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All Chapters of The Accidental Almost Kiss with my Ex's Uncle: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

120 Chapters

Seventy-One

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V. My hand fell to my side, and I slipped my phone into my back pocket as I stared at the visitor at my door. It had been a while since I had seen her, and I didn’t like the accusatory look she gave Paul and me. “Are my son and my brother not enough for you?” She asked, and I grimaced, hating it being worded like that. Derek and Justin were only a few years apart, and nothing had technically happened between Derek and me yet, but I didn’t feel the need to defend myself to her. Having her here didn’t feel very much like a surprise. It felt more like a punishment. Why in the world would Derek send my mother-in-law of all people to my home? No, he wouldn’t. There was no way. “What are you doing here?” I asked as Paul remained firmly between us. Looking her over, I couldn’t help but feel pity for her. She looked elegant as always in her designer clothes, but her usually perfect hair and makeup weren’t up to her normal standard. In fact, I didn’t think I had

Seventy- Two

LYDIA’S P.O.V. I didn’t think I had ever dreaded my monthly lunch with Charlotte before, but as my heels clicked on the floor as I entered her office, a cold knot settled into my stomach. Not because of her, but because of the man sitting at the desk next to hers. A woman stood before him in a bright green, polka-dot dress, and I couldn’t help but groan as he smiled up at her, flashing his dimples… well, he would have been if he hadn’t grown out his beard. I didn’t like the way his smile dropped as soon as she walked away and his eyes landed on me. What could she have possibly said that made him so happy a minute ago? Besides, if anyone should be pissed off of the two of us, it was me! “Lydia!” Charlotte exclaimed, and I forced a smile as I looked away from Paul to see my stunning best friend straightening some papers on her desk before standing to join me. “Ready for lunch?” I asked, trying to shake off the mix of anger, discomfort, and irritation that I got every time I saw…

Seventy-Three

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V.Lydia was quieter than I had ever seen her before. It didn’t help that every time she went to speak, she would glance at Paul and then shut down, only giving me one- to two-word answers. I needed a distraction, and this wasn’t what I had expected, but it was certainly doing the trick. Every time I started to think about the news Rebecca had just given me, Lydia or Paul would make a noise or glare at each other. I was pretty sure at one point, Lydia had gone to kick him, but he dodged it, and I watched her groan in pain after we heard her foot hit the metal table stand. When we got back to the office, Lydia didn’t even go inside. She practically ran to her car and was out of the parking lot before we made it through the front door. I wanted to ask Paul what happened before lunch, but I didn’t get the chance.“Charlotte, conference room in five minutes,” Rebecca called out with a smile, and I nodded. Getting news of an impromptu afternoon meeting right before lu

Seventy-Four

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V.The days had started to blur together. I didn’t remember falling asleep that night, but by the work clothes I woke up in, it hadn’t been planned. As I did every day for the past week, I went through the motions.Got up and dressed. Drank enough coffee to overdose on caffeine for the day, then spent the day between my office and the club, hunched over blueprints, talking to contractors, and taking call after call. It felt like I barely had time to breathe, and if it weren’t for Paul’s concern, begging me to take a break for lunch, I would have gone through the whole day without any breaks, let alone water or food. “Did you get any sleep?” Heather said as she walked into the club, seeing me already busy at work, talking to the contractors. Instinctively, my eyes flittered behind her, searching for Derek, but like always he wasn’t there. Why wo

Seventy-Five

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V. Walking into The Black Door, I almost didn't recognize it.The bar had been moved to the other side of the room, and the staff seemed happier not to have to go as far when restocking from the back room.There was more room to move freely, and with the new light fixtures and the new flooring, the energy felt entirely different. From the look on Heather’s face, I wasn’t the only one who loved it. She was beaming as we inspected the completed work.For the first time since the deadline was moved up, I actually felt good about leaving at a normal time, knowing everything was working out. Things were going well, and I needed to see my parents. It had been too long since I had been off work before the end of visiting hours, and I hated it.Leaving early for the day, I went against every instinct I had to go home and get a real night of sleep. Instead, I picked up dinner and headed for the hospital. The room was quiet when I entered, and I knew I made the right choic

