Lilly POV
The next day, I met Garrett Ward's lawyer, a dark-skinned man almost the same age as my boss. The man always had a professional look when he spoke to me, his name was Smith, and as Garrett had said, he was a Harvard Law School graduate who was one of the most successful professionals in that field in all of London.
"As Mr. Ward already anticipated, the Patel, little Arthur's maternal grandparents, are really determined to obtain custody of the baby. That's why it's important that you take this matter as seriously as possible." I nodded, as the lawyer said. I was very aware of the seriousness of the situation, and I knew that if my statement was flawed, Arthur could lose the chance to grow in the company with his biological father, so I was willing to do everything in my power to not allow that to happen.
"I'll do my best, Mr. Smith." I confirmed my thoughts with my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Garrett sitting a little calmer in the chair next to me. All these days, I could feel how tense he was because of this whole situation. His in-laws were apparently people without feelings to be working so hard to take away his own son from Garrett. I wanted to hold his hand and reassure him with my touch, but I was afraid that the gesture would be too intimate to do in front of others.
I mean, when he and I were alone, Garrett didn't have any reservations with me, he would grab me and kiss me whenever he could, touch me, grope my breasts and slap my ass, calling me hot or things like that, but when we were in public, he was close to me, yes, but he never touched me and always called me formally. So now with the lawyer here in front of us, a lawyer who had been in his family for a long time and who knew him very well, if I touched Garrett now in such an intimate way, it certainly wouldn't sound so good in the eyes of the attorney. Not because what Garrett and I had now was anything wrong; quite the opposite, I was a single woman and he was a widower, so we could very well develop a relationship, but the point was that Garrett still hadn't told anyone about our relationship; he was saying that we needed to wait for Arthur's case to wrap up first because it wouldn't look good if the judge found out about our relationship.
I wasn't questioning it, for me, I had all the time in the world for him to organize himself first and then take over. I was already living a dream in his company, so being patient was the least I could do.
"It's great to hear that you're so willing to cooperate, Miss Stark." Mr. Smith spoke. "The Patel will want to belittle you and your truth, they will be like vultures trying to find an inconsistency in your speech, even if it is the smallest, and they will want to use it cruelly against you. Be ready for the fight." I readily agreed with the man's words, I was willing to do my best. "And never forget, your relationship with Garrett Ward must be completely professional, he told me that you two have been getting really close lately, but the judge doesn't need to know that right now." When he said that, my cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, so Garrett had told me about us to his lawyer. How exciting. "I want you to tell his side of the story as if you were the spectator of his life, tell them how difficult it was for him to leave the child in the hands of the orphanage." He continued. "Don't forget to point out that despite everything, the orphanage is well looked after and in the best condition." I looked away from the lawyer, feeling that that wasn't entirely true.
"Sorry, but Saint Laurent is not an orphanage with good conditions to live in. I say that because I grew up there, in fact, the mother superior is practically a demon with the children." I really don't have good memories of that place where I grew up, the children there suffered terrible punishments, food was precarious, and places to sleep were not decent, so I would never have good things to say about that orphanage. At that moment, when Mr. Smith cast a cautious glance in Mr. Ward's direction as if warning him, Garrett stood up.
"Are you trying to say that I was negligent and left the baby in a place as horrible as hell itself, Lily?" He looked distressed. "What do you think the judge will do when you tell him Saint Laurent is the worst orphanage? Do you think the judge will give me custody? Can you work in my favor? This is our son we're talking about, Lily." Did I feel the weight of his words? Garrett was looking at me with so much disappointment. Had I disappointed him? I didn't want to be useless... I stared at the ground, feeling apprehensive.
Clearly, Garrett was wanting me to lie to the judge about the conditions at the orphanage. I didn't like lying, I felt very guilty doing it, but it was to save Arthur in the end. I pondered that with a heavy weight on my shoulders. It was just a sacrifice I needed to make; the lawyer was asking me to embellish things, dramatize them, and make it so exciting and captivating that I just needed to tell a few little lies that it was for the greater good, that baby Arthur was for the greater good, and that I would do this for the happiness of my future husband and my son.
I raised my head and nodded to Garrett and then to the lawyer. "You can leave it to me, I'll do my best to convince the judge." The black man sitting in front of me smiled satisfied, and Garrett's hand lightly squeezed my shoulder in agreement. It was so good to feel like I was actually helping him.