Chapter Fourteen

So, We Meet Again My Heartache

"Please, wait here, I'm sure they will be here in a moment." The young man working at the reception desk showed Kenshin and his client into the conference room.

They were in a moderately sized law firm, one the redhead man had never known to be involved in divorce cases. Most of the lawyers there were known for being familiar with the field of corporate law, and the firm almost exclusively specialised in it. It was quite a shock for him when his client informed him that the lawyer of her husband was set on meeting particularly there. Especially, since the woman sought him out in a free legal aid clinic.

"I'm sure everything will work out just fine." He reassured the woman standing beside him, once the door to the conference room closed.

Mrs. Adkins was a woman in her late forties, though she looked a bit younger than that. Brown roots peaked underneath her dyed honey blonde hair, informing her that they needed to be touched up. She had kind greenish/brownish eyes and never failed to show up on time with tidy clothing despite all of the stress the divorce was putting her through. The red-haired man admired that about her. There was no doubt in Kenshin's mind that if he and Kaoru hadn't done the whole thing through a third person, he himself would have been a mess.

Just as they took their seats at one side of the oval table in the middle of the room, Kenshin's phone buzzed.

"Want to have a date tonight?" The message displayed on the screen read.

Though the sender was shown as unknown, it didn't take him long to figure out just who it was. The only person he had given his number recently was a cute girl he met at a bar a few weeks ago. If he was completely honest, he didn't remember her face or name but gave her the number just so Sanosuke would shut up about him not being to hold down a stable relationship.

While putting his phone back into the pocket of his suit jacket, Kenshin sighed. That girl had piqued his interest and he would've loved to take her on a date or two, but now just wasn't the right timing. If only she had texted him a week back, this might have been avoided, but now with the 10th anniversary of Kenji's death just around the corner he definitely wasn't good company.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, I got held up in another meeting." A familiar voice pierced the air and interrupted Kenshin's train of thought.

A sapphire-eyed woman opened the door. She was wearing a dark purple knee-length pencil dress, with a black collar. It wrapped around her body perfectly, accentuating all of the right places, as if making a statement that the person wearing it was completely comfortable with their own body. Thin silver watch hung on her delicate wrist, creating a contrast between it and the golden necklace and earrings – the only jewellery that adored her body. With a shiny black bob for hair, the woman in front of him looked dazzling.

"This is Kamiya Kaoru, she will be representing me." A man which followed her into the room – most likely Mr. Adkins – spoke.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Himura Kenshin and I will be representing your wife." The redhead managed after a moment. He noticed a flash of recognition in her eyes followed by shock and confusion with a pinch of dread. It lasted only mere seconds, as soon Kaoru put on the poker face she had polished up to perfection.

"Well, hopefully, soon ex-wife." The man beside Kaoru smiled and sat down opposite of his spouse.

Finally, Kenshin looked him over. The man was dressed in a moderately priced dark blue suit paired up with a black tie. A crooked smile played on his lips – obviously a fruit of immense effort – and dark bags hung under his eyes. It even made the red-haired man wonder if Mr. Adkins was regretting his choice to get a divorce. Nevertheless, despite all that, the man in front of him radiated confidence and showed no other indications to have changed his mind.

"Would you like some refreshments?" Kaoru finally talked, while rummaging through the briefcase she had put on the table in front of herself. "Though, I can't promise you that we won't be done before they are brought it."

"And why is that?" The redhead watched the woman in front of him pull out a stack of papers and set her briefcase down.

"The Adkins signed a prenup before getting married. It's iron-clawed." She handed him thirteen pages stapled together.

"I'll have to take a look at it." He accepted the documents and set them down beside himself.

"It's one of the better ones I've seen. The terms are even quite fair – everything under a person's name belongs to that person, regardless if it was gained before or during the marriage. The only thing you could actually go to court with is the house. However, my client is ready to sell it and split the earnings in half."

"Very cooperative, aren't we?" Kenshin voiced with a mocking undertone. "My problem is that you're being a bit ludicrous. Mrs. Adkins here also paid for a lot of property under Mr. Adkin's name."

