He took a deep breath. There was a huge difference between telling people he had an ex wife and telling people about the ex wife.
He had the ridiculous thought that Sherlock should be here, because he could just deduce everything from Greg and he wouldn't actually have to say anything. But just as quickly the thought faded. The last person he wanted here, outside his ex, was his potential...person's younger brother. Who was probably having his own issues, he thought smugly.
"I'll spare you all the details about how we met and married and all of that," he began. "But it is important to know that when we were married, I had just gotten a position in the Yard and was working my way up the line. Rebekah was supportive of that. Promotion meant more money which mean more freedoms. The day I got my pins for Detective Inspector was the day Rebekah told me she was pregnant. I was over the moon, the idea of being a father had always appealed to me but we were worried because with my new responsibilities it meant my hours were somewhat...well, shite." He clenched his hand to calm the nervous tremors. She was almost eight months when I found out about the first bloke. I'd been working late hours and she was withdrawn and I chalked it up to the pregnancy. We got into a shouting match and that's when she told me it'd been going on for a better part of a year and she wasn't even sure the baby was mine. I was struck round. After a few days, we talked and decided to work it out, so I was there when Addy was born." He smiled. "She was perfect. I had to talk to one of the nurses about DNA testing, which Rebekah threw a strop about but the Doctor ordered it and results came back that she was mine." Another smile. "We tried for two years, or so I thought. Come to find out, mostly from your brother, that she'd been cheating on me the entirety of those two years. The last straw was a Christmas party at Sherlock's flat. I was going on holiday with the wife the next day to try to have sometime to ourselves. Your brother was being a bastard about something and rattled off in front of everyone that she was sleeping with a gym teacher. I went home that night and we had it out and she said she wanted a divorce. I hired a barrister and I fought hard, even against his suggestions, for rights to Addy. Rebekah filed under "abandonment and withholding of affections" as an excuse for her infidelity. She used my job as reasons why I shouldn't have Addy." He took a shaky breath, rubbing a hand over his hair. "We fought for almost a year, took a large chunk of my savings, but in the end, the judge sided a bit with me. I was granted joint legal custody, access to my daughter every other weekend, select holidays and a week every summer and winter. I also have to pay support in the form of child and spousal but it's worth it to make sure that she can't take my daughter from me. In retaliation,she likes to make my life a living hell. The thing with Charlie, the man she's been with all of this time. He keeps calling himself Adalaide's dad. Luckily, Addy is intelligent and outspoken enough that she calls him out on it. Like you heard earlier this week, she likes to try to plan events for her on my weekends and I have to make damned sure I'm there to pick Addy up and drop her off at the exact appointed time or there's hell to pay. Rebekah refuses to get married because the minute they marry, the spousal support is dropped. Every decision about Addy is a three hour argument and probably will be until she turns legal age."
He chanced a look up at Mycroft, who sat there, the same look on his face as earlier, just listening. "Like it or not, as long as Addy is in my life, Rebekah's in my life. She's manipulative, she's cunning and there have been times that the only thing that saved me was the fact that I am on the force and therefore a call in for kidnapping was met with opposition. Especially because we were at the birthday party of my bosses' daughter who could verify exactly were we were and why we were late. So," he gave a dry smirk. "I just want you to know what you're stepping into before you sign off on that last document. You know, just in case."
no subject
He had the ridiculous thought that Sherlock should be here, because he could just deduce everything from Greg and he wouldn't actually have to say anything. But just as quickly the thought faded. The last person he wanted here, outside his ex, was his potential...person's younger brother. Who was probably having his own issues, he thought smugly.
"I'll spare you all the details about how we met and married and all of that," he began. "But it is important to know that when we were married, I had just gotten a position in the Yard and was working my way up the line. Rebekah was supportive of that. Promotion meant more money which mean more freedoms.
The day I got my pins for Detective Inspector was the day Rebekah told me she was pregnant. I was over the moon, the idea of being a father had always appealed to me but we were worried because with my new responsibilities it meant my hours were somewhat...well, shite." He clenched his hand to calm the nervous tremors.
She was almost eight months when I found out about the first bloke. I'd been working late hours and she was withdrawn and I chalked it up to the pregnancy. We got into a shouting match and that's when she told me it'd been going on for a better part of a year and she wasn't even sure the baby was mine. I was struck round. After a few days, we talked and decided to work it out, so I was there when Addy was born." He smiled.
"She was perfect. I had to talk to one of the nurses about DNA testing, which Rebekah threw a strop about but the Doctor ordered it and results came back that she was mine."
Another smile. "We tried for two years, or so I thought. Come to find out, mostly from your brother, that she'd been cheating on me the entirety of those two years. The last straw was a Christmas party at Sherlock's flat. I was going on holiday with the wife the next day to try to have sometime to ourselves. Your brother was being a bastard about something and rattled off in front of everyone that she was sleeping with a gym teacher. I went home that night and we had it out and she said she wanted a divorce. I hired a barrister and I fought hard, even against his suggestions, for rights to Addy. Rebekah filed under "abandonment and withholding of affections" as an excuse for her infidelity. She used my job as reasons why I shouldn't have Addy."
He took a shaky breath, rubbing a hand over his hair.
"We fought for almost a year, took a large chunk of my savings, but in the end, the judge sided a bit with me. I was granted joint legal custody, access to my daughter every other weekend, select holidays and a week every summer and winter. I also have to pay support in the form of child and spousal but it's worth it to make sure that she can't take my daughter from me. In retaliation,she likes to make my life a living hell. The thing with Charlie, the man she's been with all of this time. He keeps calling himself Adalaide's dad. Luckily, Addy is intelligent and outspoken enough that she calls him out on it. Like you heard earlier this week, she likes to try to plan events for her on my weekends and I have to make damned sure I'm there to pick Addy up and drop her off at the exact appointed time or there's hell to pay. Rebekah refuses to get married because the minute they marry, the spousal support is dropped. Every decision about Addy is a three hour argument and probably will be until she turns legal age."
He chanced a look up at Mycroft, who sat there, the same look on his face as earlier, just listening.
"Like it or not, as long as Addy is in my life, Rebekah's in my life. She's manipulative, she's cunning and there have been times that the only thing that saved me was the fact that I am on the force and therefore a call in for kidnapping was met with opposition. Especially because we were at the birthday party of my bosses' daughter who could verify exactly were we were and why we were late. So," he gave a dry smirk. "I just want you to know what you're stepping into before you sign off on that last document. You know, just in case."