“At least she’d have her parents together, and I stand by what I said before.” Lionel let out a labored sigh. “It’s one thing if we’re together, but otherwise, I’m going to need full custody. For her sake.”
I jerked the wheel hard, taking a hard right into a nearby parking lot. My hands shook on the wheel, and my heart pounded. I still was about fifteen minutes from the school, but I didn’t want to be on the road when I started screaming at my ex-husband. It wouldn’t do Juniper any good if I died in a five-car pileup.
“You son of a bitch,” I said. “I called it off with Logan, and you’re still saying you’re going to take Juniper?”
“I have to think about what’s best for Juniper. Like I said, stop being selfish, Emily.”
Closing my eyes, I leaned back in my seat, my hands now gripping the steering wheel tightly.
“You’re the adulterous bastard who was using drugs. I’m tired of you telling me I’m being selfish. I don’t know what this is about, but I know it’s not about what’s best for Juniper, and I’m not going to let you bully me, Lionel.”
“Keep telling yourself that when I get full custody. I’ve given you a choice. We get back together, or Juniper lives with me full-time.”
“Go to hell, Lionel.” I grabbed my phone and pressed end.
I stared at my phone, waiting for Lionel to call again. He’d probably be pissed that I dared to hang up on him, but I didn’t care. He talked about getting back together with me, but he couldn’t go three seconds without being rude.
He’d called a couple of times the last few days. Both times, he pelted me with the same garbage about how we needed to get back together. Today was the first time he’d threatened to take Juniper since he’d ordered me to stop seeing Logan.
A good minute or two passed before I trusted myself to move again. I reached over and picked up my phone. Then, I killed the Bluetooth connection to turn off the speakerphone.
I rubbed my sweaty hands together and took several deep breaths, desperately trying to not cry again. I hated that Lionel had so much control over my feelings. He’d hurt me in our marriage and had done nothing but hurt me since.
Now he was doing it with the one thing I cared about most. Juniper.
It wasn’t fair at all. I’d done what Lionel asked. I’d broken up with Logan, even though I’d fallen for him, but my bastard ex was still threatening me.
I wondered if he really thought Logan had some dark past he could discover. It smelled a lot more like he was getting the competition out of the way.
Lionel might have been harboring some bizarre and sudden fantasy about us getting back together, but no matter what he did, it’d remain a fantasy. The newfound arrogance of my ex shocked me, and that was saying something.
Whatever happened between him and his girlfriend in Mexico, I doubted it changed the man. Even if he managed to behave for a few months, eventually he’d continue to cheat on me. Then, he’d turn it around and try to make me feel awful because I wouldn’t smile and let him get away with it.
No, ma’am. That was not going to happen. No way. No how.
He couldn’t force me to marry him again by threatening me with Juniper.
Something clicked in the back of my mind, and I winced.
“Emily, you’re being dumb,” I whispered. I needed to stop letting him dictate the terms of everything and realize all the cards I had to play.
Just because Lionel said he would go for full custody didn’t mean he’d get it. If all it took was a little girl getting sick to lose custody, there’d be a lot more parents losing their kids.
Why was I letting Lionel spin me up so much? The more I thought about it, the more it felt like an empty threat.
Somehow, I’d let this man always convince me that I was in the wrong, even though he was the one who cheated, lied, and manipulated. The only reason I’d even agreed to joint custody was I’d thought it would be better for Juniper to grow up with her daddy around, but that didn’t mean I had to sit there and take the man’s emotional abuse.
I glared into the mirror, desperate to glower at someone’s face. Lionel didn’t care. Not really. I was sure of it. All this talk of Mexico and the hospital sounded fake.
After all, he didn’t seem to care at all about Juniper being sick until he’d come back and spotted Logan.
I scrolled through my contacts list until I found my lawyer’s number and gave him a call. I should have done this from the beginning instead of Lionel manipulate me.
“Law offices of Green, Green, and Hall,” the chipper receptionist answered.
“This is Emily Blue,” I said. “I need to speak with George.”
“One moment, ma’am. Let me see if he’s available.”