Jolting up to the banging sound on his apartment door was not how Matt had wanted to wake up. He'd have preferred the usual noise of his alarm ringtone, but it seemed that the world had other plans for him. He almost startled, but he was used to sudden noises. He had fallen asleep on the sofa, his shirt crumpled and his suit jacket slung over the back of it. He'd tossed his tie to the side too after realising that he wasn't going to bed anytime soon. His hair was mussed up on the top of his head, sleeves rolled up and watch that he'd had for years on his wrist.
"I know you're in there, you bitch!"
Matt's jaw ticked angrily at the voice. He'd heard it plenty of times on the television. Matt heard Charlotte move from bed, her heartrate increasing and panting for breath. She moved through to the living room, arms folded over her chest as she saw Matt stand up. He slipped slightly on the wooden floor with his socks, regaining his composure. He had to wake up pretty quickly because the man who was pounding on the door wasn't giving up.
"Charlotte! You stupid slut come out here right now!"
"Matt, leave it," she urged as he began to move towards the door. He turned in the direction of where her voice was coming from. Heading on over towards him, she grabbed his arm as he moved towards the staircase to the main door. She shook her head slowly as he continued banging on the door and she winced at the noises. Matt could feel the fear inside of her. She was scared of him. But he could take care of himself. He knew how to do that and she knew he knew how to do that.
She'd gone to watch him train plenty of times at the boxing gym, reading her book as he punched at a punchbag and practiced. They'd been inseparable back then, but that had all changed when Matt had gone off to college and she hadn't. She'd stayed behind. She'd never entirely known what it was she wanted to do with her life. She still didn't.
"He's not going to come in here," he promised her.
"That's not what I'm scared of," she said to him and he knew instantly what it was she was scared of. He moved his hand on top of hers on his arm. He squeezed it softly, the motion tender and encouraging.
"I'll be fine."
"Just let me-"
"-I said that I'll be fine," he interrupted her and Charlotte didn't want to watch what was going to happen.
Matt took the steps up towards the door. He tugged on the lock and opened the door, knowing that the man stood there was nothing but a piece of shit. He remembered the first time Charlotte had introduced him to Jonathan Jonas. Foggy had been with them at the bar and he had asked his friend what the man had looked like. He'd told him and Matt had instantly been annoyed. He'd described him as handsome. For some reason, Matt hadn't liked that. He was tall and muscular, brown hair that was always slicked back on the top of his head. He had hazel eyes and a strong square jaw. His eyebrows were thin, neatly plucked, and he was wrinkle free, always dressed in expensive designer suits. But no matter how many expensive suits he wore, they wouldn't mask him for the man that he is.
"Where is she?"
He didn't even bother with pleasantries.
"She doesn't want to see you," Matt said, hand clasped firmly on the side of the door. He had no intention of letting him in.
"So she is here?" Jonathan continued pushing him.
"Like I said, she doesn't want to see you," Matt said. "I suggest you just leave and there will be no trouble."
Jonathan chuckled at that. "You think that you can cause trouble?" he arched a brow. Matt smelled his aftershave. It was expensive, tinged with sandalwood as its base note. He smelt of money and Matt didn't like it. "I'd like to see you try."
He tried to barge past Matt, but he instantly moved his body in the way, not letting him go past. "This is my property and if you even think of stepping inside, you'll be trespassing."
"I know you're a lawyer, but do you think I care? I want my wife so bring her to me," Jonathan said. "Or things will get ugly and I don't think you want that. Believe me, I have no issue in beating up a blind man."
"Trust me, I'd be entertained to see you try," Matt retorted.
"Jonathan, enough," Charlotte suddenly called out and Matt closed his eyes, sighing loudly as he heard her come up the stairs. She stood behind Matt's shoulder and there was a moment of silence. Her husband drank in her appearance, stood there in Matt's clothes and smelling of his shower gel and shampoo. Jonathan sneered.
"So you jumped into bed with him as soon as you got here? My mother always said you were far too easy….reason why you married me within six months of meeting me."
"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm not sleeping with him," Charlotte said, tone haughty and Matt could sense the anger rising up inside of her. Her cheeks began to tinge red and a rash rose up on her neck. "I have no clothes because I ran away from you and took nothing with me…I had nowhere to go because you threatened me. And you were the one who proposed to me after three months."
"More fool me, I guess," Jonathan sneered. "Now get your stuff. We're going home and we're going to talk about what you're going to do next."
"I'm not coming back with you," she said, determination in her voice despite the fear she felt. She shook her head and Matt kept hold of the door, refusing to let it go. "I made my decision."
"And you think that…what…I'll just accept it? You told me that you believed me. Those girls are lying."
"We both know they're not. The things they told me that you did…what you called them…I know they're not lying because it's the exact same thing that you did to me."
"I never did anything to you."
