Chapter 3: Episode three
CHAPTER THREE
Ricardo and Elsa's faces falls as soon as Diego said that word ' marriage.' They have been so lost in their distaste for each other that they have forgotten that they are indeed still married to each other.
Separations doesn't equate divorce and they have both forgotten about this.
They look at their lawyers, demanding a thorough explanation, they have gone from arguing and throwing words at each other to being utterly shocked.
"It seems to have taken you both by surprise, I will do my best to explain the situation to you. " Diego clears his throat and looks from one person to the other.
For the first time in minutes, they are quiet and just looking at the lawyers.
" All this while, I thought that you have been divorced, Elsa. " Diego tells her. " I would have told you that this is an impossible case. "
"What do you mean?" Elsa eyes grows in fear. " How would you call this impossible when he has my kids with him all this time. I am not asking for his money, I have enough of my own, all I need is to be with my kids because he has kept them away from me for a long time. "
Ricardo sighs and looks way. Elsa sounds desperate, to the point that she would do anything to get her kids back.
" Court is not an option at this point because if any judge finds out about your separation, they are going to assume that you have put the kids through too much trauma and they are going to take the kids away from you. "
Ricardo and Elsa's heart skips two beat at the same time. They feel like someone has sliced through their heart with a sword.
" That's not possible. " Ricardo snorts, trying to keep a brave face, but he has lost all his heart already.
" It is sir. " Ethan tells him. " There is a very sure chance of you losing your children to the child protection system if they find out how negligent you have been concerning your kids. Both of you would end up not having the kids. "
Now, that's one thing that horrifies them more than ever. Both of them don't want the other to have the kids, but one thing that tops the horror of that is the fact that there is a possibility of both of them losing the kids.
" Is there someone I have to see?" Elsa murmurs. " I don't mind giving money out. "
" Do you mean bribing the judge?" Diego calmly asks her.
She looks down in confusion. She is desperate and she is considering bribing the judge. She is really looking into that one.
"You can't bribe the judge when it comes to child's protection. " Ethan adds. " You will be fined for trying to corrupt the judge and at the end of the day, the kids will be taken way. "
Ricardo holds his hands in fits and thinks. Not his kids, he can't live with the fact that someone else would he raising his kids when there is absolutely nothing wrong with him.
"But there is one thing we can do. " Diego looks at them.
For the first time since all of this awkward argument, Ricardo and Elsa feels relived. There is after all a way out of this.
The lawyers look at each other, at this point, their minds are in sync even though their clients are totally against each other.
" If you guys will be willing to move in with each other and file for divorce. That way, the judge would give a fair judgement with the assumption that you both have been together his whole time. "
"What?!" Elsa shrieks in shock. Did the lawyer just suggest that they love in together? That can not happen no matter what, she isn't going back to the house is that psycho.
Ricardo on the other hand smiles. He knows that this is the tie breaker for her. She is not going to agree to return to his house and that means that the kids will continue to be with him and that's good news for him.
"You aren't suggesting that I move in with this crazy fool, are you?" Elsa stands up from her seat and points an accusing finger at Ricardo.
"Please let's refrain from calling each other degatory names. " Ethan says nervously.
" She can all me all she wants. " Ricardo smiles. " At the end of the day, she is not going to have my kids. "
Elsa shoots a deadly glare at him, there is so much unresolved tension between this two.
Diego stands to his feet and clears his throat.
"Ethan, is it?" He nods. " May we step outside to discuss a few things?"
Ethan stands up without a word and both of them leave the office without a word.
Now, Elsa and Ricardo are left on their own. They give each other cold stares, it's awkward, but no one is ready to back down.
" Did you dress up so much to see me, Elsa?" Ricardo asks with a smile on his lips.
"Oh please. " She rolls her eyes. " You are nothing and I wouldn't go through the stress to impress a nobody like you. "
Ricardo laughs. Her words was meant to hurt him, but it's weird that he ends up laughing at it.
" Are you sure?"
" You can bet your ass, sweet heart. " She smiles.
He smiles stands up from his chair and walks towards her and rests on his arms that are on the chair. He makes sure that he is very close to her so well that she can feel his breath on her neck.
"Baby, don't lie to me. " He sighs. " From what I see, you put on that slutty dress so as to tempt me so that you would get me to fuck you across my table. "
Elsa gasps and turns around to give him her meanest look. She is putting together all the most insultive words she can think of so that she can tell him exactly how she feels when the door opens and the lawyers walk in again.
