Sorry guys for this short teaser - I wanted to publish something since I already skipped last week for NaNoWriMo. Part II will be out tomorrow to make this a full chapter :)

15 - Bumps In The Road

Charlotte's POV

Ever since the additional visitation with Noah, my life was one roller coaster ride. The days I had visitations with my grandson were peaceful and fun – without Ryan, I caught a glimpse of a life that I missed dearly the second he walked through the door on a Friday night, unlooping his belt. For every happy minute, I got plenty of agony in return, but it was worth it.

Tivon tried to spend as much time as possible with me when I was away from Quantico and since we wanted to avoid accidental run-ins with anyone who could possible know us, we usually left Chicago and went upstate. He owned a log cabin right on Lake Michigan close to Waukegan which was remote and became our safe harbor. Noah got his own room including a toddler jungle gym and with a little bit of imagination, I could picture us being a family.

At the end of the summer, Ryan's beatings got so bad that even Tivon was no longer willing to close his eyes to reality.

"What are you going to do, Charlotte?" he asked one night during dinner when I flinched every time I took a bite because of a fat lip.

"What do you mean?" I countered with an innocent smile though I knew exactly what he was getting at. I had feared this conversation for months and was quite frankly surprised he hadn't raised it sooner.

His eyes traveled to Noah who was sitting in his baby chair, stuffing mashed sweet potatoes into his mouth. "I can't justify defending you much longer. If Noah was placed in your care with Ryan right now, he would witness severe domestic abuse which has a negative long term effect on children. On top of that, I'm not even sure Ryan won't beat the crap out of him, too, at least when he's older. If something happens to the boy, I couldn't live with myself."

I played with a pea on my plate. "What would you suggest?"

"I think you should file for divorce."

His words poisoned the air in the dining room, giving me a stale taste in my mouth. "Wouldn't that be detrimental to the custody case?"

The fork is tossed on the plate, his intense eyes drilling into me. "Yes, but at least you would be away from Ryan." He squeezed my hand. "Charlotte, this can't go on. All this sneaking around is making me sick. Hannah reminded me the other day that I could lose my license for carrying on an affair with an active client and truthfully, what we're doing is adultery. It's against my fundamental believes."

I dropped my gaze, fighting oncoming tears. Though part of me screamed that he was right, my mind cautioned that it would never work. Ryan would rather kill me than letting me go, and even if I made it out of the marriage somehow, there was no guarantee Noah would still be a part of my life. "Noah is all I have left. I don't want to lose him."

Tivon regarded Noah with a fond smile. "I love the little fella, too, but he is not your son. As far as I can tell, Rena is not a bad mother, especially if you could help her out. We could find an amicable agreement with her – she is mostly worried about Ryan and after what I've witnessed these last few months, I can't necessarily blame her. Your husband is a loose cannon."

The tears had reached the top of my throat and I swallowed them down. "Tivon – you don't understand."

His fingers ran through his hair with a huff. "What don't I understand? That one day, he might kill you? That if we carry on with the custody case, lots of mud will be thrown on your husband and you'll either admit the truth or commit perjury? That if you get custody, Ryan might seriously hurt his grandson?" He sighed. "What exactly don't I understand of that?"

It was apparent that he had thought long and hard about this, not willing to waiver from his opinion.

"Look, can't we find a compromise here," I pleaded. "Help me get custody and I swear, I'll leave Ryan after that. Since the apartment in Chicago is in my name, I'll have residency here in six months, and you could hook me up with a good lawyer who can handle the divorce. This would make things so much easier."

When his face twisted to a grimace, I knew I had him. The thought that I had to file for divorce in Virginia, far away from his turf and influence, had always terrified him. In Chicago, it would take him one phone call to get a protection order and another to hire an army of thugs to protect me. Hannah did criminal defense work and had connections to the cartels, some of their former members in need of gainful employment to meet their parole requirements. Those were people even Ryan couldn't mess with.

He tousled Noah's hair. "Let's get him to bed. I have some special plans for tonight." His voice is thick with longing and my dinner was forgotten. I knew I wasn't completely off the hook and eventually, he would revisit this topic, but for now, I had my cease-fire. That was all I needed to keep me going.

I hope you still enjoyed this even if short - and as you can see, Tivon is developing a little bit of a conscious. At the moment, his feelings for Charlotte still prevail, but he won't be hanging in there for much longer. Let me know if this surprised you and what you think about this development?

More on the way (hopefully tomorrow), but I would still be thrilled if you'll leave a comment and vote if this chapter deserved it :)