whatever he wants but it won't work."
Scribbling in his notebook once more, Harrison didn't look up from his paper when he asked her, "Anything else I should know about?"
Shock darted across Olivia's features, her body stiffening. She saw that Harrison noticed it from the corner of his eye, even when she tried to play it off.
"Olivia," he began sternly, "if we're going to do this, we have to work together. So I'm going to need you to tell me everything, because anything that he can use against you needs to be resolved before he gets the chance. Now, is there something else you need to tell me about?"
She looked at him dejectedly. "I slept with another guy. It was only once, but Edison found out about it."
"Have you seen him since?"
She considered lying but the look on his face let her know to do so would not be wise. "Yes."
"Is he the reason you want to get divorced?"
"No."
The expression on Harrison's face was unreadable and Olivia grew agitated watching him regard her. If he didn't believe her, would he refuse to help her anymore? She immediately felt stupid for what she had done with Fitz. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "Is this going to ruin things for me?"
"Under normal circumstances, almost definitely." A grin broke out on Harrison's face, a glimpse of the ruthless lawyer lying dormant peering through. "Luckily for you, you've got me as your lawyer. And I love a challenge."
"What do you think of this one?" Lauryn leaned over Olivia's shoulder, inspecting the listing her younger sister was indicating.
"In that neighborhood? Try again," Lauryn instructed, wrinkling her nose and returning to the kitchen sink where she resumed washing vegetables. "I'd advise you to stay nearby, so the kids still have familiar surroundings."
Olivia used her fingers to rapidly flip through the pages of the real estate magazine, watching the pictures go by in a blur. "I could rent a townhouse in another neighborhood for half the price of an apartment in Rockville," she groused, finding the section that listed apartments near her current neighborhood. "I don't need a doorman or a movie theatre. I just want three bedrooms, two baths, and space for an office. And I'd like it sooner rather than later."
Lauryn dropped the pepper she was rinsing onto a cutting board and began chopping. "So you'll really have to wait a year, huh?"
"It's a possibility," Olivia sighed. "Do you need some help with that?" At her sister's nod, she rose from the stool and grabbed a cucumber, peeling it over the sink. "Harrison says he can find a way around it, if that's what it comes down to."
"All you need is to get some dirt on Eddie."
"You know he hates it when you call him that."
"When have I ever cared about that man's feelings?" Lauryn scoffed, pushing the pepper aside and grabbing the newly peeled cucumber from her sister. "You should set him up, make him do something so dirty they'll rush to get you away from him."
Olivia's jaw dropped as she looked at her sister in disbelief. "I can't do that to him, Laurie," she insisted, but the thought stuck with her. "I can't, right? That would be wrong. It would be awful. Unforgivable. I'm not that kind of person."
"You might want to rethink that. What are the grounds for fault divorce again?"
Using her fingers to tick each one off, Olivia began to list them. "Desertion, cruelty, adultery – don't give me that look, Laurie – conviction of a crime and excessively vicious conduct."
"Those all sound pretty vague. Hand me the mixing bowl out of that cabinet, Liv." Olivia grabbed the large wooden bowl and set in on the counter, watching her sister begin to dump the salad fixings into it. "Excessively vicious conduct? Sounds rather objective to me. If he's ever yelled at you a little too loud, or grabbed you a bit too roughly, you can totally use that."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Olivia gazed wistfully out the tiny window above the kitchen sink, watching her children and her nephews chase each other around the backyard. "But like you said, it's all pretty objective. Meaning it's whatever the court wants it to be."
"Desertion, then. What are the details behind that one?"
"One spouse has to leave abruptly and without contact for a full year. Edison is gone eighty-five percent of the time but he calls, and he pays for stuff. And, most importantly, he comes home. So that wouldn't work."
"Check on the turkey, will you?" Lauryn waved a wooden spoon in the direction of the oven as she moved in the opposite direction, pulling pans of food from the refrigerator. "Then put these in to warm up. Anyway, what's your plan in the meantime?"
Bending over the open oven, Olivia shielded her eyes from the heat, using a hand towel she found on the counter to remove the turkey pan and inserting the indicated metal pans of macaroni and cheese and homemade rolls. "In the meantime, I'm going to move out so if I do end up having to wait the full year, I can get a head start. Then I'm going to find out exactly who Edison communicates with when he goes out of town."