Seventy-Six

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V. Two days. I had only two days left before I would be standing before Justin and the Judge. Two days left until I would be legally free. Paul walked around the car, opening the door for me, on high alert. The closer we got to the hearing, the more anxious he became. I had thought his sleep deprivation was making him paranoid until I had researched the rates of violence surrounding divorce, and realized that he wasn’t. Justin’s criminal trial was less than a week away, so if he were going to make a move, it would be soon. Sliding out of the car, I had barely made it two steps before I heard her. “Charlotte!” Paul backed up against me, shielding me with his own body. “Back in the car!” Not questioning him, I spun quickly, grabbing the handle as he moved to place his back to me, yanking the door open. “It’s just me!” Tara called out, and I rolled my eyes, turning to face her. “Get back!” Paul ordered her, and surprisingly, she stopped moving. “He is

Seventy-Seven

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V.I let my hands brush down the front of my dress as I approached the entrance to The Black Door, seeing the line of cars discreetly staged outside, full of members waiting to get in. I couldn’t look at them, terrified that they would hate what I did inside and know that I was behind it. All day, I had been on the verge of an anxiety attack, so nervous for tonight that I could barely hold down the crackers Paul forced me to eat. He looked phenomenal in his suit, and I hated that Lydia was going to see him like this. The bouncer and hostess waved me through immediately, and I gave them a terrified smile as I passed, but they didn’t seem to notice. The daytime manager who had shown me around before Justin attacked me was sitting up front, collecting phones and handing out bracelets as people came in. I was praying that meant Heather was enjoying the inside and wasn’t in there putting out fires instead. We had been putting out fire after fire this week, and I wasn

Seventy-Eight

DEREK’S P.O.V.“I’ll let you know when you’re needed,” I said to Paul, dismissing him, but he didn’t leave. “I can’t drink right now, Lydia. I’m working.” Charlotte said, disappointment evident in her voice. Glancing to Rebecca, I found her staring at me. She looked curious, but when her eyes moved to Charlotte, I knew she was just trying to figure us out. “Actually,” She finally said, smiling at Charlotte. “You’re off the clock. Enjoy your night, Charlotte. You’ve earned it.” “Really?” Charlotte said, unable to hide her breathtaking smile. “Go,” Rebecca said, and Charlotte didn’t waste a second. She grabbed Lydia’s hand and the two of them walked to the bar. I watched as they took down two shots each, giggling together as for the first time in weeks, Charlotte was able to relax. “She has court tomorrow,” Paul said from beside me. I knew he wouldn’t actually take the evening off, but he deserved it, even if it was only for a few hours. “I won’t let her get hammered. But a drin

Seventy-Nine

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V.A knock sounded on my bedroom door, and I cracked one dry eye open as I groaned. “Good Morning!” Paul called through the closed door, and I shoved my face down into the pillow. “Kill him,” Lydia groaned, and I giggled as she screamed. “GO AWAY!” “I can’t. It’s time.” He said, sounding hesitant, something I had never heard from him before. “Time?” I whispered to myself before my sleep-deprived brain caught up to me. I had court today. No. I had to face Justin today. My body ran cold, and I felt every muscle tense as I tried to imagine facing him, feeling his eyes on me as I stood before the court and told them about Tara and the attack and shared the proof. I crawled over to the edge of the bed as Lydia softly started snoring again. Reaching over, I nudged her legs, and she rolled over to get away from me. “I have court today,” I whispered, but as if an alarm had gone off, her eyes shot open, and she sat up in the bed. “Are you okay?” She asked, then wince

Eighty

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V.I had barely made it to my seat before the judge entered, and everyone stood. Tara was behind Justin, but I had a crowd behind me.As the judge entered, he called for witnesses to step out until it was their turn to testify, and I turned to see Tara leaving the room.I could feel Justin’s eyes on me as I glanced back to the judge, but he didn’t look away. The hairs on my arm lifted, and I clenched my hands together on my lap as I waited for the hearing to start. As the judge rattled off our case number and swore us in, the room was blurry, and everything sounded muffled. My lawyer spoke for me as the judge asked for my position, and it wasn’t until Tara walked into the room to testify that everything cleared. She had tried to destroy me, tried to extort me, and now the judge was expecting her to be honest. It was laughable, but I was prepared to take her down, and the smirk my lawyer sent me confirmed that he was feeling the same way. He had the video of her ad

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