Faking It With My Best Friend's Brother: An Enemies to Lovers Age Gap Romance by Brooke Bolton

Author:Brooke Bolton [Bolton, Brooke]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

August 23rd, 2017.

"A custody battle is not about who wins or loses; it's about who can provide the best environment for the children to thrive in."

-Unknown

Roland

I’m holding the petition for custody that Maria filed for Eden in my hands. I knew Maria wanted full custody of Eden, but I didn’t realize how far she would go to make that happen. The petition details her request to have full custody of Eden, while I will only have her during the holidays.

I grind my teeth at the audacity. When she spiraled into her drug addiction, I was the one who took care of Eden. I sacrificed everything to make sure I was there for my little girl.

I go through the petition a second time, realizing how selfish Maria is. For whatever reason, it’s apparent that Maria wants to go to court. I wonder if she’s even thought about how draining that will be, not only to us, but also to Eden. I thought that when you love your kid, you do everything you can to protect their peace.

I pick up my phone and dial Maria's number, deciding that this could be settled amicably. It's not too late for Maria and me to sit down and hash out an agreement ourselves. The phone continues to ring against my ear, and I wait, realizing how anxious I’m getting with each passing second. Finally, the ringing stops, and I hear Maria's voice filter through.

"Hello."

"Hello, Maria. It's Roland." My voice is low and softer than I wanted. There's a pause on the other end.

"Roland? What do you want?" she questions.

"I was hoping we could talk."

"That's what that petition is for. You and I have nothing to say to each other. Everything needs to be said to the judge who's going to grant me full custody of my child that you’ve been keeping from me."

"Maria, I haven't been keeping Eden away from you. It hasn’t even been a year since you got out of rehab. You didn't expect me to bring her to the facility, did you?"

"I damn well expected you to do so, Roland. You forget that she is also my child. I'm her mother. I carried her for nine godawful months while my body irrevocably changed. You don't understand what that's like."

"Oh, I understand more than you'll ever know. Eden is also my child and I have raised her all by myself every time you’ve been away."

"You did what you had to, but I'm fully recovered now, Roland. Eden deserves to be with her mother.” My heart clenches at Maria's words. I’ve spent every single day with that little angel. I can’t even imagine what living without her would be like.

"If you think you're going to take her away from me, then you have another thing coming."

"Oh, I am definitely going to take my child away from you. Aren't you supposed to marry some hot young thing to keep your bed warm at night?"

"I am not marrying some hot young thing," I growl, hating the way she describes Dakota.

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