"Fitz, maybe you and Mellie could work something out between the two of you. Civilly, of course. We'll reconvene in fifteen minutes."
Detesting Judge Richards at the moment, Fitz sat in his seat in the courtroom hating that he would have anything to do with Mellie in the first place. This being the first time he had seen her in months, Fitz wanted this divorce over with. Keeping his temper, he made note that he should head to the gym after this was over today and turned to Mellie in the now empty room.
"What is it going to take to get you out of my life for good, Melody?" Fitz stared daggers at her wishing it would puncture her.
"As I was promised. I want the one million a year, Fitzgerald. I want the house, the car, the vacation home, and half of what you make in a year, that's what I am entitled to," Mellie smiled at him knowing it was making him angry. "And that whore out of your life. She's disrupted everything."
Unable to hold back Fitz let out a laugh. "My girlfriend, Olivia, is not leaving me. You think damaging my office, calling her names, smearing her name on social media like you have been is effecting her? You are sorely mistaken. Olivia can and has handled everything that you have thrown at her. Unlike you, she doesn't run away, or to the bottle when things get difficult. I love her, more than anything that you have ever loved. She has helped me realize that marrying you was the absolute worst mistake of my life. For that, I will be forever grateful to her." Though he shouldn't, Fitz was enjoying the hell out of annoying Mellie. The eye rolls, tapping of her foot, crossed arms, all pushed him to go further. "The house is sold; you will receive half of the profits from it when the documents are filed. The car is yours. Take it. Vacation home too. Any physical items that I shared with you; I want them gone. You will be a distant nightmare in my past. As for what I make in a year, not a chance in hell."
"Big Jerry and I have a contract, you have…"
"The key name right there is Big Jerry. I have nothing to do with that. I had no knowledge of it. My name is not signed on any contract about you being paid to be a wife."
"If I sign a divorce agreement that money all goes away. How am I supposed to live on any of thing after that?"
"That's not my problem. I will not support you, neither will my dad. You have separate accounts with millions of dollars in them including the overseas Swiss accounts in both your married name and maiden name. Not to mention the England account, France account, and the others that you are hiding that I will find. So, sign this damn divorce so I can be rid of you."
Shaking her head, Mellie crossed her arms tighter staring at him. "If you think I am going to sign these papers and agree to what little you are offering, you better think again. I won't allow you to leave me just so you can ride off into the sunset with your twenty something whore. I deserve better than that."
"Based on what? Your wonderful, kind spirit? Your sweet and innocent act? No one buys it Mellie. Not a single person. Your family abandoned you because of your self-righteous attitude. You don't get along with anyone. You believe you are entitled to whatever you want. How I managed to convince myself to marry you and be married to you for ten years is beyond me!"
Both sat staring at the other, refusing to back down. Think of something, man, you have to make her go away. And for good. What would Liv do? What would she tell me to do? Letting out a deep breath, Fitz shook his head. "I can give you all the profits from selling the house. In exchange, you will not come after my yearly income."
"That's not enough."
Before Fitz could say anything else, Judge Richards came back into the room and took his seat at the bench. "Well? Did we clear everything up?"
"Not a single thing, your honor," Mellie smirked looking over at Fitz.
"Really? Fitz? Nothing was resolved?"
"No, sir. I'd also like to bring out more evidence that she should not be receiving alimony at all. The contract she has with Big Jerry has nothing to do with me. As well, I'd like to show the court four offshore accounts listed only in Mellie's name and the amounts in them," Fitz told him as he handed the documents up to James. "She's not hurting for money. There's more than enough that she can rely on for the next few years."
Looking it over, James could see that there was plenty to work with for at least five years if she reduced her spending amount. "Mellie? Anything you want to say about these? Between these and your agreement with Jerry, I'm not seeing why you should receive as much alimony as you are asking for, if any."
"Keeping with the lifestyle that Fitz has made me accustomed to over the last ten years, that's not enough for me to live on. And he sold the house that I, that we, were living in. I'd have to spend half of that money to get a house just as nice as the one we had."
"You might need to adjust your living expenses then," James told her. "Come up with a plan for how you will live, and I will hear it next month."
"Your honor!" Fitz shouted at him, visibly upset with the decision. "The alimony is beyond ridiculous."
"And I'll hear your case next month, Mr. Grant. Dismissed." James hit the gavel on the pallet and walked out with a smile on his face. Liv's not going to put up with that.
