“Olivia…” he said to stop her, and she turned to see him stand up and come around his desk. He walked straight to her, still wearing his robes, and pulled her into his arms. They were both crying as he held her, and she wasn’t sure if it meant that he forgave her, or if he was saying goodbye to her forever. “I love you,” he said in a choked voice, enveloping her in his strong arms. “I love you,” he said again, and then he looked down at her through his tears. “It says in the Bible that we have to forgive seventy times seven. That’s four hundred and ninety times. I warn you, I don’t have another four hundred and eighty-nine times left in me. Don’t ever lie to me or hide anything from me again.”
“I swear I won’t,” she said fervently, smiling and crying at the same time. “I haven’t lied to you since then. And I never will again.”
“I believe you,” he said solemnly, and then he looked pensive for a moment. “Technically, by law, I should adopt Will now, to establish paternity. But if I do, he’ll figure it out. I just have to stay alive until he reaches majority, and then it won’t matter.” He had been thinking about that for days.
“You’d better plan to stay alive for a hell of a lot longer than that. I don’t intend to lose you after all this.” He smiled and kissed her, and then took off his robe and grabbed his coat.
“Let’s go for a walk and get some air.”
“I thought I’d lost you,” she said as she looked up at him. “I thought it would kill me if I had.”
“I’ll kill you if you ever lie to me again. I sentence you to spend the rest of your life with me. That should be punishment enough.” He smiled and held the door open for her, and they left his chambers holding hands. They went for a long walk around Foley Square before they both had to be back on the bench. They didn’t say a lot. They didn’t need to. They had come through their trial by fire, and Harley knew what he needed to know and should have known all along. They both knew how much they loved each other. It was a win-win all around.
As she walked back to her own courtroom afterwards, she sent the same text to all her sisters. “He forgives me. Thank God. Thank you for being there. I love you. Ollie.”
In the Federal Building, Harley was smiling as he took his place on the bench. He was going to pick up his things at the yacht club when he adjourned for the day, and go home to his wife and son.
* * *
—
Nadia had dinner with Greg the night before she had to sign the agreement for the divorce at the notaire. She was quiet and tense, but he had just gotten back from Texas and was eager to see her. He told her how much he had missed her. She was happy to see him when he picked her up. She thought it would be a good distraction, so she didn’t worry too much about the meeting the next day, but she could hardly think straight, and couldn’t follow anything he said.
“Are you okay?” he asked her. He had taken her to a beautiful restaurant, and she barely ate.
“I’m sorry, Greg. I’m nervous about the meeting tomorrow, more than I thought I would be.”
“Why? You said it’s all been amicable, and he’s not opposing anything you want. It’ll be a relief when this is over and you’re not married to him anymore. Divorcing him is the right thing to do, after what he did. You don’t have any doubts, do you?” He was searching her eyes after he asked the question.
“Not doubts. It’s what I want to do, but it seems like a very big step. Just as important as marriage. Unmarriage is a big deal too.” She looked very young to him as she said it. And pretty in a sapphire-blue dress the color of her eyes.
“ ‘Unmarriage’ is a very big deal, but a necessary one sometimes. It sounds like you had a pretty good run for eleven years before it all went south. That’s more than a lot of people get. Neither of my marriages lasted eleven years. The first one lasted for three years of total misery. And my second wife cheated on me two days before our second anniversary. So you’re way ahead of the game, and you got two nice kids out of it. You’re smart to walk away before he lands you in the middle of a public scandal again. I can’t think of anything worse.”
“It was bad,” she conceded. “Very, very bad.” It had been hideous.
“He sounds like an immature guy who let his dick run away with him. That’s not husband material, Nadia.” It was one way to look at it, and he was right. He made it all sound so simple, but it didn’t feel that way. It felt hard, like tearing off an arm or a leg. It seemed excruciatingly painful to her, and she didn’t want to talk to Greg about it. He was pleased that she was getting a divorce. He had told her he didn’t go out with married women, or even separated ones, and he had made it clear that he wanted to date her. She thought they’d have fun together. But she wasn’t looking for a date. She had loved being married to Nicolas, and their family life. It was never going to be the same again. It already wasn’t.
She managed to get through dinner. Her heart wasn’t in it, and Greg knew it. He didn’t try to kiss her, wished her luck for the next day, and took her home.
She lay in bed awake after that for several hours, thinking about Greg and the things he’d said about divorce. She thought about Nicolas, and the memories of the past came flooding back to her. Of when Sylvie was born, and how excited they had been, and Laure. Of reading his books, and the thrill it was for both of them when one of his novels was number one on the bestseller list for the first time. The trips they had taken, the time they spent with her sisters and their families as a group, the summers at the château. She finally fell asleep an hour before she had to get up, and woke up with a start, afraid to be late for the meeting at the notaire.
She looked ragged by the time she got there. The babysitter had spent the night so she could take the girls to school. Nadia kissed them both and flew out the door. She took an Uber so she wouldn’t have to park.
Nicolas was just ahead of her as she walked into the building where the notaire had his office, and he stopped to wait for her. He could see how nervous she was, and he was no better. “This is like taking exams when we were at school,” he whispered, and she smiled. They arrived at the notaire’s office together and both their attorneys looked surprised. Hers leaned over to her once they were seated in the conference room.
“Has there been a change of heart?” he asked her.
“Of course not. We just met outside so we walked in together.”
“It happens sometimes, you know.” She shook her head, and the notaire walked in, looking serious.
Their divorce would become official once he stamped their papers and sent them on to the court to complete the process.
The notaire questioned Nadia first. They were his first appointment of the day.