♡
Sara's POV
This time it was me who reminded Michael that we had to leave. He signaled to his phone, continuing the conversation with our newest client, Mrs Smithgard, who had just recently opened a shop and needed advice on her finances. She was a friend of a high-paying customer of ours, so naturally Michael took things into his own hands.
I in the meantime had managed to hire our old errand boy back - but he had certain expectations we had to fulfill for him to do so. He didn't want to be the only one in the company to deliver files and papers back and forth, up and down the 35-level tall company. We managed to lower the salary we would give, which would be twice as high as before, and gave him the task of choosing his companion. He had to interview him and not us. Additionally he had to answer for him and his mistakes. "Henceforth - errand running is your task, which makes you the manager of that job", Michael had told him over the phone. That alone was enough for him - it was a big step up in his work environment.
From what I had gathered, he wasn't half bad at the interviewing process. He wrote up a job description, put it online, read through each one of them carefully and even asked us for a space he and his people could maybe use.
Michael was humored by his motivation and gave him half of the empty 27th floor, telling him it was his to use.
My fiance got out his office and I gave Stacey the sign to take over for me. I took my bag and we approached the elevator together.
Once the doors closed, I pressed the button for the ground level floor. Michael turned to me and demanded a kiss.
I tip-toed and gladly gave him many smooches.
"You are nervous", he breathed against my lips. "I can tell by your kisses."
"You think everything will go well?", I asked him.
"The restraining order or the meeting with Angus Hawkins?"
"Both", I answered.
"We can only hope, I can't tell you for sure myself", he took my hand and caressed it with his thumb lovingly. "But what I do know is that it's a step forward, away from the crazy and into a safer territory."
"You are right", I nodded, trying to calm myself down. "We don't have to worry anymore. We don't have to check the flat everyday for bugs."
Michael drew me close to him, pressing me against his chest. He gave me a deep kiss. "Calm down honey. I don't like seeing you this worried", he brushed over my cheek with his knuckles. "Everything will be fine in the end. I'm here. I'll protect you."
I sighed happily against his chest. "But I don't want you to fight the world."
"For you I'll do anything", he kissed my hair. "All I for ask in exchange is your hand and a bunch of children."
I had to laugh.
"I want to name one of my sons Matthew", he told me suddenly. "I like that name a lot."
"And his second name?"
"Amar."
I raised my head. "After my father?"
"Why not? I like him", Michael gave me a smile.
"Will there be a Michael Junior?", I asked him, leaning back into his chest and looking up to my handsome fiance. He seemed even sweeter now when he talked about baby names.
"And make me a Michael Senior? No way in hell", Michael frowned. The elevator slowed down.
We separated and faced the elevator.
Some people entered and nodded at us as a silent greeting. We were squeezed into the back and my hand found his arm. I held it.
Michael squeezed it. His fingers touched my ring and he smiled.
My heart made a jump.
I couldn't wait to marry this man. He was the one who made me see how much worth I was. He was always there to cheer me up when I felt low. He was there to remind me that I was smart and a woman capable of leadership. He was there, pushing me to always better myself. Those were just a few reason as to why I loved him.
♡
Lucas awaited us at his desk, standing as he shuffled through some papers.
Michael knocked on the open door, one hand in his trouser with my arm wrapped around his, the other knocking on the wooden door. "May we come in?"
"You needn't knock", Lucas told him, waving us inside. "Anything to drink? How was your day so far?"
We shook hands and took our seats.
"Coffee", Michael said, undoing his jacket. "One black, the other with sugar and milk. Toffee colored", he ordered for me too. I nodded with a smile. "Thank you."
His assistant got us our drinks and left us be.
Lucas looked at both of us, into our eyes, crossing his fingers in front of him on his big wooden cherry wood desk.
"As a responsible lawyer I have to, before we can fill out the paperwork, tell you all about the order of protection first, so that all questions are cleared beforehand. Feel free to interrupt me at any given point if you do have a question."
Lucas straightened the papers on his desk. "So. An Order of Protection is a court order that tells one person what he or she cannot do to another person, or what contact is allowed. Sometimes an Order of Protection is also called a restraining order, in this case for example. An Order of Protection can require a person to stay away from another person, her home, school and work. The order could also prohibit some types of contact with the other person, or even all contact. The court can make exceptions such as to arrange visitation with a child. An Order of Protection may allow some contact. However, it will order a person to commit no crimes against the other person or do anything offensive toward the other person. The District Attorney prosecutes the defendant for the alleged crimes. You do not participate in the case other than as a witness so you do not need an attorney, but it's never a bad idea to have one. The District Attorney's office may have a "Victim-Witness Coordinator" who could assist you and in this case, I will help you. You can file a family offense petition in Family Court to request an Order of Protection. You must have a certain relationship with the other person. You can be current or former spouses, be related by blood or marriage, or have a child together. You can have a current or former intimate relationship, which means a relationship that is more than a casual or workplace relationship or a connection through third parties. You must allege and prove that the other person committed certain crimes against you. During any of the court appearances, Family Court can issue a Temporary Order of Protection, even if there is no proof yet that the Respondent broke the law. Either person in a family offense case has the right to an attorney. An attorney will be assigned to represent either if he or she cannot afford one."
