you have done nothing but lie to me. I don’t know who you are, I don’t know what to think, I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
Pain crosses my face. I need to get away from him right now. I can’t take this hurt any longer.
My eyes hold his. “Believe this, Cameron,” I whisper. “I will never forgive you as long as I live.”
I turn and walk out the door with my broken heart shattered deep in my chest.
“All rise,” the clerk calls.
As we all stand, I feel like I’m having an out of body experience.
I’m in a small courtroom in LA. Cameron stands on the other side of the room.
We’re both alone. This is a closed hearing and neither of us have legal representation. The big case is in a month and I will be prepared for that one.
I’m not giving up without a fight. But if I do lose, I will run.
I will not lose my son.
The only people here are two secretaries and a security guard.
I glance over as we wait for the judge to arrive, and Cameron’s eyes are fixed firmly on the floor. He can’t even bring himself to look at me.
He feels guilty, and so he should. This is a cowardly act if ever I saw one.
I bring up his child and this is how he repays me.
The door opens, the judge comes into view, and the floor sways beneath me. I know that face.
It’s the man from the club.
Judy.
I frown. That’s why they call him Judy. Judge Judy.
He’s a judge.
My angry eyes flash to Cameron and he drops his head even lower and blows out a deep breath. He knows that he goes to the club. He knows that I hate him.
I’m going to lose.
My heart starts to race.
Tears instantly fill my eyes as I contemplate what’s about to happen.
The judge sits down and reads the papers and then glances up and does a double take when he sees me. His eyes travel over to Cameron and he frowns.
He knows that Cameron spent the night with me in the Escape Lounge. Hell, he even bid against him for the honor.
I close my eyes as I sit quietly while he reads the papers in front of him.
“What’s going on here?” he finally asks.
We both stay silent.
“Mr. Stanton, address the court,” he orders.
Cameron stands. “I’m applying for temporary custody of my son, your Honor.”
“Why?”
“Read the paperwork,” Cameron replies, his hatred for this man shining through.
“I have and I want to hear it from you. Need I remind you that you’re in my courtroom?”
This man is so rude.
Cameron pauses and his eyes find mine. “I feel that his mother is going through a hard time at the moment and that it is in the best interests of the child if he stays with me for a while. It’s temporary,” he adds.
“I see.” The judge watches him carefully and then his eyes travel to me.
“You took an overdose this week, Ashley?”
“I was drugged, your Honor,” I reply. “I didn’t knowingly take drugs. I would never do that.”
His eyes assess me for a moment.
“You are involved in prostitution?” As if he doesn’t know… snake.
You screw girls there every night behind your family’s back.
“No,” I reply flatly. “I work at the bar in a club that has prostitutes working in another area of the club. It’s by association that I have been accused of this,” I answer firmly.
He raises an eyebrow in question. I would dearly love for it to go on the record that he is a client if he wants me to elaborate.
A fucking aggressive, sleazebag of a client.
He inhales deeply as he flicks through the paperwork. “What do you request of the court, Mr. Stanton?”
“Temporary custody until I am reassured of Miss Tucker’s state of mind,” Cameron answers.
“There is nothing wrong with my mind,” I hiss.
The judge peers over his glasses at me. “You’re a medical student, Ashley?”
“I am.”
“Do you know the consequences of your future if you are charged with prostitution?”
I drop my eyes to the floor in shame. “I do.”
“Your Honor, I have offered Ashley financial support so she can stop working at the bar, but she has, so far, refused,” Cameron interrupts.
The judge’s beady eyes peer up over those glasses again. “Is that true, Miss Tucker?”
I pause for a moment. “Yes, your Honor.”
He frowns and flicks through the paperwork again and then rests his eyes up on us both intermittently.
“In light of this week’s events with Miss Tucker overdosing, I feel I have