Beyond the Breaking Point (45 page)

“Caught me off guard, too,” Cassidy said as she wandered aimlessly around the apartment.

“Did you agree?” Erika asked, sounding cautious.

“I told him I’d think about it,” she said dubiously.

“Cassidy, you know I’m Team Max all the way, but don’t you think he’s moving a little fast?”

“Yes!” she cried out, so happy Erika understood. “Not to mention, Phillip would have a cow.”

“Who gives a damn about him? I’m worried about you!”

“I do. You know what he threatened. Imagine how ugly things would get if I did move in with Max.” She plopped down on the couch and lay with her head back, staring up at the ceiling. “Not only that, but I think Max’s mother would rather see Max with Amber than with me.”

“That’s…really disturbing,” Erika said slowly.

“Tell me about it,” Cassidy said with feeling. How sad was it that Max’s mother would rather see him with a known gold digger and cheat than her?

They were both silent, absorbing the impact of the thought. “So what are you going to do?”

“Wait,” she said, after taking a minute to think about it. “It’s the only thing I can do.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

A week passed, and then another. Despite her intentions, Cassidy had broken down and sent Phillip a text telling him the test results had come in and showed he was the father. She’d gotten a polite, “Thank you for telling me” as a reply, and then his end went silent again.

She went to work in the mornings and in the evenings came “home” to Max. They were still rotating residences, but gradually Cassidy noticed they were spending more time at his place. Sneaky man. One determined to have his way.

Max pointed out it was senseless for her to pack an overnight bag every time she spent the night and suggested she leave a few clothes and an extra set of toiletries at his house. Cassidy, uncomfortable with the idea, didn’t argue but kept doing as she’d been doing, toting her things back and forth. Max didn’t demand. Instead, he went out and purchased duplicates of the items she used and stocked his bathroom with them. Then he raided her drawers and packed up a few of her favorite after-work wear and tucked them in a drawer in his bedroom he’d cleaned out for that purpose.

A few days later Cassidy went to grab a work outfit and noticed a couple of Max’s work suits hanging in the closet. There was a spare shaving kit in the bathroom and more of his personal items in the mirrored cabinet over the sink. Rather than make a fuss, Cassidy shook her head and went with the flow. It was easier and if she were honest with herself, his actions put a glow in her heart.

If she’d believed Max was trying to control her or dominate their relationship, she wouldn’t have been so passive. However, she knew Max was doing everything in his power to show he was committed to her and that he was in it for the long haul. They were settling into a routine, like married couples, and despite her reservations Cassidy was giving serious thought to acceding to his request that she move in with him. As he’d said, they were basically living together anyway. Wouldn’t it be simpler if it were in one location?

Still she hesitated.

In another week she’d return for another prenatal appointment. She’d been eating better—Max hadn’t given her a choice in the matter—so her weight should be up. The extra days off and the silence on Phillip’s end should be helping with her blood pressure. The thing was, Max still wanted to accompany her on her doctor’s visits. After the last one, she didn’t think it was a good idea. Not without Phillip’s agreement and he wasn’t likely to give it. She hadn’t broached the subject with Max yet and she was running out of time to do so. She’d fallen asleep worrying about the matter and when the alarm went off the next morning, it was the first thing on her groggy mind.

Max muttered something obscene about the alarm clock and what he’d like to do to it. Smiling, she kissed him lightly on the lips and whispered, “Go back to sleep.”

Cassidy untangled herself from his arms, silenced the alarm and rolled out of bed. One of the drawbacks of staying with Max was that she had to get up earlier because the drive was longer. She stumbled sleepily into the bathroom, already anticipating the rousing effect of the shower.

Ten minutes later she was dressed and headed to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee for Max, who entered the bathroom as she exited it, and to eat a quick breakfast. Before Max, she hadn’t been a breakfast eater, but then, there were a lot of things she hadn’t been before Max.

As she was finishing up, Max came into the kitchen and headed straight for the coffeemaker. Cassidy watched enviously as he poured himself a cup and brought it to his mouth for that first life-giving sip. She missed coffee, missed the caffeine kick it gave, and the dark fragrant taste of it. Thanks to her pregnancy, her system could no longer handle caffeine. It was something she’d only recently discovered and she was still going through withdrawal.

