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Chapter 9

It had been two days since John had broken it off with her. She stared at her phone, willing herself to call him and just tell him about the baby. But every time she grew the courage to do so, it would immediately fade.

She'd even written up a text to tell him, but quickly deleted it, knowing that would be the worst way for him to find out.

Anna sighed.

It was something she would have to do. John had every right to know about his child. However, it just seemed so difficult to find the best way to tell him. He was done with her, so what would this mean, exactly? Would they be trading the baby off over weekends? Would John even want anything to do with his child? Was she going to be raising the baby on her own?

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?"
Anna jumped, surprised by Mary standing at her office door. The office had been closed for an hour now and she hadn't known Mary was still here.

"You frightened me," Anna said, turning her chair to face her friend. Mary twisted her lips and cocked her head slightly to the side.

"What is going on with you lately? Are you sure this doesn't have anything to do with Alex? We can have a restraining order written up."

"It doesn't," Anna assured her friend. "Just these cases I'm on. There's a new custody case. Neither parent seems to care about the children, just hurting the other." Anna frowned at the thought. Would she and John be in court soon fighting over rights for this baby?

"Those are difficult," Mary agreed, but she still eyed Anna worriedly. "But there's more, isn't there? Does this have anything to do with your boy toy?"

"God, Mary," Anna said, making a face. Mary chuckled. "But no, it doesn't. We're done. He and I are done. It's over."

"Oh," Mary's face fell. "I'm sorry. Is that why…"

"No," Anna quickly interrupted. "I'm glad it's over. It's only this case."

"Alright, if you say so. I could help with it."

Anna opened her mouth to say no, but then when she remembered that she would be up against John in two days, she nodded. It might be best to allow Mary to take over a decent amount. Maybe she could even go up against John. Anna didn't know how she would face him again, especially not until she told him the truth about the baby.

"Actually, that would be amazing. I haven't been feeling well." Or sleeping well, she thought. "I was thinking about taking the next couple of days off, if you could manage without me."

"Sure," Mary replied. "Can I help you in any way?"

"No," Anna murmured. "I think I just need a couple of days to rest and then I'll be as good as new."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

For some reason, John kept checking his phone for a message from Anna. He knew it was foolish. The two of them were done; why would she be messaging him? But he found that he hoped she would.

He let out a low breath. It was ridiculous of him to hope for that. They weren't whatever they had been anymore. What had started out as a one-time fling had turned into a long stretch of flings in several places.

It had been enjoyable and fun. Despite the fact that he and Anna didn't speak much in these 'meetings,' John found that he liked her company. She made him feel something he hadn't felt in a long time, if ever: complete.

You ended things, he reminded himself. Because she was going to end them first.

The moment Sybil walked in on the two of them, everything shifted. Anna couldn't seem to find the pleasure in what they were doing behind closed doors. In many ways, John had hoped they could use this to grow and change what they were. But Anna didn't appear to want any of that. She had made it clear many times that she and he were not a couple.

It was probably better this way, anyway. How could they have managed this as two separate law firms?

You could have figured it out.

John sighed. They could have figured it out.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Mary hated custody cases. She had debated handing this one to a different associate, but decided she should keep it. This was against Bates and Co. They needed a strong lawyer to go up against him.

Anna generally handled these cases better than she did. While they did effect Anna, she could compartmentalize what happened in the courtroom. Mary could not. It would weigh on her for weeks after, wondering if she had done right by the children. That was the hardest part. She wanted to make sure the children's voices were heard, but they rarely were.

Mary was glad they were in a small meeting for this case. The children were not here. They would only get involved if they needed to take it to court.

Sitting down across from John, Mary quickly noted how he seemed downtrodden. He didn't have that fire about him that drove Mary insane. Instead, he was sitting quietly in his seat, not even giving Mary a glance when she got into her seat. Momentarily, she thought about asking John what was wrong. But then shook her head, she did not care.

The case went better than expected. John didn't give her much of a fight and in the end, they were able to come up with a compromise where the children ended up ahead. By some miracle, they had been able to convince both their clients that was best.

As Mary closed up her folder and stood, John met her eyes for the first time in the meeting.

"I thought Anna….Ms. Smith was supposed to be at this meeting. Is she ill?"

Mary's eyes narrowed. Something in the way John asked made her Spidey senses act up. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms across her chest, before shaking her head.

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Mary could tell he was lying. Her mind went back automatically to Sybil's wedding and seeing John coming down the stairs with his messy hair and lipstick stain on his jacket. Anna had been staying upstairs. And the two fought like wild animals in the courtroom.

"Oh my god," Mary said to herself, shaking her head even harsher. "I'm an idiot."

"Pardon me?" John asked, standing up.

"Nothing," Mary just responded, giving him a quirk of her lips. She was not going to confront John over this information. No, she needed to talk to Anna so that Anna could assure her that she was wrong. Though, Mary was quite sure that she was not. How could Anna have done this to her?

"This went well," John added a moment later.

"It did," Mary replied, with her jaw clinching. "It did. Nice to see you civil."

"Yes, well when kids are involved I…."

"Don't care," Mary bit, then she turned on her heel and left the room, seething and needing answers.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Again, Anna deleted the long drawn out text she had written for John, telling herself that she could not tell him that way that she was pregnant. But she wasn't sure that she would be able to face him in person and tell him either. Could she do it over the phone, perhaps? Quickly tell him that she was pregnant and hang up?

A loud sound left Anna's lips and she placed her head in her hands. Why was this so incredibly difficult? She just needed to be a grown up and tell him the truth.

A knock came at her door and she was grateful for a reason to put off telling John a little while longer.

Anna stood from her couch and made her way to the front door of her house, surprised to find Mary standing on the other side. She looked angry.

"Mary, what…?"

"What the hell, Anna!? Your secret man is John Bates?!"

To be continued...

More soon :)