"Really?" Charlotte asked, motioning to her face and he actually winced and looked away from her. "We both know you preferred to keep the bruises where they couldn't be seen, but I'm not letting you get away with it anymore. I'm going to get a divorce lawyer. I'm going to testify for the prosecution. We're done. You can keep your money…all my fancy clothes…jewellery…I don't want it. All I want is for you to get out of my life and spend the rest of your life rotting in a jail cell."
Matt listened intently. His breathing had turned heavier and his heartrate was pounding. He knew that he was going to lash out before Charlotte could even react. And he was right. Jonathan instantly tried to lung past Matt and grab hold of his wife, but the lawyer was quick. He blocked his way, punching him squarely in the jaw and causing him to stagger backwards in pain, holding onto it. Charlotte's eyes widened. That had happened pretty quickly.
"You bastard." Jonathan spat out.
"I believe she's said all that she had to say to you," Matt responded, the anger inside of him bubbling up but his voice remaining level. He was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing him angry. He didn't deserve to witness that. It was another moment or two with Jonathan grunting in pain, trying not to let his eyes water. Matt remained as a buffer between him and his wife.
"I can ruin you, you know that, don't you? The things that I can tell the press about you…you'd never be able to show your face in society again."
"Go ahead and spew your lies," Charlotte said, feeling braver than she felt. "I don't care because I never want to be around those people again if they stick up for a sorry piece of shit like you."
"You little whore," Jonathan grunted, pointing in her direction. "I'm not going to let you ruin me, do you understand?"
"You did that when you raped those three girls," Charlotte retorted. "Now get out of here before I call the police."
He chuckled at that, almost finding it adorable that she thought the police would help her. He was the one they'd stick up for. But, as he looked to Murdock, the man's sightless gaze going straight by him, he realised that he should be careful. He was a lawyer after all and his word might have more credibility than his wife's. Shaking his head, Jonathan's steely glare landed back on Charlotte.
"This isn't over," he warned her, but he left.
Matt waited until the footsteps were down the hall and on the staircase before closing the door and bolting it shut once again. He heard Charlotte collapse back against the wall, gathering her breath, heart still hammering against her chest.
"You alright?" Matt asked and she gulped loudly but nodded.
"I'm fine," she assured him. "I'm sorry. I didn't think he'd show up here in the middle of the night."
"I'm sure he'll have given the neighbours something to talk about," Matt said to her and he knew that her lips had arched in a soft nervous smile by the way she exhaled a short breath. "But seriously, he had no right to say what he said to you…how he behaved…it was appalling."
"I'm used to it," Charlotte just said and that broke Matt's heart slightly to hear her sound so immune to it. He'd never gotten used to the idea of a man speaking to a woman as though she were lesser. It was wrong. It made him feel sick. It made him feel positively hateful when Jonathan had spoken to Charlotte.
"Doesn't make it right," he said to her.
"No, but nothing will make it right until he's locked away," Charlotte responded. "But I should thank you. You didn't need to…well…do any of what you did."
"Yeah, I did," Matt responded. "In fact, I should have done it years ago when you first introduced us. It might have saved you a lot of heartache over the years."
"How many times do I have to tell you that I was the one who made the choice?" she replied, but that didn't make him feel any better. And then she realised that he was still wearing his suit. She frowned. "Have you been sleeping like that?"
"Like what?"
"Still dressed in your suit?"
"Your deranged ex comes barging in here and you're concerned about me sleeping in my suit?" he questioned from her.
"Well, it can hardly be comfortable," she protested and Matt's lips quirked, head shaking back and forth. "Why didn't you just go and grab some other clothes?"
"Because they're in the bedroom and I didn't want to wake you up," he said to her and she frowned. He could almost sense it. At one stage whenever she gave him the silent treatment, he'd run his thumb along her lips and feel her frown, trying to get her to smile. "Lottie, it's fine. You should go back to sleep."
"I'll take the sofa."
"No, you won't," Matt responded.
"You know I can be just as stubborn as you, right?" she questioned and he moved a hand to her back, turning her around and urging her back down the stairs to the living room. "Just take the bed and I can have the sofa. I doubt I'll go back to sleep anyway."
"Well that makes two of us," Matt said.
"Mind if I make some tea in that case?"
"Cupboard next to the fridge," he said to her and she headed over to it. He sat down on the sofa, listening to her rumbling around in the kitchen. She grabbed the teabags and two mugs from the side before putting the kettle on the stove, turning it on and letting the water boil slowly. She folded her arms over her chest, hip resting against the worktop as she looked to Matt.
"Do you remember Billy Jones?" she suddenly asked from him.
"Bully Billy?" he asked, recalling his nickname and Charlotte smiled. "He was such a pain in the ass. I have no idea how the nuns didn't break that vow not to use violence against him."