"Maybe she should have thought about it before signing the prenup." Kaoru was quick to respond. "Or she should have just been more careful with her money."

The redhead quickly shot a glance at the blonde woman sitting beside him and raised an eyebrow questionably. Without saying a word, she just nodded.

"That would be for the judge to decide." He began slyly. He was glad that Mrs. Adkins was so open about everything, he wouldn't have wanted to find out about the prenup only during a meeting. Especially, since it was Kaoru who was sitting on the other side of the table. "But my client would agree with all of those terms without putting up a fight if she got the full custody of both children."

"That is out of the question. Mr. Adkins loves his children and wants them to live with him after the divorce."

"Well, then there's also the custody matter we're willing to take to the court. The statistics show that women are more likely than men to get granted full custody these days." Kenshin wasted no time in rebutting.

"I'd like you to also take into consideration the fact that Mr. Adkins is a lot better off than his wife and could present his children with a lot more opportunities. Also, the kids themselves have voiced their want to stay with their father. Now, you might not be aware of it, but judges tend to do what's best for children's well-being, despite whatever your stats show."

"Neither of the two children stated a preference with which parent to stay. They might have mentioned something along those lines due to coaxing from Mr. Adkins' side, but they could easily change their tune in the court. You never know, if asked directly, they might even say they want to stay with their mother."

The man sitting next to Kaoru tapped her shoulder. He started whispering something in her ear and a small coy smile proceeded to grace the dark-haired woman's lips. Without a doubt, she liked what she was hearing.

"It just came to my attention, that Mrs. Adkins doesn't have a good relationship with her sobriety. Mr. Himura, you might be interested in how many times your client went into rehab. No judge would give custody of two children to a woman whose best friend is a bottle of vodka. What if an accident were to happen and you were out cold from having a binge?"

"Don't you dare...!" Mrs. Adkins' voice surprised all of them. The woman, who had been quiet up until that point, seemed to be on the verge of tears. "You think I like the way my kids look at me when I'm drinking?! That I can't stop?! Who do you take me for?! I try so hard and I know that when I get the custody of my children, I will never let anything happen to them! Because if it did... I wouldn't be able to live on...! What kind of a mother would I be if I got on with my life when my child died because of me!"

Kaoru turned as white as a ghost. She had to stop herself from crying or even worse – hitting the woman. Kenshin was looking at her with horror and pity. She hated that look.

"Let's continue this the next week. I'll have my assistant contact Mr. Himura about setting up another meeting." Her voice was barely audible.

"I think, that's a very good idea, Ms. Kamiya. I will be awaiting your call."

... ∽∾●∾∼ …

"Well, that could've gone a lot better." Jean commented while sitting down in one of the armchairs in Kaoru's office. He was looking out of the window overlooking a busy street, while Kaoru herself was in the other corner of the room, digging through her mini fridge.

"I'd say..." The said woman's voice quivered as she replied. With shaking fingers, she unscrewed the cap of a water bottle and started gulping down the liquid.

That woman had gone too far, both of the adults were aware. But it wasn't like Kaoru hadn't heard similar things before and compared to some of the comments she had heard her words had been nothing. Until she went into corporate law, divorces were her bread and butter. Those going through a nasty divorce always had the nicest things to say to the attorneys of their spouses. She didn't know why she reacted this strongly today though.

Probably, it was the fact that the anniversary was drawing near. The fact that Kenshin was sitting in the same room when the woman started her rant. Because for the last few weeks she couldn't stop dreaming of finding her son's body.

Kenshin. He had looked so much older than she remembered. Even at thirty, he looked like he had barely turned twenty, but now it seemed like his age had caught up with him. Though his hair remained of the same vivid colour, she definitely saw few grey hairs in his low ponytail. Tiny wrinkles etched themselves into the skin around his eyes, so visible through his thin-rimmed glasses. Had she also changed that much?

"Hey, that man... Wasn't he your boyfriend or something in university?"

