Aika Robredo was a poster child: with a Masters from Harvard, a respectable career trajectory and dependable eldest daughter of the Robredo family. Everyone was telling Aika that all she had left to do was finding her 'dream guy' to settle down with...
"I got the letter from the lawyer today." Marco handed Aly a brown envelope.
"Letter? What letter?" Aly pried open the envelope.
"The lawyer's letter for us to get custody of Jamie. The old man has about 1.5 months left to live. We don't have time." Marco rolled his eyes.
"Shared custody...main custody goes to mother with father having visatation rights...what am I reading?" Aly gasped as she read the document.
"Main custody goes to us. Anything less than that won't suffice. We went through this countless times, Aly." Marco shrugged
"Marcus Daniel Hernandez, do you hear yourself now? How can we ask for main custody when we've only met Jamie for 7 months? Are you even thinking about Jamie?" Aly raised her voice.
"I am, that's why I'm rushing things! Look, if Aika's mother wins the elections, the media will start digging into the sisters' relationships. And they'll find out about Nat and Jamie." Marco explained.
"And what about that? Co-parenting isn't something scandalous?" Aly retorted.
"Yeah, but wait till they find out about you...they'll call Jamie names and start writing things about her. Do you want that? Or do you want her to grow up outside the public eye with us?" Marco tried to reason.
"Still? I can't just give this to Nat and demand him to sign it right? Besides, if Nat decides to take it to court, what nakes you think that we'll win? What about Jamie's feelings?" Aly gripped the paper so hard it was crumpled.
"To be honest, you don't know what Jamie thinks either. She treats you this way because she doesn't know. Things may change totally when she knows that you are her mother. If we manage to convince the judge that Jamie wants to be with us and we are in a better position to care for Jamie, we have a good chance. I have the best lawyers remember?" Marco challenged.
"You're crazy. I'm not doing this." Aly threw the paper on the ground.
"You don't have a choice, Alyssa. You know your father's business depends on our company. If I don't get the company, my brother will cut your father off and boom, everything will amount to nothing. This is for us as much as it is for me. You need the kid as much as I do." Marco grabbed Aly's arm.
"I won't use my daughter as a pawn..." Aly gritted her teeth.
"Relax, no one is using her as a pawn. We are merely coming up with a win-win situation for everyone. We get custody, Nat gets visitation rights, you father keeps his company, I get my rightful position and Jamie gets to live in luxury. No one loses out." Marco tightened his grip on Aly.
"What kind of mother uses her daughter as a bargaining chip! Have I not done enough harm?" Aly yelled in frustration and anger.
"You don't have a choice, Aly. Don't try to be noble when you are not in the position to. You have one week, or I'll take things into my own hands." Marco ended the conversation.
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