MR CEO'S PROMISE TO HER

CHAPTER SEVEN

ESTRELLA'S POV

The aftermath of Dominic's visit was simply chaos. He served me papers immediately from the court contesting the custody of my daughter.

I thought about confiding in Xander about his abuse since that was truly what made me leave him in the first place.

Xander was doing everything in his power to make sure I was prepared for my first appearance in court, and that included me being coached by his legal team on what and what not to say in court regarding custody.

“What we really need to do is make him appear unfit to raise a child. We would have gone with the fact that a child needs her mother, but she has been with you all her life. Honestly, he has more advantage seeing as you chose to leave him.“ The head of his legal team said, and I thought I'd cry.

“Stop scaring her,” Xander snapped at the man, but I know he was only doing his job. “Find everything you can on this guy. You all have his file. I want all the details on him. I want him to be so unqualified so bad that he can't adopt a dog.“

They nodded and filed out of the room, leaving us alone. Rose was in school already, thankfully. She has no idea I'm this close to losing her.

“Aren't you going to work?“ I asked him.

“No. I can work from home.“

“You don't have to stay with me.“ He squeezed my hand reassuringly.

“I want to.“

“I guess I should tell you why I left him in the first place.“

“Sweetheart, you don't have to.“ He said softly, and I melted at the term of endearment. I cursed Dominic for having such horrible timing, I haven't had the chance to talk about the shift in our marriage after he barged in.

We just didn't talk about it, but I still slept in his bed and had meals together. These days, though, the only thing we can talk about is the upcoming court appearance.

“My legal team recommended an attorney to me, Amelia Heartfield, she's going to be representing you, but my legal team will still be there. I just don't want this to turn into a corporate case. I refuse to give him that type of attention.“

“I understand.“

I met Amelia several times, and she repeatedly assured me that she was never going to let Dominic get my daughter's custody.

The night before my first appearance in court, I put my daughter to sleep early because I would need to wake her up earlier than usual. Amelia said I might not need to show Rose yet, but she could remain in the car with her chauffer.

“She could keep my sons company. It's my turn to take them to work.“

“How are you feeling?“ Xander asked once I cleared dinner plates away.

I sighed, unable to hide my anxiety. “I can't help but feel like I'm going to lose custody of my daughter.“

“You won't.“

“You don't understand, Xander. I barely just got her back. What if Dominic finds something to use against me?“

“What are you talking about? You just got her back?“ He frowns in confusion.

“I thought you knew.“ I'm the confused one now.

“Knew what?“

“I gave Rose up for adoption after I gave birth to her. I only got her back only months ago. I had no means of taking care of her because I left his house with nothing except a few clothes and a few dollars.“

He was quiet for a while. “How did you get her back? You know what, That's not even important right now. Does he know about it?“

“I'm not sure he does.“

“We'll find out tomorrow. Meanwhile, this could change things. Why did you leave him with nothing?“

I bit my lips in apprehension. Could I really trust another man, especially with my past?

“Ella, baby, you can talk to me. Besides, we need all the evidence we can get against this guy. Anything might help. The odds are usually in the mother's favor, but we need to be sure because my sources tell me that he's really pulling in every connection he can harness to win this case.“

I breathed deeply. If this would help my daughter stay with me, then I don't mind talking about my trauma.

“Dominic was abusive.“ There, I said it. It was then that I realized that this was the first time I would be saying it out loud. I never admitted it to myself. Not even my closest friend Amy knew about what drove me out of my first marriage.

“He beat you?“ He could barely comprehend the idea of a man beating on his wife, or a woman for that matter.

“Yes.” I felt more comfortable talking about it when I saw how disgusted he was by the idea. “I thought he would stop seeing that I'm pregnant, but he didn't. I filed for divorce one day after I thought he could kill me when he left me unconscious one day.“

“What an animal.“ He scoffed. “He really thought he would be granted custody after he almost beat the girl out of you.“

“Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it. I have no witnesses or evidence. We moved into the city after we got married, so I was pretty much isolated.“

“That's messed up. Are you okay now?“ He asked so gently that I wanted to curl up in his arms and tell him how much I'd suffered as a result of my decision to leave.

“Yes, yes. I'm okay. This is not the time to cry about spilled milk. This is the time to be strong and fight for my daughter.“

“You're not going to lose this fight. I won't let you.“

“Thank you.“ His conviction was soothing. It made me relax slightly. That night, he held me tightly against him, and I had a good night's sleep.

However, all the confidence I felt at Xander's words last night vanished as I stepped into court. Amelia was already at my side of the court, flipping through files.

“Hey.“ Her smile was warm and put me at ease. My discomfort peaked again when I spotted all the lawyers on Dominic's side. He was not joking when he said he would pull all the resources he could.

Xander chose not to appear in court because, again, he doesn't want a simple custody case to turn into a corporate fight. I agreed with him. Dominic could choose to use this as a publicity stunt.

“Nervous?“

“Yes,” I said truthfully. “I think I'm going to cry.“

“Please don't. You have to stay confident. I think the judge is a man. We don't want him to think you're just an overly emotional woman.“

“Okay, I'm going to try my best.“

“Good. I try not to get involved in my client's issues, but I can't wait to defeat this douche.“

“Thank you. That makes me feel better.“

We don't say anything to each other until court proceeds.

“Let the attorneys come forward.“ The judge says. I try not to look over at Dominic's side of the court.

I know what he's trying to do. He brought his parents to court in a bid to intimidate me. I ignore the dirty looks they're shooting at me. I know he's not going to tell them the full story. I'm sure they're telling him I told you so because he basically forced them to pay for my college fees.

“After all we've done for you?“ Their gazes practically scream.

“Mrs. Estrella Raymond has spent the last three years hiding the child from my client. How selfish can one woman be that she would deny their daughter the chance to know her father?“