LOGINChapter 59Aria Blake~•~ “There has to be another way, he just can’t take your kids away from you,” Sophia said as we drove away from the court. “You’ve been their primary parent for almost six years, and it’s ridiculous that the court granted him full custody… not even shared custody.” Any reasonable person could tell that Julian had done something illegal behind the scenes. There was no way he would have gotten the kids if that judge were fair. I thought about appealing, but what if he just bribes them again and the case goes away before it even starts? I was so upset. “I don’t know what I am going to do without my kids,” I choked out the words as I rested my head on the window. “Why would he do something like that to me?” “I’m sure he is just desperate to be in your life or make you move back to New York.” My chest tightened. “I can’t move back to New York. You are here. My work is here. Samuel is here.” I packed my life in a suitcase and left the city I once loved so much
Chapter 58Aria Blake~•~ “… this court finds it in the best interest of the children to grant sole legal and physical custody to the father, Julian Cross.” The judge’s gavel descended, the sharp sound echoing through the courtroom. For a moment, the sound seemed to suspend time. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The judge granted full custody of my kids to Julian. How was that even possible? Why did they let him take my kids away from me? I had no idea when tears started rolling down my cheeks. “What has Julian done?” I whispered to myself. Samuel and I were having issues, so he didn’t follow me to court. Sophia and my lawyer were the ones beside me. She gave me a comforting pat on my back. “Everything is going to be okay,” she muttered, more to herself than me. I couldn’t hold back a bitter scoff. I turned to my lawyer. “You promised me. You gave me hope. You told me that there was no way he could get custody of my kids.” It felt like someone was constantly ripping m
Chapter 57Aria Blake~•~ Julian called me and told me that Samuel had attacked him. It sounded ridiculous because the Samuel I knew wouldn’t do something like that. He ended the call before I could get all the details from him. And when I tried calling him back, he didn’t answer his phone. I even texted him, but he didn’t reply. Samuel had gone out earlier to meet with a few of his friends. I didn’t believe that he lied to me and actually went to Julian’s hotel instead. But I wanted to be sure, so I called him. His phone rang a few times but he didn’t respond. I was worried. I tried a few more times and it was still the same outcome. No response. Sinking into the couch, I dialed Julian’s number again. As the phone rang, I prayed silently that he would answer. But he didn’t. It was then that I realized that there was a high chance that he was telling the truth. He sounded really upset on the phone. Since I couldn’t reach any of them, the only thing I could do was wait. So
Chapter 56Julian Cross ~•~ It had been exactly twenty-four hours since I sent my lawyer to deliver the court papers to Aria. But she hadn’t reached out to me. At some point, I wondered if she hadn’t received the papers, but my lawyer showed me proof of her signature during delivery. “Was she trying to process it?” I whispered to myself. Or maybe she felt that it would go away if she ignored it and acted like she didn’t see it. But that wasn’t going to work. The case was serious and I’d hired the best family lawyer in Texas. I didn’t want to do it at first. I gave Aria space. I gave her the chance to reach out and tell me she’d changed her mind about the kids.But she didn’t. Maybe she felt like I’d given up. She had no idea that the last thing I would ever do was to give up on my kids. While I was still lost in my thoughts, a soft knock came at the door. Letting out a sharp exhale, I stood up from the bed and answered. I expected it to be room service, but I was shocked w
Chapter 55Aria Blake ~•~ “He hasn’t called or reached out to me after I left him at the school that day.” “Have you reached out to him?” Claire asked, her voice sounding from the other end of the call. I shook my head. “No… I was hoping that he listened to me and left Texas.” It was the weekend and Julian hadn’t said anything. Everything had been peaceful. A part of me felt suspicious, but the other part chose to believe that he was gone. “Do you think he’ll give up so easily?” I sighed, pushing my hair backward. “I don’t think so… Julian won’t give up so easily, but I still feel like my words hurt him and he’s decided to take a step back.” “Uhm… let’s hope that’s the case.” “Maybe it is. Or else, he would have reached out to me since I kept insisting that he saw the kids only during the weekend.” Claire and I stayed on the phone for a few more minutes, and we eventually had to end it because she was being called to set. I placed my phone on the nightstand when we were do
Chapter 54Julian Cross ~•~ As Aria and I talked, I expected that she would at least have some sympathy and allow me to go with the kids. But as usual, she left me mid-conversation and walked out of my life. I didn’t follow her, I let her leave. All eyes were on me as I walked back to my car. I’d caused a scene at the school and I could tell that most of them were judging me. But that was the least of my concerns. I got back to my hotel in no time. The first thing I did was to call Cole. “Man, I need some advice,” I groaned as he answered the call. Cole let out a sharp breath. “On what?” I dragged a hand down my hair. “Custody… do you think I should take Aria to court and fight for custody of the kids?” “I knew it would get to this point,” Cole sighed. “What happened?” “She doesn’t want me to see the kids. She’s acting like I’m not their father or I don’t have any right over them.” “So what’s your plan? Do you want to bring them back to New York?” I nodded. “Yes. I can’t







