Zaiden had enough. He was old enough to take care of Hope on his own now. He no longer needed Rowana to keep his family together. She wasn’t even really able to do that since she had kicked Emma out. He knew that once he told the judge everything, there was no way that he wouldn’t be given custody of Hope.
That was why he was so shocked when the judge denied his request for custody. That wasn’t even the biggest surprise.
Zaiden sat at the park thinking about everything the judge had said. If it was just as simple as moving out and finding a job, he could easily do that. Two of the three reasons that the judge gave was that they are already living with their guardian and the fact that Zaiden was not working. Those were both easy fixes. The third reason…
Zaiden shook his head. He did not want to think about that one. It was too terrible. What Rowana had done not only ensured that they were trapped with her but also gave her full control of his father’s bank account. Now he understood how she was able to afford everything. Now that he was legal age, he could and would end her access to the money.
That was not the worst thing she had done though. It was something that he never would have expected.
Zaiden watched the kids playing and thought about Rowana telling him that she was pregnant. He hadn’t seen any of the signs that Emma had. She didn’t have the morning sickness and seemed to be eating normal. That, combined with the Vasalgel, made him wonder if it was a ruse to keep him there. He wouldn’t put it past her.
He headed to the car to go home. He would stay away from her. He would sleep in Emma’s old bed until they were able to get away from her.
After what the judge told him, there was no way in Hell that he was getting back into her bed.
He could take care of the house and job issue, but the last thing…he didn’t know what to do about it yet.