"Because you did it for them," she said and Matt's lips arched as he remembered lashing out at him. He'd been training with Stick and he knew how to channel his senses. He knew how to protect himself and, in turn, that meant protecting other people. "I was so shocked when you grabbed him and punched him right in the nose…and then when he lunged at you and you ducked out of the way…it was so funny when he fell flat on his face."
"It was," he agreed. "Well, I imagined it was in my head."
"Trust me, it was," she promised him. "Seems like you're always fighting my battles for me."
"Just looking out for you," he responded. "He was bullying you."
"Sister Augustus said it was because he fancied me."
Matt scoffed. "I have no idea why people say that," he said with a shake of his head. "Why bully a girl if you like her? Why not just tell her? He wasn't exactly endearing himself to you, was he?"
"Kids are complicated," she said to Matt. "Look at us."
He chuckled. "I guess you've got a point there," he agreed with her on that. She heard the kettle begin to whistle and went to take it off the stove. Pouring the water into the mugs, she let the tea brew before adding sugar to hers and some milk to his, recalling exactly how they drank it back when they had been younger. Carrying the mugs to the coffee table, she noted he didn't have any coasters.
She used a discarded magazine that was two years old instead and frowned, placing the mugs on it. "Why do you even have magazines?"
"I sometimes need them to keep the desk legs from wobbling," he confessed and she chuckled again at that. She sat down on the other end of the couch, folding one leg underneath herself and watching the man she had so often imagined spending the rest of her life with. There had been so many times when she had been convinced that he was it. She had been young and foolish though. She knew that as soon as he got accepted to Columbia that it was over.
"Can you not just buy a desk that has the same length legs?"
"Where's the fun in that?" he questioned and she rolled her eyes at hearing him.
"I guess that law firm clearly doesn't pay you enough then."
"Oh, they pay me plenty," he assured her. "Enough to help cover your legal fees once we find a divorce lawyer."
"I'm not asking you to do that."
"You don't need to ask," he retorted to her and she let out a deep breath. "I have the money to do it, Lottie."
"You know that divorce lawyers are expensive, right? I can try and get a loan…do something-"
"-You're not taking a loan out. You're going to let me help you and in return you're going to promise not to leave again, okay?"
"I'll find a way to pay you back."
"Just don't leave and I'll consider us even," he said to her and her lips arched for a brief moment as she watched him glance in her direction and she wondered if he really had missed her as much as she had missed him. "You're not saying anything. It makes it pretty tricky for me to know what you're doing."
"I'm not doing anything," she promised him on that point. "I'm just sat here wondering why you're being so nice to me after everything we've been through."
"Because I get the feeling not many people have been nice to you…plus you're still my friend, even after all those years and everything that's happened. You'll always be my friend."
"Same," she said and took hold of her mug, sipping on her tea. She handed Matt his own drink, letting him take it from her hands and hold it in his grip. Looking to his wrist, her eyes widened and the smile grew on her face. "You still wear the watch I bought you?"
He felt the leather strap and the hand of the watch. She'd bought it for him when he'd found out that he'd gotten into Columbia. She'd looked it up and had it specially made for him. The clock face wasn't a traditional one, it was one for blind people to use, feeling the time instead of seeing it, of course. And on the back she'd had the inscription added. It had cost her an extra week's wages at the diner where she was waitressing at. But she didn't care. He'd been so happy when she'd given him it.
"Always," he commented. "It's probably one of the most thoughtful gifts I've received."
"It was nothing."
"Don't downplay it, Lottie," he said to her. "Don't downplay what we were to each other…I wish that I didn't."
She sighed, wondering if they were going to get into this today. But it turned out that they were. It was still dark outside, the light from the advertising board the only thing illuminating the room. Holding her mug in her hands, she shifted to cross her legs and Matt leant his head back on the seat.
"We were young, Matty," she reminded him. "We were just kids."
"Didn't stop us from knowing how we felt."
"But we didn't know how we felt because we were still too young to understand it," she responded. "Besides, you wanted to go to college. I never stood a chance of getting to college. I was hardly bright enough and I didn't have any money…there was no point of trying for a scholarship…"
"You'd have gotten in somewhere."
"You're sweet, but we both know I wouldn't have," she responded. "And I'd spent my entire life dealing with rejection. I didn't want to invite anymore of it into my life."
"Do you know how talented you are at painting? You have a gift. You could have gone to art school."
"It was just a hobby. Besides, how did you know if I was any good?"
"Because I showed some of your stuff to Foggy and he could see it."
"Not sure he's a critic, Matt."
"No, but he's not blind," Matt retorted and she continued smiling. "Why don't you try and pursue it now?"
"Because it's not exactly a way to make money when I need it quickly," she replied. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I kind of stopped painting when I ended up with Jonathan. I hardly had any time for it…what with the swanky dinners and galas. I was always hosting some fundraising event or charity ball. Seems like a lifetime ago."