“I have a meeting today, so I may not be available for lunch,” Max said after he’d consumed half a cup and then topped it off. “Actually, I’ll be out of the office most of the day. I’ll text if I get a chance.”

“Okay,” she said, a bit disappointed. They didn’t have to talk every day while at work but it made her day more pleasant when she did. She rose and put her dishes in the sink. “I may be late. I want to go by the apartment, pick up my mail, and check on things.”

“Call me if you do,” he said and held her close for a good morning kiss.

“See you tonight.” Cassidy gathered her things from the bedroom and left for work.

The morning commute was quiet. She made it to work in record time. Her morning was pretty routine, a bit slow, but she didn’t mind. In a hospital things could go from slow to manic in a second.

Cassidy was on one of her mandatory leg-rest breaks when Chris called. “Hey, Chris, how’s it going?”

“Not good at all, I’m afraid,” Chris said.

Cassidy slowly straightened on the couch. “Conversations that start off like this are never good. What’s wrong?”

“The judge dismissed your case.”

She felt her heart plummet. “What?”

“The official ruling is you didn’t have enough grounds for divorce, but frankly I think it was your husband’s response that was the deciding factor. He’s a hell of an attorney,” Chris said, her voice full of grudging respect.

“I can’t believe they simply dismissed our case,” Cassidy exclaimed.

“Cassidy, I did warn you it was a possibility. Honestly, and it wounds my professional pride to admit this, it’s probably in your best interest they did,” Chris said grimly.

Heart in her throat, voice strangled, Cassidy asked, “What did Phillip do?”

“One by one, he knocked all of our arguments down. First, he began by confessing to every allegation, admitting to being at fault for the breakdown of the marriage. He appealed to the court, stating that he believes the marriage can still be saved with court-ordered counseling for both of you, and stated he was willing to go as a couple and an individual to work on his issues.

“Then he stated should the court choose to proceed with mediation, he believes he should be granted physical custody of your child—”

“That bastard! Phillip warned me he was contemplating it, but I didn’t believe he’d follow through. At the time, we didn’t even know the baby was his. Oh, I forgot to tell you. We took a prenatal paternity test. The baby is Phillip’s, not Max’s.”

“He covered that as well. Signed an affidavit stating he was the legal father of the child, no matter who the biological father is and that he willing took full financial responsibility for any issue of the marriage—”

“Dear God,” Cassidy muttered.

“How’s your relationship with your in-laws?” Chris asked, out of the blue.

“Really good. I love my mother-in-law. We get along great. Why?” she asked, bewildered.

“And your parents?” Chris asked.

Even more confused, Cassidy answered, “My mother doesn’t agree with my decision to divorce, so we haven’t been talking as much as we normally do.”

“Might I suggest, before filing again if you still want to pursue a divorce, you work on rebuilding your relationship with both your parents and your in-laws? Your husband’s main argument for him being granted primary physical custody of the child was that he was the one most likely to provide fair access to both sets of grandparents. He mentioned since the separation, he was the one keeping in contact with both while communication between you and the others had tapered off severely since you separated.”

Chris sounded very disapproving to Cassidy’s sensitive ears. She immediately tried to justify herself. “I haven’t spoken to Phillip’s mother because I didn’t want to drag her into the middle of things or force her to choose sides. My mother only lectures me on how much of a mistake I’m making by divorcing Phillip, so of course I speak with her as little as possible.”

“Cassidy, I’m not judging you. I completely understand and in your position, would probably have done the same. The thing is, your husband found a way to use it against you. Access to both sides of the family is one of the biggest contributing factors to the judge’s decision on which parent maintains physical custody.”

Dragging a trembling hand through her hair, Cassidy rose to pace. “He said if he went for custody, it would be because of the long hours I work as a doctor. It’s one of the reasons I requested a change in shift and shorter hours. What happens now?”

