Chapter 152: Hundred and Fifty Two

The envelope was thick. When it arrived at my house in the evening, my hands trembled. I saw it and knew it was bad news. It was addressed to me in bold letters, but the return address screamed louder: Ashwell & Associates, Family Law Division.

My hands trembled as I slid my thumb under the flap. Noah was in his room, humming as he sorted his toys. The normalcy of it clashed so violently with the storm building inside me that I wanted to scream.

The first line was enough to make me collapse into a pool.

Petition for Custody.

I skimmed through the papers, my heart pounding. I tried to read the whole thing, but my head spinning, and I felt weak from the anxiety. My name in black ink, alongside words that made my chest constrict: unfit mother, financial instability, reckless decisions. They had dredged up everything - my past jobs, the years of struggling, even Jacob stepping in when I was pregnant. Emma had left nothing untouched.

My knees buckled. I dropped into the chair at the dining table, clutching the stack of paper like it might bite me. It tore a little bit under my nails. The words blurred as hot tears stung my eyes.

Unfit.

She wanted my son. She wanted my son.

By the time I grabbed my phone, my hands were shaking so badly I almost dropped it. I pressed Declan’s number, my chest heaving.

He answered on the second ring, his voice warm, casual. “Hi, dove. What’s -”

“She filed,” I gasped, my voice broken and high pitched and my words slurry. “Emma, she, she’s filed for custody. She’s calling me unfit. She…”

The line went silent except for his sharp inhale. When he spoke again, his voice was different. Low, furious, vibrating with a restrained kind of rage. “What did you just say?”

“She’s trying to take Noah.” I sobbed through my sentences. “Declan, she’s saying I can’t take care of him, that I, God, she listed everything, every mistake, every…” My voice dissolved into  full blown sobs.

“Stop,” he snapped. I knew it wasn’t meant at me, but it was with a force that startled me. “Stop. Don’t say another word until I get there.”

“No, Declan..”

But the line was already dead.

I sat there, gripping the papers, tears dripping onto the ink until they bled slightly. My body felt cold, like every ounce of warmth had been stripped from me.

What if she won? What if the courts listened to her? The Ashwells had money, influence, power. She could spin a story about me that made me look like nothing more than a failure with no place raising a child like Noah.

Noah’s laugh drifted faintly from his room, and it broke me.

The pounding at the door made me jump, even though I was already expecting it. The door was unlocked and Declan didn’t wait for me to answer. He pushed it open, his face thunderous as he he came into view. His tie was loose, his jacket forgotten, his entire body radiating fury.

“Where are they?” he demanded.

Wordlessly, I handed him the stack of papers. He snatched them, flipping through page after page, his eyes scanning with sharp precision. His jaw worked, teeth clenched tight.

When he reached the end, he slammed the papers onto the table so hard they scattered.

“She thinks she can do this?” His voice was a growl. “She thinks she can take my son away from you? From us?”

I shook my head helplessly, tears streaking down my cheeks. “She has power, Declan. She has lawyers, connections. What if she…”

He cut me off, rounding on me with eyes blazing. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare believe for one second that she can take him from you. From his mother. From the woman who’s raised him every single day of his life.”

My chest heaved, torn between panic and the sheer force of his conviction. “But the things she said, Declan…she made me sound like a disaster. Like I can’t provide for him.”

Declan crouched suddenly, right in front of me, his hands gripping mine so tightly I felt his pulse racing. His voice softened but stayed fierce. “Listen to me, Willow. You are the best damn mother I’ve ever seen. Noah is smart, kind, safe, and loved because of you. Not despite you. Because of you. She can throw every ugly word she wants at a judge, but she doesn’t have the truth. And we do.”

I swallowed hard, shaking. “But what if the truth isn’t enough?”

His grip tightened, his voice breaking with emotion. “It will be. Because I’m not letting her win. Not now, not ever. I will fight her with every breath I have. With every cent, every connection, every ounce of influence she thinks she owns. She has no idea who she’s up against.”

His eyes were blazing, fierce in a way I’d never seen before. He was not just a man defending himself, but a father protecting his family.

“I’m scared,” I whispered.

“I know,” he said, his forehead pressing against mine. “I am too. But we’re not doing this alone. Not anymore.”

Tears slid down my face as his words washed over me. For the first time since opening that envelope, I could breathe again.

Noah wandered in then, clutching a toy car. “Why are you guys yelling?”

I swiped at my cheeks quickly, forcing a smile. “We’re not yelling, baby. Just… talking loudly.”

Declan stood, his face smoothing instantly, his tone warm as he crouched to Noah’s level. “Hey, buddy. How’s it going?”

Noah grinned. “Good! Wanna race?” He held up the car.

Declan smiled back, though I could see the fire still burning behind his eyes. “You bet. But give me a second, okay?”

Noah nodded and scampered off again.

Declan turned back to me, his voice low. “We’ll get a lawyer. The best. And we’ll get ahead of this before she even knows what hit her.”

I nodded weakly, still trembling, but his steadiness began to seep into me.

“She can write whatever she wants on paper,” Declan said, his voice hard again. “But she can’t erase the years you’ve given him. She can’t erase his love for you. That’s stronger than anything she has.”

I clutched his hand, tears spilling again, this time not just from fear but from the weight of his promise.

For so long, I had fought alone. Carried every secret, every burden, every fear. But now, now it wasn’t just me.

Now it was us.

And Emma had no idea what kind of fight she had picked.

If I only had trust in one thing in the world, it was in Declan.