"Will you ever miss it?"
"No," she said honestly to him. "I always felt like I was out of my depth and I think that Jonathan knew that. I just…I think he liked the idea of having a wife who wasn't from high society, you know? It helped make him look like he was one of the people…not a snob…so ridiculous, I know, but that's what he's like."
"It always felt so strange whenever I heard your name on the news," he admitted to her. "I just…I don't know…I just thought that eventually you'd see him for who he was and leave him. But I thought that you had to make that decision yourself. I just…I wish that I hadn't thought that."
"But you were right," Charlotte said. "And he hated you too."
"Me?"
"There were times when he'd get angry whenever I brought your name up after we'd had our fight. He thought that I should never mention you again, but it's hard not to when you were a big part of my life…I mean…he was just insanely jealous."
"But you married him."
"I still lost my virginity to you," she retorted and she swore that his cheeks almost tinged red. He chuckled and placed his mug down, scratching the back of his neck and nodding. He coughed once into his fist before sitting back once more.
"You told him that?"
"We were married, Matt. There's not any secrets between a husband and wife…well…there's not supposed to be anyway," she said. "I think he thought it was weird that we'd slept together and were just friends. I think he found that more threatening than you just being an ex."
"And you?"
"What about me?"
"I mean…we were both inexperienced, Lottie," he said to her and she nodded her head, recalling exactly how that night had transpired. They had both been young and naïve, inclined to give into hormones. "I don't know, I just thought that at the time it was us being teenagers…and then I got into Columbia. I didn't think it was fair for us…to…I didn't know if I could promise you anything. I figured we'd just go our own ways."
"And then you met her."
Matt inhaled a sharp breath, remembering the woman who had completely besotted him. He wasn't afraid to admit that he had been in love with her. He had fallen so hard and fast. He'd called Charlotte and told her, hoping that she was okay with that. But she hadn't been okay.
"Yeah, turned out that didn't work out."
"Why not?"
"A conversation for another night," he said to her.
Charlotte went quiet then, not pushing him no matter how much she wanted to. At one time, she had heard how he thought that she was the woman he was going to end up with. What had happened to make that change?
"But she…she knew about you too," Matt suddenly said to her and he sensed that she was intrigued. "I told her about you and about how there had been times when I wondered if we might have ended up together. Sometimes I wish that I'd never made that stupid suggestion…saying how we should be free to live our lives…not tied to each other."
"Well, if we're currently in confessional," Charlotte said to him and his lips arched once more at hearing her. "When you phoned me and told me about her, I lied. I hadn't been seeing other people while you were at Columbia. In fact, I'd turned down dates…but then when you told me about her…how you'd never met someone like her…it was that night when I met Jonathan. He came to the diner I was working in and he asked me out. I said yes. I figured if you were moving on then I could too."
"So I drove you straight to him," Matt sighed.
"I'd have ended up there eventually," she said. "And I wanted you to meet him because…I…I thought that maybe you'd change your mind…maybe you would have told me that you never meant what you'd said the night before you left for Columbia. I mean, we were still living in the same City. It wasn't as if things couldn't have worked out."
"I didn't want you tied to me, Lottie. I…I just thought that you deserved an opportunity to find out what you wanted. I was worried we were too young and moving too fast."
"Yeah, and maybe we were," she said to him with a shrug of her shoulders.
"And for the record, yes, I was insanely jealous when you introduced me to Jonathan. I had Foggy tell me what he looked like and all he could say was that he was some man who looked like he'd been sculpted by the Gods…but then I heard him when you went to the bathroom. I heard him saying all those horrible things…taunting me…and I wondered how the hell you could be with a guy like that. But you didn't listen to me because I'd spent the entire night being rude to him…because I was jealous."
Charlotte shook her head slowly and tugged on the sleeves to the shirt she was wearing. Leaning her head back, she looked to the ceiling. "We really were idiots, weren't we?" she said and he laughed once at that, the solitary noise echoing through the apartment. "Things could have been so different if we just actually admitted things."
"Yeah, they could have been," he agreed.
But it was no use thinking on what could have been. That wasn't going to change anything.
Columbia Law School
"So…this is a college, huh?"
He was walking next to her, stick out in front of him. She looked at the grand building where the Law School was based, the green lawn either side of them lush and filled with college kids. Semester had just started and autumn had started to settle in, but there was still enough heat for it to be comfortable to sit outside.
"I guess so, not that I can see it," Matt retorted.
"Oh, well you're not missing much. In fact, it's a bit of a dump," she said to him and he smiled at hearing her. She took a sip of her takeaway tea that she'd bought from a stall on their walk. Matt had his satchel slung over his body, bottle of water in his hands. "I mean, honestly, Matty, I don't know why we made such a big deal over you getting in here."
