He Believed His Ex More Than He Believed Me Chapter 10
His hands slipped from the wheelchair, and his forehead touched the footrest. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”
I rolled back enough to avoid his hand. “Don’t.”
“Never let me see you again. That is the only repayment I want.”
Dr. Brooks stepped forward and rested her hands on the wheelchair. Nolan started after us, then stopped.
He did not dare touch me.
At last, he had no right to.
Dr. Brooks pushed me away. Behind us, a strangled sob tore out of Nolan.
I did not look back.
As my wheelchair passed a flower bed, a rose leaned over the path and one thorn grazed my fingertip. A small bead of blood appeared.
This time, I did not shake.
After Nolan left the hospital, his first stop was his attorney’s office.
He placed Vanessa’s messages, her treatment files, the condo’s security footage, and his audio recordings on the desk.
The attorney frowned as he read. “Mr. Mercer, this evidence also proves your liability.”
Nolan sat across from him, hollowed out. “I know.”
“She belongs in prison, and I deserve the consequences.”
I did not attend the trial. Dr. Brooks stayed with me in physical therapy while I practiced standing.
My legs still could not bear weight. I braced my arms on the parallel bars as sweat struck the floor.
My attorney called that afternoon. “Vanessa changed her story in court and blamed Nolan.”
I held the bars. “As expected.”
In court, Vanessa faced the judge with a pale expression. “I only offered suggestions.”
“Nolan carried them out. He was tired of Noelle and wanted to move to Denver with me.”
Whispers moved through the gallery. Nolan stood at the witness stand and gave a smile more painful than tears.
He submitted his recordings.
Vanessa’s voice filled the courtroom. “She can’t live without you, so you have to be firm.”
“Replace the pills, remove the barrier, and leave her in the basement once. That should do it.”
Nolan’s recorded voice followed. “What if she can’t take it?”
Vanessa laughed softly. “Then that proves how badly she needs treatment.”
The next recording began.
“Wait until she seems normal before ending the relationship,” Vanessa said in a low voice. “You’ll feel much less guilty.”
Silence settled over the courtroom.
Vanessa shot to her feet. “You deliberately set me up.”
Nolan looked at her, his eyes as empty as a dry well. “Yes.”
His voice was hoarse. “I’m garbage.”
“But today, I’m making sure you go down with me.”
The last of Vanessa’s composure shattered.
The court convicted her of practicing without a license, falsifying professional credentials, fraud, and reckless conduct that caused catastrophic injury.
As deputies led her away after sentencing, she screamed Nolan’s name over her shoulder.
He did not blink.
After the trial, Nolan’s attorney brought documents to my room.
“These agreements transfer all his assets to you, including real estate, bank accounts, and equity distributions.”
I opened the first agreement. Nolan’s signature appeared at the bottom.
The attorney produced a second document. “This is a permanent no-contact agreement.”
“He promises never to come within three hundred miles of you or communicate with you in any form.”
“Where is he going?” I asked.
The attorney hesitated. “A mining camp near Red Mesa, Wyoming.”
“He said they needed workers.”