"Or something..."

"Wait, that was your ex-husband wasn't it?" Finally, the man turned around and saw that from the dark-haired woman's paleness now gained a sickly green shade. Panic filled his features. "That was stupid, I'm so sorry. First, it was my ex-wife and now I stuck a foot in my mouth."

Kaoru and Jean have been old friends. They've known each other since university – even graduated the same year – but never truly went beyond being acquaintances back then. It all changed when they met about seven years ago, right after Kaoru went into corporate law.

The first account she ever worked for, the dark-haired woman got him as the opposition. It was a merger and an incredibly tedious process. The negotiation between the two companies lasted for months and they ended up getting reacquainted. Jean, even ended up hitting on Kaoru, having caught wind of her divorce. Of course, Kaoru had refused his advances. While still not having a good grip on her life, she didn't want to jump into any new relationship. He ended up respecting her decision, and even put a lot of effort in becoming her friend.

It was quite noble of him, Kaoru had to admit. She didn't know a lot of men who would truly stay friends with a woman who turned them down. Of course, now Kaoru realises that he did all that because he pitied her. After all, it had taken her a long time to get out of those dark woods depression was and certainly, by that time she was still very much depressed.

Ironically, he himself was already married for a long time back then. From what Kaoru gathered, she hadn't even been his first venture, there had been many before her. She wouldn't be surprised if it was Jean's affairs that pushed his wife to drink. Without a doubt, the man was a shit of a husband but at least he was better as a friend.

"It's not your fault. You can't know everything your wife is going to say." The dark-haired woman smiled weakly.

"Ex-wife." Jean corrected.

"Okay, okay, ex-wife." She let out a fake laugh.

"How old would he be right now?" The conversation took a more serious turn once more.

"Twelve." Kaoru's smile disappeared, she sat down on the armchair next to the one Jean was sitting in.

"Does it still hurt? Seeing your ex-husband, I mean..."

"A bit. There's a permanent dull ache in my chest, I doubt that it will ever be gone, if I'm completely honest. Of course, your wi- ex-wife's words didn't really help, but now I can handle myself a lot better. It's just that I can't stop feeling guilty. I just want to apologise to him so bad." She took a big sip of water, finally starting to calm down.

"Then, the next time you see him do just that. I gave you a perfect opportunity, now didn't I?" He laughed.

"Oh please." Playfulness returned back to Kaoru's face. "Get your ass out of here, my two o'clock can show up at any minute now and I still want to have a smoke."

... ∽∾●∾∼ …

Everything went a lot smoother when Kenshin and Kaoru had a meeting without their clients present. It seemed that after last week's meeting both decided that it would be best to let a third-party deal with the divorce.

In the end, they needed only two hours to come up with a compromise they could present to their clients. However, it was long enough for the winter sky to turn dark, creating the atmosphere between the two only night could.

"You've done well for yourself." Kenshin was the first to acknowledge that they shared a past. "I heard Sano mention few times that you're a corporate attorney. I knew it, but it's still hard to believe."

"Ahhh, so he's been ratting me out." A light smile tugged at her lips. "However, fear not my friend, he's been selling you out too. He told me you work in legal aid. Ever the hero, trying to help the broken and the damned. To be honest, I never expected to see you again. Not until we had to attend a funeral or something."

That it was a bad joke, Kaoru knew the moment the words left her mouth and she witnessed Kenshin's expression turn sour.

"Well, I do divorces quite often." The redhead tried to play it cool. "Hence, you're the wild card in this."

"Oh, I was a divorce attorney for a few years. Didn't really dig it. Too much drama. Corporate law is much more relaxing, if you could call it that. And well, a lot more profitable." She laughed, trying to disperse the awkwardness. "I'm only involved in all of this because Jean's my friend and he asked me for help."

The redhead stared at Kaoru. He couldn't believe how beautiful of a sound her laughter was. It was a shame that all he could remember vividly from their relationship was the last few weeks. She no longer laughed then, only cried herself into exhaustion.