"You think he's having sex with someone else?"
Olivia scoffed. "You think he's not? It's been almost two years since we've...touched each other at all, really. At first he was always bothering me to do it, and complaining about a deadly case of blue balls. Then one day he came back from a trip and instead of hopping into bed with me and whining about it, he just went to sleep. I thought maybe he was just coming to terms with it but, I don't know, I guess I realized that was rather unlikely."
"Are you gonna, like, hire a private investigator?" Lauryn questioned, putting the finishing touches on the salad.
"Something like that. I know a guy." Olivia smirked, turning away from the window. "Are you ready?"
Wiping her hands on a towel, Lauryn surveyed the kitchen. "Yeah, call 'em in. How did your mother-in-law feel about you not letting her see her precious grandbabies on Thanksgiving?"
Shrugging, Olivia raised the small window and called out to her oldest nephew. "Ray, bring everyone in. It's time for dinner." Disappointed groans were carried to the house on a passing breeze, and the kids began to trudge towards the door, Connor leading with a quick toddle towards his mother, latching onto her legs as soon as he made it to her. Olivia lifted him into her arms, turning back to her sister as the rest of the kids trickled in and began to shed their coats.
"I guess she'll just have to deal with it."
"Mommy, I want that one." Olivia looked down at her daughter and followed the child's wide eyed gaze to a Douglas fir that looked to be about thirteen feet tall.
"Try again, baby. Something a bit smaller," Olivia suggested, taking Avery's hand and leading her towards a patch of trees that would fit through their front door. "How about this one?" She extended a gloved hand to check the price tag on a more appropriately sized tree. "I like this one. It's nice and bright and full."
Avery pouted, crossing her arms difficultly in her padded pink coat. "That one is a close second."
Grinning, Olivia patted the little girl on the head. "Second best it is, then." She flagged down a sales guy who helped her load the tree onto the roof of her car, tying it down with string. After checking that it would hold for the ride, she loaded Avery into the backseat and turned the car towards home. "Are you excited to decorate the tree, Avi? It's your turn to put the angel on top this year."
"Can we have a Tinkerbell tree, Mommy?" she asked hopefully, rifling through a coloring book sitting on the seat.
"You know what, baby, I don't think your dad and brother would like that very much. How about we just have a colorful tree, like last year? And we'll go out and buy a Tinkerbell ornament just for you to put on."
"Okay," Avery replied, completely satisfied with the small offering. "Mommy, do we have to go back to Grandma and Grandpa's house soon?"
"No, sweetie, you guys are gonna stay at home with me and your dad. Were you having fun with Grandma and Grandpa?"
Avery made a face that Olivia caught in the rearview mirror. "No, it's boring there. I'm ready to come home."
Olivia began to smile a bit. She was happy that Edison had finally stopped trying to fight her about the kids, though hadn't budged on any of the other matters. It had a move of appeasement, if anything; something he thought would shut her up long enough to forget about everything else. For now she was keeping quiet, until she had a bit more to work with. She was starting to tour apartments in the area, and Harrison had been working diligently to draw the papers up. The estimation was that they would be ready to serve just after the new year, which was perfect. It gave Olivia enough time to figure out what to say to the kids, though she was mostly concerned about Avery's reaction. Connor wasn't old enough to understand much, yet.
They rode the rest of the way in near silence, listening to the hum of the motor and the quiet Christmas tune playing on the radio. Pulling into the driveway, Olivia honked the horn once, quickly, alerting Edison to their arrival. He was at the door just as she was coming up the walkway with Avery.
"Do you need any help with the tree?" she asked him as they passed.
He grunted, examining it from the doorway. "Nah, I've got it. Are you decorating it tonight? I already put Connor down."
"I was thinking we would do it tomorrow night, as a family." She gave him a pointed look. "Just get it into the house and in the stand. I'm going to put Avery to bed," Olivia called over her shoulder as she removed her winter wear and hung it in the coat closet.
"Aw, do I have to go to bed?" Avery whined from the floor, struggling with the laces on her boots.
Olivia kneeled to help her. "Yes. You're still in school. Just another week or so, though. Now run upstairs and get in your pajamas. I'll be up in a few." She slid the shoes from Avery's feet and watched the little girl pad off in her mismatched socks.