"That bad?"
"I think I might need to take that watch back I gave you. You don't deserve it," she said and he laughed at that before they found a spare patch of grass out the way and sat down. He got a whiff of her perfume, inhaling the familiar smell of it.
She tugged on the short skirt she wore as she folded her tight covered legs beneath her. She placed her tea down next to her and shrugged out of her leather jacket, leaving her in just a white blouse tucked into the black denim skirt. She didn't know why she'd bothered to make such an effort that morning. It wasn't as if Matt could see any of it.
"Well, I've grown quite attached to this so I think you'll find it's going nowhere," he said to her and sat down by her side, dropping his stick and satchel. He folded his jean covered legs and pulled on the hem of the grey sweatshirt he wore. "Anyway, we've walked all around this campus and I've told you everything about every course I'm enrolled in…my roommate…but you've said nothing about what you're doing."
She shrugged. "Not much to tell," she confessed to him. "I'm still working at the diner and living in that flat share…I mean…that's it."
"And you're still not going to apply for art school?"
"I've hardly got the grades."
"You've got the talent."
"So you say."
"So everyone says," he responded. "Lottie, you could actually make something of yourself, you know? If you just tried and applied then any art school would be lucky to have you."
"Maybe, but it's not really an option for me right now. I'll…maybe in a couple of years, I'll think about it."
"Promise?"
"Will you stop bugging me if I promise?"
"You know I'm never going to stop bugging you, right?" he responded.
"Yeah, I know," she agreed on that point. "So…what do you have planned for us tonight? Some college party?"
"Unfortunately not," Matt said to her. "I was thinking that we could go for dinner and maybe you could come back to my dorm? Foggy is out for the weekend so the place is pretty quiet. Plus, I've got his Netlix login account and I know you've been dying to watch that romcom film you've been going on about."
Charlotte raised a brow. "You want me to come back to your dorm? Is that code for something else?"
He chuckled at that. "I mean, not really…unless you want to…we're both single, right?"
"Single and still really good friends," she retorted. "Plus, you said you wanted space."
"No, I said that I thought it would be a good idea if we both had space, you know, to grow…explore…besides, you agreed with me."
And she had done. He had thought that it might be what she had wanted. Did she really want to commit to someone like him? She could do so much better and he knew it. Plus, a part of him wondered if maybe they had jumped into things too quickly. He knew that people got together at a young age, but he also knew that they divorced quickly in some cases too. Besides, he valued her too much as a friend. What happened if they did start a relationship and it broke down? How could he lose the only person he had who had been with him through everything? But that didn't mean he didn't think about her often.
"I'm not going to be your friend with benefit booty call, Matty," she said evenly to him and his lips turned up at her tone. Nodding his head slowly, he let her have that.
"You know it wouldn't be like that," he said.
"Why? Scared you'd fall madly in love with me and unable to resist my feminine charms?" she questioned and she wanted him to say yes. She wanted him so badly to tell her that was exactly what scared him. But he never was going to give her that.
What he wanted to say was that yes, that was exactly what he was scared of. He was scared of falling so madly in love with her that he couldn't keep her happy forever. He worried that she would see that, eventually, she could do so much better and she'd abandon him. He'd be alone again just like he had been all of his life.
"Who's to say that I'm not already madly in love with you?" he questioned her.
She nudged him in the ribs and he let her, enjoying the feeling of her pressing against him as she laid down, her head resting in his lap and her hair splaying out over his thighs. She needed to lighten the mood, but she was pretty certain he could already hear her racing heartbeat. He moved his hand down, brushing her hair softly from her forehead, letting his fingers brush through it gently.
"I knew it, that's why you haven't got some hot, educated college girlfriend yet," she said to him.
"That and Foggy keeps cramping my style," he responded and she moved a hand to his arm, running her hand along his forearm softly. "But seriously…I think it's for the best that we both keep our options open. I don't want to be the only guy in your life."
"Yeah, you've said," she responded. "But, listen, I'm not here to talk about that. I came here to see how awesome college life was and I'm not sure you've done a good job in convincing me."
"Really?"
"Yeah…I mean, if I ever did want to go to college…I'm just not sure how I'd cope."
"What do you mean?"
"The people…studying…I just don't think it's for me. Maybe there's another way I can actually make a career in art?"
"Yeah?" Matt asked and he sounded more optimistic than she did. He just wanted her to reach her potential. He wanted her to be happy and he knew that painting made her happy. "I guess there's going to be loads of routes in, like art shows and night school. There's got to be a night school."
"There probably will be."
"Promise me you'll look into it," Matt said, picking up on her non-committed tone. She sighed and he tugged gently on a strand of her brunette locks.
"Hey," she exclaimed.
"Promise me. You're too talented not to try, Lottie. And yeah, you might get knocked back, but you shouldn't let that stop you. I want to be able to come to one of your art shows and see how successful you are."