Truthfully speaking, he felt a spark the moment he saw her enter that meeting room. It was a strange sensation, as he thought that it had been extinguished all those years ago. Now, he regretted not holding on to her, not refusing to get a divorce. Not being able to love her the way she needed to be loved when the tragedy struck.

"How about a drink?" Kenshin offered carefully while watching the woman in front of him light a cigarette.

Suddenly, Kaoru's face got serious. She put the cigarette she had lit in her mouth and opened the window before replying.

"I have a date with my boyfriend." The woman – which he could only describe as his femme fatale even now – stated. She watched thousands of windows light up in the apartment buildings across the street. "If I miss it, he will be worried."

"You're right. That's a bad idea." He stood up and began gathering up his documents scattered all over Kaoru's desk. "I was planning on meeting this girl tonight either way." It was a lie, but Kaoru didn't need to know that.

Kenshin wasted no time in shoving the said documents into his messenger bag and heading for the door. However, he froze seconds after setting a foot outside.

"I still love you." The redhaired man announced after battling with himself for a good few moments.

It was Kaoru's turn to freeze. Once she finally looked at him, her ex-husband's back was still facing her. She was grateful for it. Kaoru didn't want to show the red-haired man just how much his words had surprised her.

"Why can't you just hate me?" Came her reply.

There it was. One of the biggest problems she had with him towards the end of their relationship. That man loved her, he loved her so much, yet she was only able to feel hate and guilt toward him.

"I do hate you." Kenshin admitted almost instantly, causing the woman behind him to smile. "I still hate you for not sticking by me, for withdrawing to yourself, for not trying and rejecting all of my advances. But somewhere along the way, I ended up regretting letting you go that easily, for not loving you enough to put up with everything, for making you believe that you were alone."

"It never was your job to fix me." Kaoru interrupted. "I was in a bad place and I didn't want your love or support. I felt like I didn't deserve it because I blamed you for what happened to Kenji. Sometimes I still wake up blaming you for not stopping me from going in too deep."

Kaoru grew silent and Kenshin took it as a sign that it was his time to leave.

"I'm sorry for hurting you and being stupid enough to think that I no longer love you." Kaoru whispered to herself when Kenshin was halfway throughout the door. After ten years, relief finally flooded her. She had finally apologised. Maybe she could finally get her fresh start.

Even though she had no intention, Kenshin heard her confession very clearly. Shocked by the words spoken by his ex-wife, the man turned around immediately. He was greeted by a sight of small tears forming at the inner corner of the smoking woman's eyes.

As he was about to start walking towards her, his phone rang.

"You should answer. It could be that girl you mentioned." The woman's words broke the redhead out of his daze.

"I'll just let it ring."

"Don't do that." Kaoru put out the cigarette on the astray placed on the windowsill. Quickly, with her newly free hand, she began wiping her unshed tears. "I hated it when you ignored my calls. You should learn from that and treat her better than me."

Only moments later, Kaoru's phone started ringing as well.

"Why don't you answer first?" Kenshin inquired, studying the expression on her face.

"I don't feel like talking with anyone right now." A small fake smile formed on her lips.

"Even if it's your boyfriend?"

"I just call him that so that people wouldn't freak. He's only a guy I occasionally sleep with."

Both of the two adults were far too lost in their own world to even register the noise growing louder with each ring.

Quickly, Kenshin started making his way towards Kaoru, loosening his tie and uncuffing his sleeves in the process. The dark-haired woman waited for him to reach her. She waited for the redhead's hands to dance all over her body. Just like they did daily so many years ago. She waited for his lips to attack hers, sucking the air out of her lungs.

Then, their bodies finally collided. He pulled her in for a hungry kiss. Just as she wished, his hands roamed all over her body – her bottom, her back, and her neck. Nevertheless, Kaoru wasn't the one to go weak in the knees. Rather, it was Kenshin. One other thing he forgot about his ex-wife was just how good of a kisser she was.

AN: So this is the end. I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did!