Ricardo clears his throat and returns back to his seat like he didn't do anything wrong in the first place.
The lawyers sit again and look at their clients. It seems that they have now come up with a solution.
"Okay. " Ethan smiles. " The situation is a revolvable one. "
"Good. " Elsa crosses her legs. " I guess you have come up with something that won't require me to stay at this fool's place. "
Diego gives her a sorry look.
"I am afraid, madam, but that's the only way. The good news is that you won't have to stay more than a month. You file for divorce as soon as possible and it will be over before you know it."
It sounds like something that can be done so easily, but not to her. She doesn't want to spend a day with Ricardo, not to mention a month, she might end up dying.
"That's the only way, Elsa. " Ricardo spreads his hand in victory. " If you don't think that it's possible for you to come back to me, I suggest that you go back to your stupid life and leave me and my kids alone."
He sounds victorious already even though the fight hasn't even started yet. That's because he knows her so well and knows that she hates him so much and she won't be willing to live with him again.
Elsa looks so angry that she is even turning red in the face. She stands up noisily and her hands hits his table. The lawyers flinches, but she doesn't.
"This isn't over, Ricardo. " She warns him. ", You better watch your back at every time because I am definitely coming for you. "
With that, she stumps out of the place in anger. He thinks that he is smart and manipulative? She is going to show him that she is not the Elsa he used to know before.
She is not the same lady that would do anything to please him, she is not the same lady that would literally let him spit in her face.
She hears her lawyer walk behind her, but she doesn't stop to wait for him to catch up with her. She walks out of the office and into her awaiting vehicle.
"Argh! Motherfucker!!" She yells out her frustration as soon as the door of the car is closed.
Her lawyer sits beside her quietly, not saying a word to her, he is waiting for her anger to subside before speaking to her and that's a very wise decision.
"I'm very sorry, Elsa. It seems that he was very prepared for us. " Diego sighs.
"No need to apologise. " She closes her to yes and waves her hand. " He hasn't won this, I will make sure of that. "
Her lawyer is looking at her in pity. He knows how much she loves her kids and how far she is willing to go for them. It's saddening to see her in this situation.
" Do you want me to speak to him?" Diego asks her calmly. " If I use the right words, I can get him to let you see the kids for a few hours, I know that it's going to change your mood. "
"No. " Elsa surprisingly refuses the offer. " What's the use of seeing them if only I am going to disappear on them again? "
They sit quietly in the car as the car begin to move to the road. Elsa is lost in thoughts as the driver continues to drive the car through the busy streets.
"What are you going to do next?" He asks her.
"Don't worry. " She smiles faintly. " What I am going to do next is going to throw him off the hook so quickly. He did bad from the minute that he chose to underestimate me. "
Diego doesn't understand her at all. It seems that she is speaking to him through cryptic words.
She smiles and returns back to her cheerful self.
******
Ricardo feels like his head is going to explode like a grenade and he wishes that it would. Maybe it's going to put an end to this splitting headache that he feels right now.
It's nine in the morning. He has just back from an impromptu meeting at his kid's school. Alex slapped another child again and the teachers didn't know how else to settle the case. The child's parents were furious, but all of that went away as soon as they saw who he was.
All the same, his head is pounding and he feels terrible. Alex seems to have been getting into a lot of troubles since his mom left, and Ricardo hasn't been able to talk him into being a good boy.
Ricardo stares at his image in the mirror and opens a bottle of aspirin and throws a few in his mouth.
He knows that he is very exhausted and needs rest, but he can't afford that now. He is a father and the CEO of a multi billion company and at this point, he can't afford rest.
He pulls at his tie and mentally prepare himself for the stress of returning back to office this morning.
He hears a faint knock and walks to the door. It's Brittany, the nanny who also doubles as a cook.
He smiles at her, and she smiles back at him, even with all of that, he can still see through her sorrow.
Her hair is messy and her glasses cloudy. Her clothes are ruffled, she hasn't been taking care of herself.
"There is something at the door, a lady. " She announces. " I told her to wait, but she let herself in. "
Ricardo squints. Who would have the guts to walk into his house in that manner? Why does that sound familiar? Only someone as crazy as the new version of his ex wife would do that.
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