Chapter 25

Chapter

Twenty-Five

Aelin watched from the window next to the front door as Ryan's car pulled into the driveway, the conversation she'd had that morning still fresh in her head.

"Clark is going to war. Especially after hearing you spent the week with that guy, Ryan, he saw at your house." Her lawyer's voice was crisp.

"I don't understand how he knew that."

"He knows a hell of a lot, Aelin. Did you share a cabin with Ryan?"

Aelin blinked. "We stayed at the same cabins, it's where my family ? —"

"No, did you share a cabin? Was he sleeping in the same location as Bailey?"

Aelin's hands went numb. "There was an issue with booking. He and his daughter stayed with us, but they were in totally different ? —"

"Don't explain it to me. It doesn't matter. Clark found out. That's in direct violation of your agreement, and it puts Bailey in potential danger."

"He's done it!" Aelin shouted. "Bailey told me ? —"

"Do you have proof? "

Aelin's mouth snapped closed. "Bailey's word. Isn't that proof enough?"

Her lawyer clicked her tongue. "Did I ever tell you you shouldn't have married a lawyer? Clark might be a hypocrite, but he's a smart hypocrite. He has your damn text messages."

Her toes tingled as Amaya hopped out of the car and Ryan opened his door. She frantically tapped her phone screen, then lifted it to her ear.

Ryan paused, glancing up at the house as he pulled his phone from his pocket and answered.

"Hey, is everything okay?" He watched her open the door.

She didn't step out onto the porch. "Mmhmm. You can send Amaya up, but I need you to stay in the car."

Ryan frowned. "Okay."

"I talked with my lawyer this morning," she continued in a rush. "While I was being Fun Aelin, Clark was being an asshole."

"Are we surprised by this?" He pressed his hand against the roof of the car.

She bit her lip. "I should have known when I didn't see anything from him that he was planning something."

"You think he planned what? Last night?"

"Hell yes, I think he planned last night. He knew what dates I was going to be gone and he didn't say a word. He knew I'd be too distracted to double check that the form had been filled out correctly. And . . . " The shaking started up again. Could Clark hear this phone call? She'd been trying to figure out how the hell he'd gotten access to her texts all morning, but came up empty. They were on the same phone plan, but everything she read said he should only be able to see who she texted, not what was in the message.

"And, what?" Ryan asked.

Her voice was tight. "He has information. On us. "

Ryan's scowl was visible from the curb. "What kind of information?"

"That we—" Her throat constricted. Clark already knew anyway, so it didn't matter if he was listening. "That we shared a cabin."

"So?"

"So, I specifically included a clause in our original agreement that we couldn't have Bailey around other adults overnight. I was trying to protect her." She pressed a hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut.

Ryan's exhale was slow. "So what does that mean?"

Aelin moved to the side and whispered "hello" to Amaya as she slipped into the house. "He has proof."

"How? Did someone in your family?—"

"No, no. He has my text messages."

"What the hell?"

She let out a sardonic laugh. "Exactly. He's filed new motions. He's attacking my character and ability to be a fit mother." She drew in a sharp breath.

"So he's sending you a message," Ryan said.

"Yeah. He will drag this out as long as possible. He'll make both me and Bailey suffer. And there's nothing I can do about it."

"Unless?" Ryan glanced up and met her eyes.

"Unless I give him what he wants."

"Which is?"

Blood rushed in her ears. "To win."

Ryan tapped his fingers on the car. "What does it mean when Clark wins?"

"It means I don't see you. It means I let him sell the house."

"And what about Bailey?"

Aelin scoffed. "He doesn't give a shit about Bailey. My lawyer and I both think that if I pretend to bend over, that will be enough to satisfy his sadistic ego. Prove that I'm stable and a fit mother, but give him what he wants. But that means I have to play Subservient Aelin until the nineteenth." Three weeks. She could do anything for three weeks, couldn't she?

Ryan nodded. "So that's the plan."

She ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, that's the plan. I'm going to start packing this week. I totally understand if you need to find something different for Amaya if you don't want her to be here during all of this."

"That's ridiculous. It's not going to hurt her to see you packing."

Aelin sighed. "Yeah, but we won't be able to do as much."

Ryan shrugged. "Pretty sure the girls are happy to just hang out. Any leads on a place yet?"

Aelin shook her head. "No. I found an apartment complex in the northwest that only requires a month-to-month lease. I'll put what we can in storage, sell the rest, and then rent a place until we can find something permanent." She curled her toes against the welcome mat. "I know that location isn't going to be nearly as convenient for you, but I'll figure this out until the girls go back to school in September. I can pick her up?—"

"Aelin, I don't want you to worry about my convenience."

She swiped a hand over her cheeks. "I'm just sorry. I know you didn't sign up for this." She watched him, and some small piece of her started to thaw. She sniffed and drew a deep breath. "Okay, I need to get going so I can get breakfast going."

"Wait, how did he get your actual texts?"

Aelin threw out a hand. "I have no idea, Ryan. I've called my phone company?—"

"Did he ever have your phone? Like open and in his possession?"

Aelin froze. Her mind immediately snapped back to Canada Day. That moment on the hill. "Yes. For about a minute. Why?"

"Because I was considering getting Amaya a phone for Christmas. I saw a few apps that you could install that don't show up on the phone screen, but that give you a readout of all the messages and emails?— "

"Holy shit." Aelin dropped to a crouch on the welcome mat, forcing air into her lungs. What had she sent via email to her lawyer? Who had she texted? That guy Colin she'd gone out with had texted her a couple of times while they'd been gone. Thankfully her phone had been off for the week, but what else had she sent?

"Aelin—"

"What would I look for?"

Ryan stammered. "I—I'm not sure, you could go into your settings and look at app storage or privacy?—"

"Okay. Okay, I'll do that."

"Aelin, I can?—"

"No, Ryan. Thank you. I'll take care of it." She forced herself up off the floor. The porch pillars swam around her. She held the phone to her cheek a second longer, then dropped her arm and closed the front door.