He looked at us. "Any questions?"
"The proof we delivered - the beating, the newspapers, the voice message, the bugs we found all throughout - is that enough?"
"More than enough", Lucas assured me. "In fact, those are pretty hard and convincing pieces of evidence. Those will be hard to dispute. As for witnesses, I looked into those for you. I suggest we contact the police officers who worked on the case and found the bugs, the person who published the headlines for Ms Hawkins as well as the driver of your mother, Michael. He has to say the truth and if he lies, we'll force a lie-detector test on them."
"How do we justify the detectives at her company?", Michael asked now.
"Easy - you were married to her before. She threatened you with abuse, emotional abuse, if you would leave her. Your father and you pushed for a divorce but she didn't want that. She abused your money and name. She cheated on you multiple times. Anytime you were with a woman after the divorce, she would do illegal things to you. Slash your tires. Destroy computers when she visited your company. When you got together with Sara and told her you wouldn't leave her, she exploded. You had all the reason to believe she published those headlines and wanted to investigate before you sued her, to make sure your claims were valid."
Lucas looked at me. "After all, we know how Ms Hawkins can get. And you want to protect your fiancée, don't you Michael?"
"Naturally", my bebo instantly straightened.
"You pushed the divorce as well as Mr Hawkins, but both women were having none of it. You had to switch flats several times since Ms Hawkins followed you home, lurked after you. You were surprised to find out it was your mother, who wanted to restore her name and was against your fiancée. She sent men after her to beat her. She bugged everything so she could blackmail you two. More than enough claims to get restraining orders against them."
Lucas smiled. "Any questions?"
We shook our heads.
"Pleasant", Lucas commented and got the papers. "Let me guide you throw them and we'll fill them out together. What court date do you propose to the others?"
"As soon as possible", Michael decided. "Next week the latest. I want them off my shoulders."
"I'll have my secretary send them a letter", he nodded. "The witnesses I named are adequate?"
"They are perfect", I agreed.
"Then they shall be notified too", Lucas promised us. "Now, onto the papers. You two want a restraining order against Ms Veronique de Beaumont and Ms Eleanor Hawkins?"
"Yes, that's correct", Michael confirmed.
Lucas nodded. "Please fill out your personal information first, then I'll translate the legal register to you."
That was done and taken care off. Now we had to wait for the court date.
Michael took my hand outside the law company. "And, was it that bad?"
"No, it was alright", I said after I thought about it for a while.
He checked his watch. "We have 30 minutes left. What do you say we get ourselves something sweet?"
I lit up. "Gladly!"
My fiance nudged his head towards the street. "There's a shop right across the street - they sell amazing donuts. I'll treat you to one baby girl."
♡
"Silly, you have chocolate all over you", Michael laughed, reached over with his thumb and swiped the chocolate off my cheek, as well as the crumbs. He retreated his thumb and licked it clean, holding my eyes.
I hid my red cheeks behind the gigantic chocolate donut with salted caramel and vanilla filling.
"You eat just like Estelle and Adrien", Michael laughed.
"You have some crumbs in your beard too!", I countered.
He grinned and brushed through his beard, getting rid off the crumbs easily from his trimmed beard.
"You still have some on your other cheek", Michael smiled and took his napkin. "Come here honey."
He wiped it off for me, staring at me. "I like you this way more."
"What way?", I asked, brushing my curls back.
"Relaxed." He leaned back. "You always exude how you feel. I can visible pick up the energy you emit. When you are nervous, I get all nervous. And I need to be the one with the cool head."
I laughed. "That's true, I'm driven by my heart."
"That's not bad though", Michael took another bite of his donut. Once he swallowed he continued talking. "In some situations emotions are better than cold thoughts."
"Considering the field I work in it should be different."
"Customers always tell me they like how nice you are - you make a likeable impression on them", Michael shook his head. "Stop down-talking yourself silly. You are amazing as you are."
"Thank you - As you are", I took his hand and kissed his palm. He smiled, a small flush on his right cheek. "You will always be my idol in that aspect."
"I'm not leaving anytime soon, I'll teach you my ways over the years", he pinched my nose. "As well as the kids. Now, we have ten minutes left. Let's eat up and go back to work."
