Only you (Book 4)

Lawyer stuff

Narrator POV

„Thank you for the coffee." Nora's lawyer thanked her as she took the mug out of her hand.

„Of course." Nora smiled softly towards her as she sat down on the other side of the kitchen island. Folders and papers where spread all over the marble plate and Nora can't even imagine how ich work Ruby has in that case.

„Okay. Why don't we start of with a memory line. If you don't mind I would like to record our conversation so that I don't forget the essential informations when I will get my papers ready for court." she offered after she sipped on her mug.

„I am in deep shit right?" Nora asked and Ruby looked up away from the papers to see how concerned Nora looks.

„Not so deep that I can't fix it." she tried to reassure her and the concern didn't fade away complete which is understandable.

„Are you gonna pull an Annalise Keating move?"
Nora asked jokingly to lighten up her mood wich helped a bit as she heard Ruby giggle about it.

„She's an awesome lawyer. I'll try my best and I will do everything in my power to get you out of that situation. That's what I am here for."

„How much do I have to pay you by the way?"
Nora asked and Ruby shook her head.

„Nothing." Nora raised a brow on that answer.

„What do you mean nothing? I can pay you I have a good amount of money ready and I know how expensive a lawyer is."

„I appreciate it but Cobie and Scar took care of the payment already. So you don't have to move a finger for that." Ruby told her and Nora was shocked.

„Shut up they did not."

„Yes they did."

„Okay sorry for saying that. I just didn't expect this and I most definitely didn't ask for it."

„They just wanted to help you out in the best way they could. Your friends are like family. Lizzie took care of your kids and dog and Cobie and Scar handled the formal things with getting me as a lawyer. Besides I gave Cobie a huge discount since we are close friends... and I love to help where I can no matter what the money says."
She told her as she was typing down on her laptop.

„So I want you to close that chapter so you can leave that motherfucker behind. I don't like saying that but karma played its cards on him." she added and Nora smiled a bit more now.

„I just want to be with my kids. They are everything to me and I don't want them to grow up without me being around. I don't wanna go to jail. I wanna be a part of their future." Nora opened up to her and Ruby smiled towards her.

„Then let's get this shit done. For your kids!!"
Nora grinned wide knowing that Ruby is here with her with her whole heart and she can rely on her lawyer.

„For my kids!! Yes." Nora agreed and she took a deep breath to prepare herself for whatever she has to go through now.

„Okay. So it is good that weren't so many people involved on that day. It was just you Lizzie and him right?" she asked and Nora nod while giving her a clear „yes."

„Great." Ruby started to write down some informations on her laptop.

„You've had a long and rough relationship with Victor who died that night. How long have knowing him? Could you walk me through your experience with that relationship?" she asked and it's prepared herself to go back in her memory line which she knew that it wouldn't be pleasant.

„I've known him for 9 years. We've been together during college. Round about two and a half years before I broke thing up with him. He was toxic from the beginning and I only realized it after the damage was done already. After I broke up with him I started to see the red flags. He degraded me in many ways. He was abusive as well..."

„Was it only mental abuse? Or physical abuse as well?" Ruby asked as she stopped typing to look at Nora.

„At first just mental. It came to physical abuse after I got back with him."

„Alright walk me through that progress on how you got back with him so I can understand it."

„In order for me to get back with him he'd have to be able to manipulate me and was only possible if we would hold something against me that could ruin me. Or more importantly others."

„Who do you mean by others?" she asked as she began to type again.

„Lizzie." rolled of of her lips so obvious that there wouldn't be any other person who'd have such a hold on Nora in that moment.

„I can't remember all the details but I remember glimpse of them that are enough evidence for court." Nora added and Ruby nod as she listened silently. „Go ahead." Ruby added after she sipped on her coffee.

„I've had a relationship with Lizzie in that time. An intimate one. We've became more than just friends. Friends with benefits if you wanna call it that. Victor put two and two together that night he showed up at my place. Lizzie was there and he saw us together but she was there only talking to me nothing happened that night. She wanted to check in on me after I stormed off from that family college gathering." Nora explained and all the thighs they could hear were ruby's fingers typing on her laptop and the wind dancing through the trees outside.

„So he added the things up and one day he walked up on me and said that if I wouldn't get back together with him he'd tell everyone that I had sex with my professor. I don't wanna find out what would have happened that day if he would have spread those news. I didn't care about my reputation."

„You didn't?" Ruby asked surprised and Nora shook her head.

„That was my smallest problem. I didn't want Lizzie to be effected by it. I could only imagine how hard it must've been for her to gain that spot and to build up such an astonishing reputation. She had everyone's respect and admiration and it is well deserved."

„So you did it for her?" Ruby asked and Nora nod.

„And I'd do it again."

„Is this why Lizzie kept visiting you? Because she felt like she owes you everything for the fact that you took this responsibility to keep her reputation up?"

„No there must be another reason for why she sticked around."

„Why?"

„Because I never told her about it. That day when I walked back into her office I grabbed my stuff and left. I never told her that Victor just manipulated me in the hallway. I kept it to myself."

„Why? Why didn't you tell her?" she asked her.

„Because I knew that she would have said „I don't care about my reputation." she would have gave a singles flying fuck about that and that just isn't right. I was just an affair. A side thing. I decided for the both of us that it would be better to stop things immediately before they get messy."

„I know what you did must've taken a lot of courage and selflessness but that was still not right.
With that I mean it wasn't right to decide for Lizzie. She should have had a say in that too. There are always two people involved in an affair."

„But still. She had builded up her life already and she had more things to lose than I did. She wouldn't deserve that."

„Neither did you." she told her and Nora held in for a moment.

„If you don't tell her this she will find it out in court because this is a cracking point and it is an important information." she added and Nora let out a sigh of frustration.

...