The Wolf’s Contract Marriage by Layla Silver

Chapter 17 – Caelum

The Grand Opening of the casino went by without a hitch. Admittedly, I was a little worried about what Teagan had said, but I trusted that she would tell me about it when she promised she would.

After the casino had opened, I was at something of a loose end. With a few days before the court case, I didn't particularly want to look for a new job in Las Vegas if I won Octavia back and could make a proper decision about Teagan, Tavi, and my future.

So, I spent the next few days researching how to act in court, or just hung out with my gorgeous fiancée, learning more about her than I ever thought I would,

The morning of the court date dawned bright and early, and I was up before my alarm went off. My stomach was in knots, and I could feel a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead.

“You should breathe,” Teagan murmured in my arms as my anxiety attack took full force.

“I'd love to,” I croaked in reply, “I'm just too anxious to.”

She sat up in bed and forced me to look her in the eye. “You can make it through this. A little nervousness never killed anybody. But don't let it overwhelm you so much that you can't function today. We both owe Tavi so much more than that.”

Teagan was right, and deep down, I knew it. I nodded and took a deep breath, forcing it in through my nose, and out through my mouth. Then I did it again, and again, and again, until my stomach had settled and my hands had stopped shaking.

“That's it, Caelum,” Teagan encouraged me after every deep breath I took. “And remember, I'm going to be with you every step of the way.”

“Thank you,” I managed to say, and the smile that lit up her face made everything bad that had happened to me up until that moment so completely worth it.

“Wouldn't have it any other way. We should get up though, arriving late will not go down very well.”

“Alcott would probably blow a fuse,” I agreed with a nod as I got out of bed and stretched my arms above my head.

“Think you could manage a coffee?” Teagan offered once she was out of bed as well.

I hesitated for a few moments before nodding. “Yeah, I think I'll be just fine with a coffee.”

“Brilliant.” She leaned over and pecked me on the lips before walking out of the bedroom. “You get ready so long, while I make it.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” I called after her, and her responding laughter sounded like pure sunshine.

Where on earth had this woman been all my life, and why hadn't I found her sooner? Why did I have to go through all the pain and heartache of Camilla before finding the love of my life?

I couldn't agree more with those who said that fate was a fickle mistress, that was for sure.

***

“...I hereby grant full custody of Octavia Burroughs to her father, Mr. Caelum Burroughs, while adding charges of neglect against Mrs. Camilla Rivers.” The judge banged her gavel as pure, unadulterated joy exploded inside of me.

“No!” Camilla shrieked from her seat at the table across the aisle from me. “She’s my daughter, you can’t take her away from me!”

“On the contrary, Mrs. Rivers,” Judge Lawson replied sternly as she looked over the top of her glasses at my ex-wife. “You neglected your child, plain and simple.”

“You can’t prove that,” Camilla snarled in reply, while her lawyer desperately tried to calm her down and stop her outburst.

“I highly suggest you think carefully about what you do next, Mrs. Rivers, otherwise I’ll have you thrown in jail for contempt. As to proving whether your daughter was neglected or not, were you listening to the testimonials from the witnesses, or did we not hear the same thing?”

“Camilla,” her lawyer hissed at her out of the corner of his mouth, “shut up.”

“You’re fired,” Camilla hissed at him in reply. Then she turned to the judge. “I’m appealing this ruling as soon as I can.”

“You can, but the evidence against you was quite compelling. Your daughter turned up at her father’s house, after catching a lift from a friends’ mother, dirty and half-starved. That sounds like the exact definition of neglect to me.” The judge stared angrily down at Camilla, before shaking her head sadly. “I’m a strong advocate for a maternal influence in a child’s life, but you make me seriously consider whether I should change my mind.”

Camilla glared at the judge, then her lawyer, then Teagan and I before she stomped out of the courthouse so angrily she nearly snapped one of her heels.

There was a second or two of silence in the room before Teagan threw herself happily into my arms. “We did it! I can't believe we did it!”

“Congratulations, Mr. Burroughs,” the judge said to me as she stood up from behind her bench and gathered her papers. “I can see you love your daughter very much.”

“Thank you, Judge Lawson,” I replied fervently. “And I do. I love her more than anything in the world.”

“Good.” The judge walked towards the door, and nodded, before disappearing in a swirl of black robes.

“Congratulations,” Alcott said warmly a few seconds after Judge Lawson left, as he shook my hand. “Never have I seen a more deserving father.”

“Thank you, Alcott. You were right the other day, you definitely deserve a raise.”

“Nonsense. Having Teagan as your fiancée, as well as your testimonies about how obviously neglected Octavia was were what won this case. I just wrapped it all up in a neat bow.”

“Plus Camilla not even showing up today,” I said with a frown. “Still, I can't thank you enough, man.”

“Just doing my job.” My lawyer grinned at me, before clipping his briefcase closed. “If you'll excuse me, however, I have another court case to go to.”

“Go on, get out of here.” I shooed him good-naturedly, and he smiled at me before disappearing out the courtroom door.

“Daddy, daddy, daddy!” Octavia's little voice said excitedly, and I went down on my haunches and held my arms out wide. She ran straight into them and threw her arms around my neck. “I'm so glad to see you, Daddy.”

“I'm glad to see you too, pumpkin.”

“Hey, angel,” Teagan piped up from above us, “turns out we’re going to see a lot of each other.”

The total wonder that broke out over her little face was absolutely glorious to behold. “Really?” she cried as she slapped her palms dramatically to her cheeks.

“Oh yes. Look at this pretty ring your Daddy gave me.” Teagan walked over to one of the nearby benches and pulled Tavi onto her lap. Then, she let my daughter look at her left hand. Octavia studied the ring for a long time, before she nodded.

“It's very pretty,” she conceded.

“Why thank you, honey, I'm glad you think so.” Teagan kissed Octavia on the cheek before depositing her gently back down on the ground.

“I think this calls for a celebration!” I announced as we all started heading towards the exit of the courtroom. Octavia was between Teagan and me, holding both of our hands in her own. “Where do you want to go, Tavi?”

“I want to go for burgers, fries and a milkshake,” she replied, without hesitation. “It was so good the last time.”

“Are you sure?”

Teagan exchanged a mischievous glance with my daughter, that only made me slightly worried. My fiancée leaned down and whispered something into Octavia's ear.

“I'm sure,” Octavia replied with a nod once Teagan straightened up, “but only if there are caramel sundaes for dessert.”

Teagan flashed me a teasing grin over Octavia's head as we walked out the courthouse together.

You're going to pay for that later, I mouthed at her as I helped Octavia into the back of the car.

I'm counting on it, she replied with a teasing smirk that I wanted to kiss right off of her face.

“So, burgers, fries, a shake and a sundae it is,” I said as I got behind the steering wheel of the car. “You girls are going to make me broke.”

“Ah, but you love us for it,” Teagan replied as she reached over the gear stick to lightly squeeze my knee.

“You know I do.” I leaned towards Teagan to give her a quick kiss, but pulled away after Octavia's reaction.

“Ewwww!” my little girl cried as she comically covered her eyes with her hands. “I don't like the kissy stuff.”

“Okay, okay, no more kissy stuff for us,” Teagan reassured Tavi.

“You're sure?” Octavia peeked at us from between her fingers.

“We're sure.”

It was going to be hard, but whatever Octavia wanted, she could have.

If that meant keeping my hands off of Teagan while Tavi was in the room, so be it.

I couldn't make the same promises after Octavia went to bed, however, and judging by the look on Teagan's face, neither could she.