Husband With Benefits-Chapter 609: Lost

"But we can’t let that happen." Autumn blinked back her tears and stood up, ready to run away with Arabelle but Gabe caught her and hugged her slightly," We won’t let that happen, Autumn. It is a request from the judge, not an order. We can still go through the motions and not budge from our stance.

Firmly holding her hand, he guided her towards the judge’s chambers where they would be going for th enext part of the discussion.

As they walked, Autumn asked slowly,"Gabe, we need to warn the woman, also."

"What woman?"

"The woman he is engaged to! Didn’t you hear that? The women he is engaged with... she has two little girls! That means they are in danger."

"Autumn, calm down! We won’t let anything happen."

Autumn took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "I can’t believe this is happening. I feel like we’re losing."

"We’re not losing," Gabe said firmly. "Gregory’s just putting on a show. And we are going to handle it."

"But how! He’s totally changed the game..."

"Then we will change it too, Autumn." As they entered and sat down, Gabe sighed. While he was consoling Autumn, for the first time, he too felt an inkling of doubt. Specially when he read the message he had received. While Judge Holden was known for being strict and honest, she was also said to have a soft corner for ’remorseful fathers’ who wanted to be involved in their children’s lives. It had something to do with her own past.

But the question was how did Gregory discover this so soon and that too in the middle of the session? Or did he discover it mid-session? Could it be that he knew before hand about the change of judges?

A few minutes later, the rat and his lawyer walked in. And for the first time in a long while, Gabe had trouble keeping himself calm, as he looked at his smug face. All he wanted to do was go and punch the man’s face. And it didn’t help that the moment he looked at Autumn, the man gave her a lustful look, making a beeline in her direction.

Before Gregory could get any closer, Gabe stood up and stepped in front of Autumn, his stance protective. He didn’t even want this man’s shadow touching her. "Mr. Savoy," he said, his voice cold and authoritative, "You need to sit on the other side of the table. Now."

Gregory’s smirk faltered for a moment as he met Gabe’s steely gaze. His eyes flickered with uncertainty before he turned and moved to the other side of the table, his confidence momentarily shaken. Once seated, however, he quickly regained his composure, leaning back in his chair with a smug expression.

"So protective of her, tsk tsk. Are you really in love with your wife, Gabe Frost? I don’t know whether to enjoy the misery that you will be going through in the future or be sad about it. You see, you can be protective all you want. But I will win today. And when I do, Autumn will come crawling back to me to save her Arabelle. Won’t you, Autumn?"

When both Autumn and Gabe did not give a reaction, Gregory’s smile vanished. But then he continued," I thought you had something against me, but looking at your expressions, it seems you were just bluffing! What will you do now, Autumn? What a waste, marrying this man just to win against me and still losing..."

Just then, the door opened again and another woman stepped in," Good afternoon, everyone, "My name is Mrs. Riley, and I will be facilitating this discussion. Our goal here is to find a solution that serves the best interest of Arabelle."

Gregory leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms with a smug grin. "Of course, Mrs. Riley. That’s what we all want."

Gabe took Autumn’s hand under the table, giving it a reassuring squeeze before he spoke, "Thank you for your time, Mrs Riley. We believe Arabelle’s well-being is best served by staying with Autumn, who has been her primary caregiver. We are open to Gregory having supervised visitation rights, but full custody is out of the question."

"Visitation rights are not enough. Arabelle deserves a stable family environment, which I can provide. Autumn has been doing her best, but she’s young and has had to sacrifice her future. It’s time for her to live her own life. Also, while I trust Autumn, I do not trust her current husband to be safe for my daughter. I do not wish to get into legal battles and air other people’s dirty laundry but I will do so if need be."

Gabe’s eyes narrowed at this. It was a clear threat aimed at him. Considering the fact that this man had told Autumn about Arabelle, it would be reasonable to believe that he’d gotten his hands on other things as well.

Before he could say anything, it was Autumn who interrupted,"Arabelle is my life. I don’t see her as a burden or a sacrifice. She is my sister, and I will do everything to protect her."

"But she doesn’t need protection from me, does she?" Gregory countered. "I am her biological father after all. Mrs Riley, you can see how unreasonable their demands are. I’ve already made myself clear that I would allow visitation and unconditional access to Arabelle, should I get the custody, but Autumn is unwilling to compromise. She needs to understand that not everything is about her! I’ve let this go in the past because I felt bad for her! But she is not a young girl anymore and needs to understand! I want my daughter back! And if Autumn continues to be unreasonable, then I am going to demand full custody with no access to Arabelle!"

Autumn shot up then, her hands pressing on the table. "You! I will never let you take Arabelle away from me!"

Gregory leaned back, his gaze taunting. "You see, Mrs. Riley, this is what I mean. She’s irrational and emotional. Not fit to make decisions for a child’s future."

Mrs. Riley raised her hand to calm the room. "Everyone, please calm down. Let’s focus on finding a solution."