♡
Second official stop for the day - Angus Hawkins office.
Michael tried to calm me down by reminding me we had a lunch date afterwards, but right now I could only think about meeting the father of the bitch who had the audacity to try and split me and my fiance up.
"I'm angry and nervous", I told him as we drove up the elevator. Every step of ours was watched by the front ladies.
"I can see that - try not to lash it out on him, let me do the talking", he squeezed my hand. "And if you see Eleanor, I won't hold you back, but we have a court date against her soooo."
"I won't do anything", I promised, biting my tongue.
Angus awaited us in his office, just like Lucas.
His secretary shut the door behind us.
"Michael", he got up. "And Michael's girlfriend."
"Fiancée", I corrected, mirroring the polite smile. "My name is Sara Basic."
We shook hands. "Please, sit down. We have a lot to discuss."
Angus looked at us. Sighed. Tried to gather his words.
Michael didn't wait a second. "What is it that you want to do, Angus?"
The already old man looked older at that question. "I just want it to end already. Five years. Five long agonizing years." He looked at Michael. "When will this ever end?"
Michael stayed cool. "It's not in my hands to end it. You know what your daughter did. Does. If she were to find out Sara and I are engaged, she would burn my company down."
Angus closed his lips shut. Nodded slowly after a while.
"You know Eleanor needs professional help", he slowly said. "She manipulated us into thinking our wedding was benefiting us. The drama that happened was what made us famous, negative press to be exact. You know she threatened to kill herself multiple times. You saw her cut herself when we signed the divorce. You know of all the occasions my security guards had to carry her outside while she screamed and thrashed around herself."
"And I want it to end!", Angus interrupted him. "I know she won't give up and went to your mother for help. God I heard them talk in her office and I listened in. I showed your detectives the clues to speed things up. All Eleanor does with her obsession is destroy herself and it hurts to see my daughter fall and fall continuously."
It must be so hard for him. His daughter loved a man who hated her. His daughter would rather destroy everything around him than have Michael be happy with someone else. She was obsessive over him.
"Anytime she is spotted near your company my name gets mocked. I get reminded how she sat on every men's lap, how she slept her way through high-ranking names and how she used their money. They all laugh at us", he clenched his fist. "And whenever she hears anything about you, she gets crazy. Collects news clippings, stalks around, makes your ex girlfriends lives hell ... I cannot watch it anymore. I want her to stop before she lands in prison."
"And I will give her a reason to stop", Michael told him. "I found a way."
"Which way?", Angus sounded relieved.
"You have to assist me however. Or else I won't tell you", Michael said calmly. "I'm aware of how trashy she can be, mind you, I'm the victim here."
Angus raised his brows, then nodded slowly. "What do I have to do?"
"Be my witness."
"In what?"
"We are filing for restraining orders. We fear for our safety because of Eleanor. I fear for my own safety after what she's done to me."
Angus was shocked for a few moments. But then calmed down. "It was the easiest way for you, wasn't it?"
"It's the best one for her too", Michael told him. "I could put her into prison or sue her for emotional damage. The fact I'm only getting a restraining order against her should be a blessing for this family."
Angus seemed uneasy.
The door swung open and the blonde-haired girl stalked inside.
"Michael", her voice was cold, but she bore a smile. She raised a paper. "What.is.this."
I saw the seal. Lucas was fast.
"I'm not responsible for reading your letters to you", he said and got up. "We are leaving. I'm not speaking to you with her here."
"You are not pushing me away. You are not erasing me from your life. After all I did to you. After all I had to do to those girls for you to learn your lesson-" Her voice sounded crazier and crazier with each second. Angus's shoulders sunk in.
We got up. Eleanor blocked the door. "She can leave. You are staying. We have to-"
"Michael is going with me, he has no business with you, you fake bitch", I snapped. "If you want to speak to us, then do so over our lawyer."
I pushed her out the way and dragged him along.
We heard a ripping sound.
Michael pushed me faster towards the elevator, covering my back.
The sound of something breaking echoed in the hallway. Thrashing.
Then Eleanor's blood curling screaming too.
"You will never get rid off me Michael! DO YOU HEAR ME?", she screamed with a red face, running into the hallway. We both pressed the door closing button. The doors listened to our command.
She took off her heels and threw it towards the elevator, but they didn't make it that far.
"You will ... not ...get rid off ... me", she fell to her knees and started sobbing. "I did everything out of love! I want her dead already so you and I can- my love-"
The doors shut close and we drove down.
Michael immediately took me into his arms. I was shaking.
"Michael-"
"I know." He pressed me closer. "She needs dire help."