Her stomach twisted on itself, and a low whistling sound began in her ears.
“I’m surprised you showed up,” Eric continued in the same hard voice. “Don’t you want to run away and send an email later to let me know you’re not coming?”
Amy’s mouth fell open as Kate stepped in front of her. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk to my client that way. We’re here because you requested a mediation.”
Amy wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole.
Eric ignored Kate and looked directly at Amy, wave after wave of hostility rolling off of him. “Still can’t speak for yourself, huh? You know, I used to admire that quality about you, but now, I see it for the weakness it really is.”
“Mr. Michaelson, if you don’t control your client, this meeting is going to end right now,” Kate warned, pausing to give Eric’s lawyer a meaningful look. “And I’ll be encouraging my client to sue for emotional damage. I’ve got a floor full of witnesses too.”
Amy was going to be sick all over the expensive hardwood floors.
Tyler Michaelson leaned sideways and whispered something into Eric’s ear. With a curt nod, Eric followed him to the other side of the table, where the two of them sat down, side by side. Amy kept her head down as she sank back into the seat she occupied earlier. When Kate’s hand darted underneath the table to give her hand a light squeeze, Amy tried not to crumple with relief.
With Kate by her side, it couldn’t possibly spiral any further.
Tyler Michaelson sat up straighter and gave Amy a dismissive look that let her know exactly what he thought of her. “Let’s get right to it, then. My client is asking for nothing less than what’s owed.”
Kate squared her shoulders and flipped her own folder open. “Luckily for you, my client is in a generous mood. She doesn’t want anything from Mr. Taylor. Just the divorce.”
“You don’t deserve anything,” Eric said with an angry look in Amy’s direction. “I’m the one who worked hard, and I gave you everything, and it still wasn’t enough.”
Amy resisted the ever-present urge to shrink back into her seat.
Kate squeezed her knee, and Amy swallowed back the apology on the tip of her tongue.
“Since my client was the primary breadwinner, and your client was content to let him pay for everything, she isn’t owed a single thing,” Tyler continued, as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “Furthermore, your client actually owes Mr. Taylor for emotional damage.”
“You and I both know that’s not going to fly in court, Tyler. What emotional damage? Your client verbally abused Ms. Gruntle and belittled her during the entire duration of their marriage. You’re lucky she isn’t the one who sues him.”
“Verbal abuse? Is that really how low you’re willing to sink?” Eric’s eyes narrowed into slits, and it took everything in Amy to sit there and not run out of the room in tears. “It’s not verbal abuse to expect things to be done a certain way. I gave her everything, and all I got in return was a disorganized, sloppy house and a wife who couldn’t be bothered to put any kind of effort in when she wasn’t in the mood.”
“That’s not true,” Amy blurted out, her voice catching toward the end. “I did everything you asked, butyou’rethe one who was never satisfied.”
“You’re a liar,” Eric retorted, pausing to unfasten a button on his jacket. “And you agreed to this meeting because you know I’d wipe the floor with you if this goes to court. No judge is ever going to side with you, especially when they realize how you left me and how you couldn’t even be bothered to tell the kids in person.”
Amy’s eyes filled with tears. “That’s not fair! I—”
Kate placed a hand on Amy’s arm and gave her a quick look. “My client doesn’t have to answer any of these accusations. As for the manner in which she left, she is perfectly entitled to leave whenever she wants.”
“And are you entitled to treat the children like an afterthought?” Eric’s lips twisted into a cruel sneer. “You can’t even deny it because you know it’s true. So much for being a good mother.”
Amy sputtered, her mouth opening and closing several times. Every response she had, every retort she thought of, wasn’t enough.
Because, deep down, as much as she hated to admit it, she knew Eric was right.
He had every right to throw that in her face, but it still felt like being punched in the gut repeatedly.
Eric knew exactly where to twist the knife in and dig to make it hurt.
And she was the idiot who’d given him the road map to be able to get away with it.
What was wrong with her that she hadn’t been able to confide in her own children?
Why hadn’t she told them the truth and took refuge with one of them, regardless of the consequences?
Because you needed a fresh start, and you didn’t want your children getting caught in the middle. You did the best you could, Amy. Eric is just trying to bait you and get under your skin.