"Even though you can't see it?"
"I can imagine it and trust me, I'll get enough pleasure listening to people praise you."
She blushed and squeezed his arm. He could still hear her racing heartbeat and he loved it. He didn't want to admit it, but he truly adored it when he knew she was blushing and when her heart was racing. He had that effect on her. But he also felt guilty for it too. He didn't want to lead her on.
"Shut up," she urged from him.
"I'm not going to shut up until you do it and you know how annoying I can be," he said.
"Oh, far too well," she said, turning her head to the side and looking out over the lawn. She closed her eyes and he continued running his fingers through her hair gently. "Think that we can maybe grab an early dinner and watch that film?"
"Eager to get back?" he questioned. "Or just hungry?"
"Hungry," she confirmed to him and he nodded at her.
"Come on then," he said and she moved to sit up. He jumped up first, holding his hand down to her and helping her up. She handed him his stick and his satchel before they began to walk away together. Matt kept his hand inside of her arm, hoping that she might at least thing on what he said. Maybe things would have turned out different if she had.
…
"You need to stop fidgeting," he said to her.
"I can't help it, I'm nervous," she retorted.
Matt had managed to wrangle the day from work, citing personal reasons. Foggy had promised to back him up and try to cover as much as he could. He'd asked him who the best divorce lawyer was that he knew and Foggy had given him her name. She worked for Herman and Smith, one of his firms rivals, but they had bigger and much better divorce attorneys, Josie Martins being one of the best.
"You have nothing to be nervous of."
"Yes, I do," she responded to him. "Because once I do this there's no going back and…things are going to come out, Matt…things I'd rather never came out."
"What like?"
"Mr Murdock?"
Matt had made the appointment under his name, keeping hers out of their records. He moved to his feet, dressed in another sharp grey suit with red tie. Charlotte followed his lead, but she was wearing her outfit from the day before. She had her hoody zipped up to her chest, her hands trying to cover the rip in her jeans. She needed clean clothes. She knew she had to get some. Matt had promised to take her shopping after their meeting considering they'd been running late to the meeting that morning.
She had, thankfully, packed her makeup, managing to conceal the bruise on her cheek, but there was nothing she could do about her split lip. She had covered herself in perfume, hoping that might give her some confidence because she needed it now more than ever.
"Yes," Matt said and he heard heels clicking towards him. He held his free hand out and the woman took it in a firm grasp.
Charlotte observed her figure. She was tall and slender, probably in her forties with an expensive diamond ring on her hand. Her suit was pristine and her long, black hair was tied into a ponytail while her ears had diamond studs. She had steely green eyes and high cheekbones. She screamed powerful attorney.
"Josie Martins. Would you like to follow me?" she checked, her tone no-nonsense.
Charlotte held her arm out and took Matt's hand. She rested it in the crook of her arm and they followed the woman through the office. Charlotte looked around. The offices had glass walls, each of them filled with bookshelves packed to the brim with books and expensive desks, computers and leather chairs. There were lawyers darting around, their gazes going to Matt and Charlotte, mainly because of Matt. A blind man tended to attract attention. But then their gazes fell to Charlotte and she wondered if any of them knew who she was. She kept her gaze down and Matt could hear her heart hammering in her chest. She really was nervous.
"Please, take a seat," Josie indicated to the two chairs on one side of the large table that seemed fitting for board meetings. There was a TV screen on the wall at one end, a sideboard with jugs of water against the glass wall. "Can I get you a drink? Water? Coffee?"
"Water, please," Matt said out of politeness.
"Yes, please," Charlotte added on and she watched Matt sit down once he had pressed a hand to the arm of it. Charlotte slipped into the seat next to him, the leather cushioned and she sat up straight, hands fidgeting in her lap. Matt reached his hand across to her once he had laid his stick against the desk. His palm engulfed hers, holding it firmly in his grip and trying to get her to calm down. He let go when Josie placed their waters in front of them.
"Now, Mr Murdock, what is it I can do for you? I know that you're not married."
Matt's lips arched. "You've been researching me?"
"I heard you worked for the opposition so I took it upon myself to see what I was dealing with," was all that she said to him with a shrug of her shoulders. "Turns out you're an impressive intern from what I've heard."
"I try my best," Matt responded, "but no, I'm not here for me."
"No, I assumed that when I saw Mrs Jonas with you," Josie said, eyes flashing to Charlotte who simply looked to her. Josie shrugged and opened her notebook on the desk. "I've seen you on the TV. I imagine you're here because of your husband."
"She's my friend. I didn't make the appointment under her name because, as I am sure you are aware, discretion is key," Matt was the one to answer.
"Wise decision," Josie said. "But I need to hear it from Mrs Jonas herself if I am going to take her case on because we both know that this is going to be high profile. It isn't going to be easy. Jonathan Jonas has a top-notch team of attorneys."
