At Last

VI

"Mr. Jonas, why exactly are you filing for primary custodary of your children? From these records it seems as if you didn't see them for a period of six months after you filed for divorce and they seem to be perfectly fine in the care of Ms. Lovato." The lawyer running the mediation was William Smith. He had a greying beard and hard brown eyes that were nearly black. His face was wrinkled with age and it looked like his tie was choking him. But he was better than their first lawyer. He was neutral instead of being biased towards Nick and Demi really appreciated that, especially now.

"Not seeing them for that long was a mistake. Honestly, I was still bitter from the way that the divorce happened and I wanted nothing to do with Ms. Lovato, especially since I thought that the kids were not mine. But I realize now how wrong my actions were and I want to take care of my children the way that they deserve to be taken care of," Nick explained as Demi fought the urge to roll her eyes. His team of lawyers probably wrote him an entire script that he memorized to the very last line for this meeting. Demi still couldn't believe that this was happening, that Nick was actually filing for primary custody, that she was about to go to trial for her own children. Because it was obvious that that was what was going to happen. Nick's motto was "go big or go home." It's what he lived by. Even if a decision could be reached in mediation, he wouldn't accept it. He wanted a trial so that everyone could see her lose to him.

"Ms. Lovato, are you aware of the impending investigation against New York Paternity?"

"Yes I'm aware. But Nick has been with the twins since they were born. They're almost five years old now. The twins not biologically being his shouldn't change anything. That's not the only thing that makes him a father and that's what my kids saw him as," Demi replied as Mr. Smith nodded his head.

"And I also got another paternity test done. The results are the same. I have the evidence that the twins still aren't his so he can't file for primary custody, can he?"

"He technically still can..."

"But it's not like I cheated on you or anything and you know that. You know that I loved you with every fiber of my being and you know that I was willing to work things out. You wanted the divorce. You wanted to be single. And now because you want your company to succeed you want me back?" Demi spat, literally feeling her blood boil as she worked through the entire situation. It was just a mess. It made her wish that she had never met Nick.

"You would never admit that the kids aren't actually mine but are actually products of rape in a court, especially not with all the press this case is receiving. You'd never want to do anything to hurt them," Nick said, leaning back in the chair as if he was done with the conversation. It was another thing that irritated her about him. He thought his word was final and when he put his last word in, the conversation was over.

"Yeah, and I thought you wouldn't either," she said with a shake of her head.

"Clearly we won't reach a solution in this session so we're taking this to trial. It's only a custody case so this Saturday at noon, I expect to see you both there. Your lawyers should brief you on how this will be handled. Have a good day," Mr. Smith said with a deep sigh. Demi gathered her things and shook his hand before leaving the office. Once she was in the fresh New York air she inhaled a deep breath and tried to swallow her nerves down, but it didn't work.

"There's still time for you to come back to me. You know if you just agreed to let us try something out again I'd drop this entire thing," Nick whispered into her ear as she waited for Max to arrive. She didn't know why he was still there. She could see Johnathan leaning against his town car as he waited for him down the block.

"Just leave me alone, Nick. Please," Demi quietly pleaded as she moved away from him. Nick was surprised. When did she start backing down? When did she not fight back?