It was a feeling that didn’t go away. The whole morning, he went through the motions of his schedule, but his mind was firmly on Chloe. In his mind, he saw only her. And he knew he’d feel like a tightly wound spring until he could touch her again.
* * *
Clint Douglas was a kindly man in his late twenties. Chloe had warmed to him instantly – and all the more so because his voice had a quiet softness to it. It was completely at odds to the way William spoke, and even to Hendrix’s overt confidence. Not a single fibre of her being was threatened by Clint. He was easy. Easy to talk to, and easy to be around.
She sat beside him now, and his banter about his weekend almost had her completely relaxed. She could almost, but not quite, have forgotten that she was about to come face to face with her husband for the first time in years.
But the rushing in her veins served as a reminder. Life was not calm sailing. Not yet. Yes, she’d met Hendrix, and for the first time in a long time, she was allowing herself to want things from life that were just for herself. But there were still a lot of difficulties to be got through before she could really allow herself to think of the future.
“Don’t be nervous,” Clint assured her, apparently aware that her thoughts had drifted.
She nodded slowly. “I just want it over,” she said with a shrug.
“And it will be.”
Her look was one of pure scepticism. “We’ll see.”
“Your ex-husband can’t force you to stay married.”
“Perhaps not, in theory. But he could make it difficult for me to have a clean break.”
He reached over and covered her hand with his. “Try not to worry about that.”
Her smile deepened. “Oh, okay,” she responded with polite sarcasm.
His response was stalled by the opening of the door. A male assistant stepped in to the sparsely furnished boardroom, and announced (unnecessarily), “Mr William Ansell-Johns Junior, and his counsel, Ian Walsh.”
Chloe’s eyes moved swiftly passed the other lawyer. He was an unremarkable looking man in his early fifties with thinning hair and a slate grey suit. But it was William that had her attention.
For the first time in years, she came face to face with her husband, and she felt … nothing.
Her head cocked to the side, as she took her time to study him anew. Yes, he was very handsome. He always had been, with his thick blonde hair, dark brown tan and shining green eyes. He was broad and muscular, and very, very strong; as she’d experienced first hand. But he no longer made her feel anything but contempt and frustration.
“William,” she greeted, surprised at how cool her voice sounded.
“Chloe.” His eyes held hers, and it was impossible for her to understand the strength of emotion that was being pushed towards her. He kept his eyes locked to hers the whole time it took him to walk through the room and take his seat opposite. Beneath the table, whether by accident or design, his foot brushed hers.
She fought the urge to jerk her legs away swiftly.
“Let’s begin, shall we?” Clint spoke first, joining his hands together on the table and leaning forward a little.
“Yes, let’s,” William responded, speaking before his lawyer could.
Chloe knew that tone of voice. It was stubborn and recalcitrant. He wasn’t going to play fair. Her stomach lurched and she wished then she hadn’t been so dogged in her response to Hendrix. The thought of him sitting beside her instantly buoyed her. If only!
“We’d like to reject your grounds for divorce,” Clint said, moving swiftly over this point as though it were inconsequential. “Given the volatile nature of your relationship, Chloe would be within her rights to file under far more serious terms. However, she’s prepared to be reasonable and cite irreconcilable differences…”
“No.” William leaned forward, his green eyes like copper. “No.” His gaze shifted to Chloe. “You abandoned me. And I have every right to name that on the divorce.”
Chloe’s stomach was aching. She felt a surfeit of disgust and grief. “You know why I left you.”
His lips flicked in a sardonic drawl. “And why’s that?”
She refused to be cowered by him. “Because you hit me, and you threatened me. And our child.”
“Careful, young lady,” Ian chimed in. “You’re getting very close to slandering my client now.”
“Slander?” She glared at the lawyer with impatience. “You’re actually going to deny it?”