"I know," Charlotte said with a nod of her head. "But I want to do this. I want to divorce my husband."
"You want to do this just before he goes to trial?" Josie checked and arched a brow. Charlotte knew that she was suspicious. Did she think Charlotte was trying to save her own skin? Did she think that she was doing this to claim her own innocence? Charlotte already knew what people would think of her. They already whispered that she knew.
"I know that the timing is suspicious, but I…I just want him to be out of my life."
"And you have a prenup?" she checked.
"Yes," Charlotte answered, remembering how eager she had been to sign it, promising him that it didn't matter to her. She had signed and thought nothing of it in the slightest.
"And do you know the grounds?"
"I get nothing if it is discovered I've been unfaithful," she said to her. "Otherwise, if we divorce, I get twenty-five percent of his assets."
"I'd imagine that's still a great deal of money."
"Yes, it is," Charlotte said. "But I don't want any of it if he just agrees to a quick divorce."
"I wouldn't rush into anything," Josie warned her. "We need grounds for a divorce, however, if he does not agree to it. There is obviously the chance of criminal conviction, but if he goes free then we would need another ground if he fights against it."
There was silence then. Charlotte looked down and Matt glanced across to her, his sightless stare moving over her face. She continued to look down, not watching him back. Even though he couldn't see her, his stare was still intense. He took a moment or two to let her gather herself before he urged her on.
"Lottie," he whispered her name and Josie looked to her, brows knitting together as she wondered what was going on. "You need to tell her."
"If I tell her…if he…what would he do?" Charlotte whispered, glancing to Matt and he knew then that she was terrified of him. She was frightened of her husband more than she let on. Matt shook his head, hand going to her arm and holding it gently, squeezing it in his grip.
"He's not going to do anything. I promise."
"You don't know him."
"I know men like him and I know that they're not as tough as they make out."
Charlotte wasn't sure if that was true. But she nodded. Moving into her pocket, she pulled her phone out and unlocked it. Swiping onto the gallery, she pushed her phone over to Josie. The lawyer looked at her apprehensively before picking it up, glancing down at the screen. Her eyes widened and Matt heard a small intake of breath. He could imagine what was going on.
"Jesus Christ," Josie whispered.
"It only got worse the past year," she said to her. "Before…he would have an excuse for it. I'd either look at a guy in the wrong way or I'd say something he didn't appreciate, but recently he hasn't needed any excuse."
"These…these are pretty incriminating," Josie confessed and she swiped onto a video, the audio filling the room.
"No…Jonathan…I didn't mean anything like that. I didn't mean it."
"You really think your crocodile tears are going to do anything to me? You're a lying slut, Charlotte. You think that anyone would ever want you again? You think that guy would look twice at you? You're lucky I even looked at you."
"Jonathan, I didn't do anything. Please. I love you."
"And I love you, but you keep testing my fucking patience."
The noise turned to screams and cries, grunts echoing as well. Matt's hands clenched into fists in his lap and his jaw tensed up. He couldn't do this. He couldn't just sit here and know that man was walking free on the streets. It was wrong.
"Fuck," Josie whispered and she placed the phone on the desk, hands going to tighten her ponytail and then resting behind her head. "You've kept these hidden for quite some time."
"Since last year," Charlotte said. "I suspected I'd need evidence if I ever did decide to go up against him."
"Are there any other copies of these?"
"Stored in my cloud."
"We're going to need access to those. We need to secure them and make sure no one else gets hold of them. I'm going to need to run this to the tech guys and make sure they take secure copies too…that's if you want to do this. Because you need to know that if you do this then all of this…it might come out…there's a chance that they could play dirty. His lawyers aren't exactly known for playing fair. So any secrets…anything you've got buried in your closet, I need to know about it. I need to know it all."
Charlotte shook her head, but Matt knew she was lying as she spoke. "No," she said. "That's all."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure," she responded. "So, do you want to do this? Because I'm a good attorney. I'm not boasting, but I am. I can take your case, but you need to know that it's not going to be easy."
"I know." Charlotte promised her. "And I want you to take it."
"Okay," Josie said with a nod. "You stay here and I'm going to run your phone down to our tech department. I'll get some initial paperwork sorted and we'll look at staritng proceedings."
"Thank you," Charlotte said.
"Yeah, thanks," Matt added on.
Josie left the room and Charlotte let out the deep breath she had been holding in. She sank back in the chair and Matt turned to her once more. She leant her head back, her eyes closing and Matt spoke in a low voice.
"Lottie, you need to tell her everything, you know that."
"I did."
"You know that I know when you're lying, right?" Matt asked from her. "It's pretty easy to decipher."
