Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 109

Theo POV

Felicity loves my old place and is happy we sold it to her. She and her fiancée wanted a place of their own, as she had visited me many times before and had mentioned that if I wanted to sell, she was interested. To thank me, she has invited us over for dinner tonight. I am not sure how good Felicity is at cooking, but as we are neighbors, I have no excuse not to accept it. That, especially when Bethany already gave me a signal to say yes, is another thing about Bethany that I love. She is warm and caring and, no matter how badly she has been treated, still loves her family, and that now includes mine. She treats them all with kindness.

Did I say love?

Am I in love with her?

Have I stepped over that line, for real?

Yes, I am, but I should not be surprised. I spent so much time with her and was upset when she did not remember me, but I had not looked at my feelings so deeply. I used the word love lightly, but when you go deeper, I am in love and want to spend my life with her. However, now is not the time for me to make my feelings known. She has been through so much and still has a lot to go through. Be there when the rough parts start and then revisit telling how I feel.

Bethany was in a very good mood after Sunday's game. I had thought she would be tired, but the day seemed to energize her. Even when her other team lost, she was still laughing and having a good time. Pam is a good lady and fits in well with our little group. I am pleased there is another woman. Knowing she was no longer the odd one out made me feel better.

Bethany is off with Mum today. I heard Mum on the phone with the lady and was very careful with what she was saying. I think the woman is called Samantha and has had Mum in tears more than once, but we try not to show we have noticed her blotchy face and red eyes. My Mum gets so emotionally involved with these ladies, and seeing her so upset often breaks our hearts.

'I have everything you should need in that bag, but if you need anything else, pop over to my surgery, and I will give you what you need. Remember to tread carefully; this woman is very sensitive, and Kitty has worked over the two years she has had her case to get her this far; we do not want to lose our foot in the door! Dad is grilling Bethany as if she is a newcomer or something. I am confident Bethany won't spoil Mum's relationship with this woman.

'Dad, come on, we both know how hard Mum has worked on this case. You have to trust Bethany. She is capable and might be able to help Samantha. I know Dad is being protective, but he has to give Bethany a chance to prove herself not just for him but for herself. She had been feeling low since her memory returned, and I thought this was a good idea for her.

I stood by the SUV, hugged Bethany, and gave her a long kiss before she climbed into the vehicle. Mum waited in the SUV. She was fiddling with her hands, which told me she was nervous about this visit. I think it might be because she has two bodyguards who will be nearby. If the boyfriend sees them, he will see red, and it will not be Bethany or Mum who will cop his wrath, but Samantha.

'You make sure she is protected.' I growled at the guards. I was not happy with her being hurt the last time she was under bodyguard protection, and I had lost trust in anyone protecting her as well as I could.

'Yes, Sir,' they said in unison, and I had to force myself not to smile at that response.

I looked at the SUV until it was no longer in sight. Dad was standing next to me, just as concerned as I was. 'Bob phoned. The girls took the bait and are going to the sanitarium today. We have six months to finish the other case and to get the others who hurt her behind bars before we have to worry about them again; even her lawyer cannot visit them during that six months.' I was glad that Cynthia would no longer be showing up at places where we dine. That was uncomfortable for both of us when she tried to flirt with me right in front of Bethany, but Bethany seemed to shrug it off as if she expected nothing less from her sister, and it was a shame to feel that way.

'Good. Thank you for talking to Bob about that option. We all knew the girls would not cope with being in that jail for long, and the good doctor managed to get the job done without suspicion and worked on their need to get out of there. A win-win for us! 'You need a lift to work?' Dad offered, and I was happy not to call the car service. It would take ages to get here.

'Sure. Dad and I talked all about what was happening to Bethany and how he would love for her to sit and talk to him. It might help with the healing. I told him about our dinner tonight, and we agreed that it might be good that more women would come into her life. Yesterday, Pam brought out the happy Bethany side that had not been seen since the accident, and I had been hoping that this was a turning point for her. Wendy POV

'Why are we here?' I was confused; this was not where I had thought we were going. Cynthia was next to me, crying her heart out. She had been crying since they put us in those restraints at the jail, and now here, seeing this awful building, it was the last place I expected to be arriving at. Once we were told to get out of the vehicle, we were met by some rather large, ugly woman who marched us into a sanatorium. Of all the places I ended up in, this was my worst nightmare coming true.

I am not insane or in need of therapy. Why bring me here?

'You signed the agreement to spend the next six months here, to be assessed, before you can stand trial. A rather large woman said as she unlocked one of the doors that led to a shared room. I had to share a room with eight other ladies, and, of course, Cynthia was fuming and behaved badly, pushing against the woman leading us and found herself flat on the floor as the woman moved faster than I would have expected for a woman of her size and pinned her to the floor. Soon, another woman rushed over and jabbed Cynthia with a syringe of some kind, and my poor girl was out cold. A man came in, picked her up as if she weighed nothing, and threw her on an empty bed. The two ladies worked on her, removing her restraints and tying her to the bed by her ankles, wrists, and one around the waist. My girl was going nowhere. It was an example of what would happen if I retaliated as she had, and though that sort of behavior is not one I would typically do, it was good to know that they would not have trouble jabbing us and putting us in restraints.

I would like to know if I can get my lawyer here to get us out of this. I am kicking myself for not reading what I was signing, how many times I have growled at Cynthia for doing what I had just done, and with her being here too, she must not have read it either. 'Can I get my lawyer here, please?' I tried to be polite, but I was angry that I was not going to get what I wanted.

'Sorry, you are to have no visitors of any kind for six months. One of the ladies said as she finished setting Cynthia up in her bed. She looked uncomfortable, restrained like that.

'What, none? Not one visitor?' I was shocked at that reply. Not even my lawyer?

'No, you can have a copy of what you signed if you like, but you agreed to six months with my fine company. Get used to it, or you will end up like your daughter. We will tolerate no arguments or fighting between patients. She growled at me, her spittle hitting my face and I could not wipe it away as I was still in the white restraints I was placed in when we left jail. I had thought the restraints were better than walking around in chains, but right now, I would gladly be back in jail and chains rather than be there for a whole six months.

I dread Cynthia waking up and replaceing herself tied up like she is. I will have six months of her continual complaints, and there is nothing I can do about it, any more than I can get out of this myself. I love my daughter, but six months in the same room as her will test my patience and endurance.