The First-Instance Ruling
Vesper's POV
My chest tightened first, then my eyes began to burn. I lowered my head, and the words on the page blurred with tears.
Elias put a hand on my shoulder and said nothing.
I wanted to smile, but couldn't lift my lips. I could only hold the ruling and let the tears fall beside the signat...
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Chapters
1. Eight Years Of Loving Him In Silence
2. Who Do You Think You Are?
3. You Finally Called
4. If I Get Divorced
5. You'd Better Pray They Covered Their Tracks
6. They Meant to Hold Every Exit in Their Hands
7. Somewhere That Doesn't Use Me and My Child as Instruments
8. Just a Little Longer, Sweetheart
9. Don't Call Him
10. I Had Explained Myself Too Many Times
11. Then Where Were You Last Night?
12. Don't Touch Her — Not Our Problem If She Falls
13. For Myself. For Her.
14. Someone Was Afraid of Me Leaving
15. Let Them Wait
16. He Always Knew How Far She'd Reached — He Just Feared I Did Too
17. Sign the Agreement, or You'll Never Get Near Him
18. I Don't Need to Stand Behind You to Have a Name
19. Rhys Doesn't Know I Called You
20. She Was Never There Because of Whose Wife She Was
21. Not A Wasted Word
22. The Ones Who Stayed to Listen
23. The Recommendation Letter
24. You Were Not Included
25. Don't Make A Scene Tonight
26. You're Pregnant. Don't Take It Out On The Baby
27. See You in the Papers
28. His Legal Wife Has No Right To Exist
29. She's My Daughter
30. Now You Remember I'm Your Wife?
31. He Never Wanted This Marriage
32. I Want a Divorce. The Sooner, the Better
33. Every Debt Gets Settled — Together
34. Let the Court Decide
35. You Don't Get to Decide That Alone
36. I'm Not the One Who Should Have Regrets
37. Later
38. Black Ink on White Paper
39. Don't Push Me On This
40. I'm Always the One They Drag Out to Humiliate
41. She Put My Unborn Child in a Risk Assessment
42. I Won't Trade an Apology for Prenatal Care
43. Don't use the baby to frighten people
44. If I Survive, I Will Divorce You
45. Her. Not Us. Not Me
46. You Can't Arrange How I Live After This
47. Stop Treating Me Like the Prize
48. We've Already Passed the Point of No Return
49. Bring the entire Hawthorne family down on me
50. Divorce Is on the Table. Our Daughter Is Not
51. I Love Her Cleaner Than You Ever Did
52. Even His Love for Me Became My Fault
53. She Didn't Come From a Broken Marriage. She Came From Me
54. But she's coming
55. A Face That Had No Business Being There
56. I Knew You Once. I Don't Care To Anymore
57. What the Crofts Lost. What the Hawthornes Took
58. What a Joke
59. She's Using the Baby as a Bargaining Chip
60. She Is Not Theirs to Take
61. The First Thing I'll Do Alive Is Take My Daughter Back From Your Name
62. He Brought Me Home to Lock Me Away
63. Even Her Milk Had to Bear the Hawthorne Name
64. She's My Daughter
65. Sir Would Never Let Her Leave Here Alive With These
66. You Aren't in the Clear Either
67. It's Not Safe Here
68. Give Her Back to Me
69. I Don't Want His Heart—I Only Want My Daughter
70. No One Would Ever Guess I Had to Hide Things Just to Sleep
71. Every Single Stroke Was Mine
72. I Was Only the Woman Who'd Borne Rhys a Child
73. I Still Had Three Months
74. Cancel Switzerland
75. Then Go
76. Get It Cleaned Up
77. Don't Be Afraid, Mama Will Find a Way
78. Give Her to Me. She's My Daughter
79. She Wants Me to Lose the Right to Ever Be a Mother Again
80. You Won't Need to Take Care of Her Anymore
81. I Only Have One Night
82. The One Who Looks Bad Was Never Me
83. Bruises
84. You Are Not to See Her Again
85. Half a Letter
86. The Servants' Room
87. Tomorrow Night
88. The Old Forest Road
89. I Only Want Her
90. Your Brother Is My Brother Too
91. Six Weeks
92. Vesper Croft
93. I Have Leverage
94. I'm Willing
95. Waiting for Word
96. Otherwise, Aurelia Dies
97. Half an Hour
98. Not Eligible to Compete
99. Proof That I'm Still Alive
100. Two Weeks
101. Mama Isn't Going to Leave You
102. Have You Seen Them Yourself?
103. She Took My Work. I'm Only Going to Take It Back
104. To Take Back What You Took from Me
105. Because I Knew You Wouldn't Believe Me
106. I'm Just Taking Back My Name
107. The Test-Tube Procedure
108. Taking the Stage, Making the Trade
109. Leaving the Estate*
110. You Just Chose Blythe Again
111. The Psychiatric History
112. The Anonymous Email
113. Withdraw the Accusations
114. The Flight to Switzerland
115. Others Can Copy the Outline. They Can't Copy the Numbering
116. Airport
117. Mother Came Late
118. Grandfather's Condition
119. They've Already Dragged Aurelia Into It
120. Then Take Her From My Hands
121. This Time I Won't Lie There and Let Anyone Decide for Me
122. Then Let Them Say It in Front of Everyone
123. Mama Was Late
124. I'm Not Handing My Life or My Child's Over to You Anymore
125. Let Them All See Why I Was Ever in That Place
126. They Left My Daughter With Me
127. He's Not Here to Shut Me Up—He's Here to Take His Own Life Back
128. The Secret of the Previous Generation
129. A Mother's Past
130. The Second Hearing
131. Primary Custody
132. Don't Let Her Leave
133. He Tore That Pretense Down Long Ago
134. Block One, and There's Another
135. I Will Not Hand Him the Choice Again
136. Your Marriage to Rhys Was Never an Accident
137. They Hadn't Even Changed Their Methods
138. Make Her Disappear for a While
139. He Can't Take Her
140. The First-Instance Ruling
141. Now It's His Turn to Come In Under My Rules
142. We're Not the Ones Who Should Be Hiding
143. This Time, I'll Hold On to My Daughter, and to Myself
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