Page 49 of Shadowed Agenda
“You need to keep reading,” Regan said, her face ashen. If she thought he’d missed her swipe at the tear on her cheek, she was wrong.
“This is unbelievable,” he murmured as he read on. Nicholas was stripping Regan of every right she had as a parent. He stopped when he came to the section she’d been referring to. “He can’t do this. I thought divorce and child custody agreements were publicly available documents.”
“Not in New York State,” Regan said and inhaled deeply. She tapped a fingernail on the sheet of paper in his hand. “That clause states that I will not discuss the details of the custody agreement with anyone outside the court.”
Nicholas had effectively protected himself from his constituents finding out how he’d treated Regan. He’d spin it so everyone would believe Regan had abandoned her daughter.
“He won’t get away with it.” Pavlo threw the document onto the coffee table and ran a hand through his hair. “Any half-decent judge wouldn’t agree with this.”
“I’d welcome a half-decent judge. Anyone who would just read the agreement,” Regan said, throwing up her hands. “I’m certain Nicholas found out who is presiding in court Friday. Probably someone he knows from the old boys’ club who won’t even bother reading the agreement. He’ll just sign wherever he’s supposed to sign.
“Nicholas haslawyersrepresenting him.” Her fingers added angry air quotes around the wordlawyers.
Any other time, Pavlo would have laughed. Right now, his heart ached for her.
“I’m still waiting for my lawyer to get back to me. He needed to talk to a few friends and get advice.”
She slumped into a chair, defeated. Pavlo sat on the couch across from her to see her reaction. Regan didn’t accept help easily. He’d need to sweet talk her into it.
“Let Shadow Defense help,” Pavlo said and could see her tense up. “We know a lawyer who can take on…” He looked at the firm’s name at the top of the cover letter. “Whitecourt and Smith.”
“I appreciate you wanting to help, but it’s not a battle I can win,” Regan said. She rubbed her temples with her fingertips. Her face mirrored the hopelessness in her voice. “I’m certain it’s a ploy to force me to take his alternate offer.”
“Alternate offer?” Pavlo didn’t like the sound of that.
“He wants me to remarry him.”
Pavlo burst out laughing. “The man certainly doesn’t have a self-esteem problem.”
“No, but he needs to solve an image problem, and Emmeline and I are the solution.” Regan stopped massaging her temples and looked at him. “Think about it. If his constituents knew he divorced me while I was pregnant, they’d never vote for him. If we remarry, his image goes from playboy to husband, a dutiful wife by his side in both the political and social arena. As a bonus, he gets the sympathy vote for having a sick child. Nicholas will swing the story so our divorce was a hiccup, and we were always meant to be together. A true love story.”
“Well, he’s going to be disappointed,” Pavlo said, pulling out his cell phone and then centering the custody documents on the coffee table so he could take a photo of each page.
“No,” Regan said and placed the fingers of one hand on the stack of papers. “Don’t waste your time.”
“You’re not seriously considering remarrying him?” Pavlo asked, an uncomfortable feeling rolling through him.
“I can’t lose my daughter.” Regan stood and grabbed her purse. “We need to go, or we’ll be late.”
“You don’t have to do this, Regan,” Pavlo stood and reached for her hand. Each time he touched her, she upset the careful emotional balance he’d maintained after retiring from the Navy. While he didn’t understand it, he knew it was good and drank it in. “We’ll find a lawyer who can fight him.”
“I won’t win.” Regan shook her head and blinked back tears. “Nicholas always wins. I’ve never seen him lose. I have to think of Emmeline.”
“There’s a first for everything,” Pavlo said, desperately needing to convince her she could fight Nicholas.
“Not in this case.” She fell silent, defeated. She pulled her hand back, breaking the contact between them.
The loss felt like a vital organ had stopped working. At that moment, Pavlo realized Regan had done the one thing he’d sworn he’d never allow to happen again. She’d slipped into his heart.
It wasn’t a simple sexual attraction. He felt something more for Regan. What? He didn’t know, but he wanted to find out. That meant she couldn’t give in to Wyndham.
“You know you’re making a mistake,” Pavlo said.
“It would only be considered a mistake if I had a choice,” she replied, her voice small. Sadness lingered in her soft blue eyes.
Pavlo had to fight the overwhelming need to pull her closer and beg her to change her mind. He knew it would have no effect. She was stubborn. She’d decided. He would have to find a way to fight Wyndham and prove to her they could win.
“You have until Friday to decide what you’re going to do,” Pavlo said as he pulled out his cell phone.