Chris sighed. “You won’t be able to file again until you’ve met your two-year minimum separation requirement, unless you both agree to the divorce and file together. The court strongly suggests you pursue marriage counseling. It’s worked in the past and because dependents are involved, there’s a four-hour class on the effects of divorce on children each of you will be required to take.”

Cassidy’s mind was stuck on two-year minimum. She had to stay married to Phillip for another twenty-one months at least, and if he fought the divorce then too, who knew how long it would take before she was free. Who was she kidding? They were having a child together. She’d never be free of Phillip. He’d always be a part of her life because of their child.

She barely heard the rest of what Chris was saying. “Chris, I’m sure I’ll have lots of questions for you once my mind settles, but right now, I can’t absorb anything else.”

There was a brief silence. Then Chris said, “I understand. Call me later and I’ll be happy to go over everything again.”

“Thanks, Chris. I know you put a lot of effort into this.”

“I’m sorry things didn’t work out the way you’d hoped. Try not to let this upset you too much,” Chris cautioned. “Remember, we can always appeal.”

Cassidy forced out a chuckle. As if she had the money for a long drawn-out court battle she might not win. “I’ll try. Good-bye.”

As she slid her phone in her pocket, the one thought ringing through her head was “What the hell do I do now?” She’d been prepared to argue her case before a judge. Been prepared to fight for what was hers, fight to be free of the marriage. What did she do now that the rug had been yanked out from under her?

Max! Suddenly feeling nauseated, Cassidy sat and bent with her head hanging low. How was she going to tell Max? She’d been expecting her marriage to be over in six months, a year tops. Hell, she’d been counting on it. It was the only reason she’d been able to hold her head up and ignore the pointed whispers and knowing stares of Max’s family. It was the only reason she’d been able to silence her own conscience whenever it screamed her relationship with Max was
wrong, Wrong, WRONG
!

It was a struggle to get through the rest of her shift. She couldn’t concentrate on anything. Her mind kept going in loops, with variations of the same question bombarding her thoughts:
What am I going to do now?

At last, it was time to go home.

She sent Max a text.
I need some alone time. I’m staying at my place tonight
.

Her phone rang instantly.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Max asked when she answered, sounding concerned.

“I just…need some time,” she said, trying not to cry.

There was a heavy silence on his end. “Just tell me you’re okay.”

“Please
,
Max,” she begged.

“Damn it, Cassidy, you can’t ask me to leave you alone when you’re obviously upset. Tell me what’s wrong!” This time it was a demand.

She took a shuddery breath. “I can’t talk right now. I need to focus on driving.”

Then she disconnected the call and shut the phone off.

“Cassidy.
Cassidy
!” Damn it, they must have gotten disconnected. He dialed her number, frowning when the call went straight to voicemail. She was crazy if she thought he’d walk away when she was alone and hurting.

He grabbed his keys and wallet and jogged up the stairs to the main level. Going quickly into the kitchen, he clicked off the burners on the meal he had simmering. Hopefully, it wouldn’t spoil sitting out overnight. If not, it was just food. He could purchase more.

Max locked up the house and pulled the car out of the garage. As he reversed onto the street, he uttered a litany of curses. He loved Cassidy, but there were times she drove him crazy. Her compassionate and gentle nature covered a stubborn streak a mile long.

He still didn’t know what his mother had said to upset her so, and that had been three weeks ago. Neither woman would say. Cassidy wouldn’t discuss the details of her divorce  either. Anytime he asked she’d reiterate she didn’t want him involved in her mess; as if he could be any more involved or invested in the final outcome. Ditto the situation with her family. What he knew he’d overheard from Cassidy’s end of phone conversations when she didn’t know he was listening.

About everything else, the woman was an open book. Anything he wanted to know about her job, her friends, the baby—anything at all—all he had to do was ask and she’d tell him. But about Phillip and the divorce, she was silent. Therefore, this must have to do with Phillip.

What had the bastard done this time?

Max knew it wasn’t him that was the problem. Cassidy told him all the time he made her happy. Yet, he’d noticed an underlying tenseness, an anxiety she couldn’t quite hide. One she refused to speak of, so he was left guessing.