Getting out of the courtroom, Fitz ignored Mellie trying to talk to him and headed out to the waiting car to take him away. Directing Henry to take him to the gym, he was glad he had a locker that held a set of workout clothes. Changing into them and heading out to the ring, Fitz ducked in ready to dual off with an instructor.
"So, the alimony stands?" Fitz heard her voice before seeing her.
"Stay out of it, Olivia." Turning around as he wrapped his hands to see Olivia standing on the other side of the ring ready for him.
"I am staying out of it. I'm purely asking if it stands."
"We'll go back to determine that next month. James wants her to show what her financial plan is."
"Classic." Shaking her head, she wasn't surprised at what James wanted. She'd seen him do this to many couples but this time he seemed to be dragging the divorce out longer than he would anyone else. "Ready?" She asked putting up her gloves, ready to face off with him.
"How many times have I told you that I won't fight you?"
"In the past five months, twenty-seven. But I believe you owe me a few jabs after our last round in here and I damaged your arm."
"I think I repaid the damage in bed. You were sore for a week. Same as my arm."
Rolling her eyes at him, Liv ducked out of the ring and let an instructor in to round with him. Taking off her gloves, she took the seat on the bench and watched Fitz hit. He's tense, so he's pissed off. He's hitting pretty good though. I won't step in. Fitz asked me not to, I won't. Though that could get the divorce moving quicker.
After an hour of rounds in the ring, Fitz went off to find Liv at the treadmill running at full speed. "Ready to go home?"
Finishing dinner, Liv fixed each of them a drink and moved to the couch with him. At opposite ends of the couch, he was able to view her entire body while they watched the news before she turned it off and looked at him.
"Why don't you want me to help you in the divorce?"
"Livie, we've been through this discussion."
"No, each time I ask or offer to help you dismiss me and tell me it's none of my concern. We are together now, right? If it concerns, you then it would concern me. Give me an actual answer and I'll drop it."
Taking a drink of his scotch, Fitz had to look away from her for a moment, taking a breath. "What kind of coward was I to marry her and not wait for you to show up? I don't want you to be in the middle of all of this. Anymore than you already are. It's not fair to you. I should have waited to ask you out on a date until I was officially divorced. Once I was officially, legally, rid of her. Having you involved in the proceedings of this would be cruel. I've been a selfish bastard about dating you, forming a relationship with you while I still am legally bound to my wife. I never should have even asked you to draw up the divorce complaint. Having you involved in this is unfair. I want it to be just us. Only you and me. But I have this woman hanging over my head for now, and quite possibly for the rest of my life if she gets this alimony. The things she has already done to you are ones I could have stopped if I wasn't so selfish. The damage to the office, her name calling, her harassing you to get to me. It all could have been avoided had I not fallen for you. Everything could have been avoided had I not married her. But I did. And you take on enough of my baggage than necessary already. So, I don't want you to be part of this legal battle because I don't want you hurt anymore than you have been."
Olivia listened and took in every word he said. Doing her best, she was proud of herself for not interrupting him. Once she put her drink down, she moved over towards him taking both his hands in hers.
"For one, you married her when I was 15 years old," she laughed. "I don't think I was going to show up anytime soon. Secondly, when I was in college I was in love with my fiancé. I very highly doubt that had he not been… then we wouldn't be together. I know that sounds harsh but it's true. I love Stephen. I will always love Stephen. But I love you now. You've dealt with a lot, and I mean a LOT, of my baggage. An ex-wife? I can handle her. That's a cake walk. I don't care when you would have asked me out on a date, or when we would have started a relationship, because I could see that no matter what, we were always going to happen. And if you are a selfish bastard for not wanting me to be part of this battle, then I won't be part of it. I want to be able to help you. I am able to help you with this. I got you the information about the money from Jerry, didn't I? I can help you get other things if you want. Don't shut me down when I offer to help because you think it's unfair to me. If I didn't want to be part of this, to help you through whatever situation is coming, I know where the door is. I could easily say 'screw this, find me when it's final' but I haven't, and I won't. I want to be part of this with you. I get you are trying to protect me from her but I'm a big girl and can take it. I love you too much to walk away."
Pulling her to him, Fitz kissed the top of her head and held her tight. "I love you too, Livie. But please, just let me handle this."