"You know that this gift you have can be pretty intrusive, right?" she snapped at him and he knew she was irate. She moved to pick up her glass of water and sipped on it. But she didn't deny that he was right. How could she when he could easily read her? She used to get annoyed at him whenever he read her like he did, but how could she anymore? It wasn't his fault.
"But I'm not wrong, am I? She's going to be your lawyer. She needs to know everything."
"Not this."
"Lottie."
"Don't Lottie me," she warned him.
"I'm Lottie'ing you because you need to do this," he said to her. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it. It's better her knowing than it coming out later on when we can't control the narrative. I know it's scary, okay? I know it's worrying, but-"
"-I had an abortion," she interrupted him and he went silent as she told him that. He heard her move to her feet, pacing around the room. Matt turned in his chair, listening to her footsteps and following the noise. "I had an abortion last year and never told anyone. Jonathan doesn't know. No one knows. I…I did it on my own."
"You…you were pregnant?" He was stunned, unable to imagine it.
"It was after he…we'd gone out for an anniversary dinner, but I'd apparently looked miserable all night. We got home and he lashed out at me, like always," Charlotte said to him. "Four weeks later, I took a test and it came back positive. I couldn't go through with it, Matty. I couldn't have his baby because…I…just couldn't…I felt so bad…I still feel so much guilt…and you know what they'd say, don't you? I'm Catholic, Matt. I can't have an abortion."
"You had no other option."
"Yes, I did," she replied. "I could have left him back then. I could have-"
"-Don't do that," Matt interrupted her and she looked to him as he moved to stand up. "Don't blame yourself."
"But I do…for all of this," she said, arms flapping by her side. "For those girls…my baby…I blame myself for all of it because I should have spoken up. I should have said something or done something."
"No, Lottie, don't blame yourself. Please," he urged from her. "It's not your fault. You did nothing wrong."
"There were times…when he was sleeping," Charlotte said, voice dropping lower, "when I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill him and make it end. And I…I wish that I had. I wish that I had killed him. I wanted to."
Matt stood up and moved towards her. She didn't protest as he wrapped his arms around her. Her own arms remained flat by her side for a moment before she held him tightly, her hands resting on his back. He felt his glasses slip slightly down his nose as his chin pressed by the side of her head. He cupped the back of her head, fingers running into her hair as she turned her cheek against his shoulder.
"It's alright," he whispered softly. "I've got you. I'm not going anywhere again. I promise."
…
She was sleeping soundly in his bed. He'd insisted on her taking it again, telling her that he had work to catch up on. He had waited until she was firmly asleep before he'd gone into his bedroom. She'd left the door open, preferring not to close it. She was dressed in his shirt again, curled up under his duvet and hair splayed on the pillow. He crouched down slightly, the back of his hand tenderly moving towards her hair and stroking it from her face. She didn't even stir.
Standing back up, he went to the living room and slipped from the apartment, locking the door firmly on his way out. He knew that he was probably being foolish, but he had to do something. He had to do something to make sure that Charlotte didn't end up back with her husband.
He knew where he would be. He'd done his research and his digging. He'd changed into all black, a mask around his eyes and tip of his nose. The last thing he needed was someone recognising him. He knew how to lurk in the shadows. He knew how to stay hidden. He just had to do something because he felt useless sitting in his apartment.
He'd found him in his office. He was still working. He stood outside the office on the small balcony after jumping onto it from the roof above. He waited for a while before he heard someone else enter the office. The window was slightly open and his voice was loud and booming. He was angry about something. He was beyond pissed.
"She thinks that she can just divorce me and what? That's it? She makes me look guilty if she divorces me."
"Perhaps she can be persuaded otherwise?" another voice spoke. It was deep and low. Matt didn't recognise it, not even vaguely.
"She isn't motivated by money," Jonathan replied. "She's apparently told her lawyer that she would walk away from all of it if it means that I give her a quick divorce. But she's not having it…she can't have it…I need her by my side. I need her to keep quiet."
"Money isn't the only thing that motivates people, is it?"
Jonathan was quiet then. Matt heard the shuffling of papers. "You have a point," he confessed. "She only has one friend and he's a blind guy…the same guy she's been fucking hung up on for years…"
"Then go after him. We have business that needs concluding and you can't be brought down by your wife."
"And the trial?"
"Will go the way we want it to," the other man assured him and Matt's brows knitted together. "So do what you need to do to bring her back. I'm sure she'll be amendable if she cares about her friend."
"Yeah, you're not wrong there," he scoffed. "Come on, let's go to the meeting. We have things that need discussing."
Footsteps left the office and Matt let out a deep breath. He was getting the feeling that this was going to be much harder than he had initially thought.
...
A/N: Thanks to those who have followed and favourited the story so far. Things are going to link to the show and pick up - in the meantime, I would love to know what you think! Next up...Matt trains Charlotte...we learn more about Jonathan...and maybe the mystery meeting man!
