All Chapters of Divorced, Now Watch Me Rise!: Chapter 111 - Chapter 118

CLAIREI woke up to sunlight streaming through my window and Julian's arm was still around me, he was already awake, scrolling through his phone with his free hand."Morning," I said, my voice was rough with sleep."Morning," he replied, setting down his phone immediately. "How did you sleep?""Good," I admitted. "You?""Better than I would have alone," Julian said, pressing a kiss to my forehead.His phone buzzed on the nightstand and he sighed. "Work?" I asked."Always," he confirmed, but didn't reach for it. "It can wait.""You should check it," I said. "I know you're busy with the trial prep."Julian hesitated, then grabbed his phone, his expression shifted as he read whatever message had come through."What is it?" I asked."My lawyer," Julian explained. "Wants to meet this morning, the prosecution added three new witnesses.""That sounds important," I said."It is," Julian agreed, clearly torn. "But today's the day Amanda's follow-up article goes live, I wanted to be here when y

CLAIREThe name hit me like a physical blow. Vanessa, my own stepsister.The woman who'd pushed me down the stairs, who'd caused my miscarriage, who'd slept with my husband. The same Vanessa had tried to have acid thrown in my face."Ms. Cross?" Detective Rodriguez's voice came through. "Are you still there?"I couldn't speak, my throat had closed completely. "Ms. Cross, I know this is shocking," she continued. "Take a moment."I forced myself to breathe, forcing air into my lungs. "I'm here," I finally managed to say."I need to ask you some questions," Detective Rodriguez said gently. "Do you think you can answer them?""Yes," I said, though I wasn't sure it was true."When was the last time you had contact with Vanessa Whitmore?" she asked.I thought back, trying to remember through the shock. "Months ago," I said. "She tried calling and texting after my father's lawsuit went public, but I blocked her number.""Did she make any threats during those communications?" Detective Rodrig

CLAIREThe words hung in the air like a bomb and Julian's face went completely blank. "What?" he asked quietly."I'm eight weeks pregnant," Vanessa repeated. "I just found out last week, Claire, please, you can't send a pregnant woman to prison."I felt like I couldn't breathe. Pregnant, Vanessa was pregnant. "Whose is it?" Julian asked, his voice hard.Vanessa was quiet for a moment. "Ethan's."Julian's hand tightened on the phone. "That's not Claire's problem," he said."But it should matter!" Vanessa cried. "I made a mistake, a terrible mistake, but I'm carrying a child, an innocent child who didn't do anything wrong.""You should have thought about that before hiring someone to attack Claire," Julian said."Please," Vanessa begged. "I'll plead guilty, I'll take whatever punishment, but not prison, not while I'm pregnant, please."Julian looked at me, his expression asking what I wanted him to say. I reached for the phone and he handed it back."Vanessa," I said, my voice steady de

CLAIRE  My phone buzzed again, another unknown number calling. I declined it without hesitation. "They're going to keep trying," Julian observed. "Let them," I said. "I'm not changing my mind." We sat in silence for a few moments. "I don't want to be here," I said suddenly. "What?" Julian asked. "I don't want to sit in this apartment all night thinking about this," I explained. "I need to get out, do something, anything." Julian stood up immediately. "Okay," he said. "Where do you want to go?" "I don't know," I admitted. "Somewhere I can stop thinking for a few hours." Julian pulled out his phone and scrolled through something. "There's a late showing of that new action movie you mentioned wanting to see," he said. "Starts at eight." I looked at the time, seven PM. "That'