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Chapter 153
Chapter 153
With her back to Jason, Estrella didn’t open her eyes or acknowledge him.
Seeing this, Jason set aside the book he was reading, yanked the comforter off Estrella, and in a swift move, he had her wrapped up in his arms. “Estrella, what’s this all about, huh? You get what you want and then you just turn cold? Going to Bryce instead of asking for my help, and you think you’ve got the high ground?”
Even though he was being moody just now, couldn’t she have tried to be nice to him a bit more? He would have backed down if she had just soothed him a bit more. He was sure
of it.
Jason’s voice was tinged with jealousy as he challenged her, but Estrella found it amusing. With a quick maneuver, she had him pinned down instead, her fingers interlacing with his. Jason tensed up, an involuntary swallow betraying his anticipation as he opened his legs to let her settle on top of him.
A smile played on Estrella’s lips as she leaned down to kiss him. When things started getting heated, Estrella softly reminded him, “Be gentle, okay?”
Jason chuckled. “Scared? Weren’t you the one who used to worry about not getting enough?”
“That’s not true. Jason, be careful, please.”
He was already gentle by nature, and at her reminder, Jason became even slower.
Afterwards, as Estrella lay exhausted in his arms, Jason pulled her close. “Estrella, from now on, no matter what, I want to be the first person you turn to.”
Jason was a bit bothered, and admittedly a tad envious, of the close bond Estrella had maintained with Bryce, despite the fact that Bryce was his cousin.
Estrella lay still, offering no response. Jason looked down at her and seeing she had reacted, gently traced his hand along her waist until she finally spoke up, “I’ll come to for anything and everything.”
She couldn’t handle another round; they had already been at it for so long.
With Estrella’s promise, Jason held her close and drifted off to sleep. Unconsciously, his expectations of her were growing; he wanted her to rely more on him.
As he held her tight, Estrella’s thoughts drifted to the white Maserati she couldn’t quite forget.
In the following days, while wrapping up the case summary, Estrella received a call from Zoey. The call started with good news-Lexi had woken up and was out of danger. Lexi was grateful to Estrella and now wanted to finalize her divorce from Nick to spend quality time with their parents.
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Estrella assured Zoey that the divorce would be straightforward. If Nick refused to sign, the court would grant it anyway. Whether it was domestic violence, infidelity, attempted murder, or Nick’s infertility, the court would rule in favor of divorce.
Zoey wanted to accompany Estrella to the prison, but upon seeing her trembling and clenching her fists in anxiety, Estrella decided not to let her go in. The damage Nick had inflicted on Lexi’s family was too severe, a wound that could never fully heal. Such people were best avoided, no need to let them disrupt one’s peace of mind.
“Estrella, are you okay going alone?”
“Don’t worry, I’m a lawyer. I’ve seen my fair share of tough cases.”
“Thank you, Estrella.”
Estrella patted Zoey’s arm reassuringly and then got out of the car.
Watching Estrella enter the prison, Zoey’s trembling didn’t cease, her mind flooded with images of her sister’s abuse. She had wanted badly to be brave and go in with Estrella, but in the end, she couldn’t stop shaking.
Inside the visitation room, Estrella was the first to arrive. When Nick, dressed in prison garb, saw her as he was brought in by the guards, his expression soured. His glare seemed to pin all his miseries on Estrella, as if he had done nothing wrong at all.
Once he was handcuffed to the chair, he sneered at Estrella, “What do you want now? Come to gloat over my misery on behalf of Lexi’s family?”
Ignoring his taunts, Estrella slid the divorce papers across the table. “Lexi’s awake. She wants a divorce. Just sign here.”
Nick laughed scornfully. “She wants to divorce now that I’m in jail? Is she trying to see other man? Estrella, pass on a message to her from me – she can forget about it for rest of her life.”
–
Estrella looked at Nick, her gaze unwavering, quiet and composed. “Nick, even if you sign, the court will still rule. But your non-cooperation will be noted and it won’t do you any favors when it comes to possible sentence reductions.”
Nick, not well-versed in law, didn’t know whether to believe Estrella or not. Content is property of NôvelDrama.Org.
Seeing Nick’s hesitation, Estrella handed him a pen. “You can sign now.”
Nick didn’t want to sign. He wanted to keep Lexi entangled, to deny her happiness and leave her with a thorn in her heart forever, but the prospect of a reduced sentence made him waver.
Estrella, seeing his indecision, added, “If you are prepared to harm others without any gain for yourself, I’d be more than glad to deal with you.”
Her words tipped the scales. With furrowed brows, Nick grabbed the pen and signed
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where Estrella indicated.
“Sign here, here, and here,” Estrella instructed, pointing out the spots on the document.
Nick was about to rummage through some old files when Estrella couldn’t help but chuckle. “You know, right now Lexi doesn’t want your house, not even the down payment she made with you. She’s not asking for a dime back. All she wants is a divorce.”
When Lexi first mentioned wanting a divorce, Estrella hinted that she could fight for more, but Lexi just shook her head. She wanted nothing to do with Nick anymore, not even the $480,000 she had contributed towards the down payment. Lexi knew that arguing over the house would cause an uproar with Nick’s parents. They were the kind to turn the world upside down over such matters. Even if Nick had the cash on hand to pay her back, she was skeptical about where that money had come from. What if it’s from some other woman? So, she decided to let it go.
Lexi even had Zoey toss out anything she once wore or used, and she cut her long, dark hair short. Lexi was determined to start anew and erase every trace of that man from her life. Estrella chose to respect her decision.
Nick glanced over the agreement and, seeing that there was indeed no claim on the property, just the divorce, he signed on the dotted line.
As Estrella was getting ready to leave, Nick suddenly called out to her retreating figure, “Estrella, don’t think this case is over. I’ll appeal. This isn’t the end of it.”
His words hung in the air as Estrella turned around, a sly smile playing on her lips. “And just who do you think will take up your case, Nick? Piper? How about I let you in on something?”
With that, Estrella walked back to the table and pulled a voice recorder out of her bag.