After peering in to make sure Connor was sleeping peacefully and planting a kiss on his head, Olivia made her way into Avery's room. She read two bedtime stories and adamantly refused to do a third, instead giving in to the request to rub the little girl's back until she fell asleep. When the bedtime ritual was done – something Olivia hadn't realized she would actually miss – she absentmindedly wandered down the hallway to her bedroom. The door swung open to reveal Edison, already tucked into bed and typing something on his phone. He looked up at her oddly for a brief moment.
"I'm just getting my pajamas," she assured him, holding her hands up in surrender as she moved towards the dresser.
"Olivia, you don't have to sleep on the couch," he said disdainfully. "This is your room too, just like you said."
"I'm not sleeping in the same bed as you, Edison, so forget about it. You're not going to move, and I'm fine with that. The couch is comfortable enough."
"Afraid of cheating on your boyfriend?" Edison remarked suggestively, raising an eyebrow at her.
Olivia grimaced but granted him no reply, rummaging through the drawers so she could change in the downstairs bathroom.
"Come on, Liv. I'm your husband and you won't even lay down in our own bed with me." His tone dropped to a snarl. "Wow, he must have really fucked you well. It's kind of ironic, don't you think? They say white men can't jump and yet here's one, jumping all over what's mine." When she still wouldn't turn to look at him, he continued baiting her. "Hey, tell me something. Is he bigger than me?"
"You're disgusting," she hissed, rounding on him quickly only to find him standing right in front of her.
"What? I'm just asking. I think I deserve to know what I'm up against. So tell me, what is it that he does that's so special?"
"He's not an ass hole, that's for damn sure." Olivia moved to storm out of the room but a strong hand wrapped around her arm, just above her wrist. Her head whipped around to find Edison staring at her, eyes blazing. "Let go of me. I'm so fucking through with you right now."
"You can't even do this for me, Liv? You go off and fuck some other guy and leave me completely unsatisfied and I don't even get the common courtesy of hearing about it? That seems a little unfair."
Jerking her arm away to no avail, Olivia glared at him, nostrils flaring. "You are a sick man."
Edison shrugged his free arm. "I just have a healthy curiosity. And you are my wife," he punctuated the word by tugging her forward an inch, "so I have a right to know. Do you talk dirty to him? I feel like you can have a really filthy mouth when you want to."
"Fuck you."
He smirked. "That's what I thought. I bet you guys have done it in every position. It's been so long since you've let me touch you, Liv, you were probably bursting at the seams. You probably rode him for hours; I know you've got strong legs. How else? On your knees? Did you swallow when he told you to? You never were very good at following instructions, but that was one of the few commands I remember you performing rather eagerly."
Olivia choked back a sob, still trying to tug her arm from his grip. "Let me go, Edison. Stop this."
"I know you bent over for him. That was always your favorite, getting fucked from behind and having your hair pulled. Did you beg for it harder, faster? Have you told him how kinky you are? Does he know how much you used to love it when I got rough with you?" With a final sharp tug, he wrenched her sideways, dragging entire body towards the bed so she stumbled and sat down on the edge of the mattress, his large form looming over her. "Or do you still like it? Is this making you wet, Liv? Does it make you want to-"
The sound of the slap rang loudly around the room, rendering both of them silent. Edison looked down at her in shock, then rage. His mouth curved into a sardonic smile as Olivia stood up quickly, gathering the pile of clothes that had fallen from her hands.
"I will never have sex with you, ever again," she told him with finality, trying not to smile as he rubbed a hand across his reddening cheek. "And all of this, I can use this in court."
"This? Do you know what just happened here? I confronted you about an affair you're having and you hit me. Who's going to look good here?"
Olivia tried to remain confident, but his words made her shoulders sag just a bit. "I won't let you get away with this, Edison. You can't manipulate me. I'm going to go downstairs and go to sleep and you're going to stay the hell away from me. And in the morning I'm going to take the kids and look at some apartments."
"You're telling them that you're moving out?"
"Don't worry about what I tell them. They're kids; they don't need to know every detail. I'm done playing games with you. We're going to resolve this one way or another, but in the end we are not going to be married anymore. That's all that matters; that I won't be around to take your shit."