She’s going to be hard to prise open, I can already see that, but I’m up for the challenge. There’s a lot of pain in her eyes, she’s obviously going through a very hard time, and I need to save her from that, whatever it is.
“Okay, so can I ask what you have come to see me about today.”
“It’s… my husband. Jeremy Bishop.”
That name stuns me to the core. I know him. He’s in the same circles as me, a very powerful businessman with a wonderful reputation. He’s known for being quite ruthless, but I guess that’s necessary to get back into the investment business. No one gets to the top of their game without stomping on a few people along the way.
I’m not his friend, but I don’t know if that’s a conflict of interest.
“Can you please tell me what’s happening? Try to give me a full picture.”
Her eyes fall downwards. She doesn’t want to regale all of this but unfortunately, she needs to. I need to have everything if I’m going to work with her, and also to decide if I can work with her.
“I met Jeremy when I was eighteen years old, just when I was about to leave the orphanarium. He was obviously quite a bit older than me. He was twenty-six years old at the time, and I thought he was amazing. He had everything going for him. Nice cars, an amazing business, a great house… I know that makes me sound shallow but it wasn’t like that. I just craved stability, I guess. He seemed to have it all, so I fell quickly.”
Every word is laced with agony, it actually hurts me to listen to her, I don’t usually get emotionally involved.
“Then we married just before my twentieth birthday, which was… the best day of my life.”
“You don’t sound sure when you say that.”
Her eyes flicker up to see mine. They seem to say that I can see deep into her soul. “No, I suppose not. I guess by that time I was already having doubts, but I thought it was just me sabotaging myself. I ignored all the alarm bells and put on a happy face because all I wanted was a happy ever after.”
“That’s totally understandable. I think that’s what everyone wants, regardless of their situation.” She nods, drinking this in. I hope it makes her feel better to know that she isn’t alone. “So, do you want to fill me in with what’s happened since? Sorry, I know this is hard to talk about…”
She bursts into tears then, the emotion getting the better of her. Luckily, I always have tissues at the ready for this kind of situation. I know the lawyer’s office is always an emotional place.
“I’m sorry, I know this is silly,” she sobs into the tissue. Her make-up streaming down her cheeks. “I just spend a lot of time hiding it, not talking about it. It’s just hard for me to talk about.”
“You take as long as you need. We have an hour here.”
“Okay… well, I guess the most important thing is all the cheating.”
That comment angers me more than it should. I’ve seen Jeremy. He’s an okay guy, but he isn’t anything special. How can he cheat on this absolutely, amazingly beautiful woman? She’s lovely!
“And the yelling… there’s a lot of yelling.”
“Yelling? At you?”
“At me, around me, all the time. Every time he’s in the house, I’m walking on eggshells, trying not to set him off. He obviously lives in a big mansion, but when he’s in, there isn’t anywhere to hide. No matter what’s going on in his life, there is always something to take it out on me.”
“Are you scared at home?” I can see it in her eyes, the familiar fear that my mom always had.
“Yes, I guess so. His temper is terrifying.”
Now, the man that I often see at functions becomes something different in my mind. He acts like a nice person in public to hide who he is behind closed doors. I can tell that Nova is telling the truth, it’s obvious. It’s written all over her, the struggle that her life has become is all over her face.
“I’m sorry to ask you this, but have things ever turned physical?”
Immediately she shakes her head. “He doesn’t hit me, no.”
“Has he ever put his hands on you?” I can kinda see that there’s more to this.
“Yes, he’s grabbed me,” she whispers. “And pushed me once. But only once.”
If he’s willing to put his hands on her even once, there’s a chance that he’ll get worse. He has pushed that barrier and gotten away with it. I’m sure he now realizes that he can get away with anything. I’m fearful for Nova, I don’t like the idea of anything bad happening to her. She needs to get out of this.
“Okay, well I am going to help you with this. It’s clear that you need me.”