Lily's chin went up a fraction of an inch and her jaw clenched.
"Yes?" she asked the woman.
"My name is Angie." she said timidly, approaching Lily. "I'm the--"
"I know who you are." Lily cut her off. "But what I don't know is what you're doing here."
Angie sighed nervously and continued. "I came to tell you...that is, I was hoping I wasn't too late..."
"Spit it out, will you? In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little busy right now." Lily said, motioning to the door of the courtroom.
Angie nodded and decided to let it out in a burst of words. "I didn't sleep with your husband."
Lily narrowed her eyes at the blonde and said "I don't know how stupid you think I am, but I'm not an idiot. I saw the two of you in bed together."
"I know what you saw." Angie replied "But the reason I came here was to tell you that you were wrong in your assumptions. Kevin and I didn't have sex."
Lily pressed her lips together in disbelief but remained silent, allowing her to continue.
"Kevin was drunk that night, extremely drunk. He was stumbling toward the exit when I asked him to dance. One dance turned into a few dances and a few more drinks. There was a point when I thought he didn't even remember who I was, he was so drunk. We kept dancing and drinking and ended back up at his house."
"My house." Lily said quietly but Angie only continued.
"Anyway, we stumbled back into the bedroom and I took my clothes off. I turned around and Kevin was laying on the bed, too drunk to take his clothes off. I went over there and took his clothes off for him. When I finally finished, I started kissing him, trying to get him to respond. It was a good five minutes before I realized he had passed out. I got into bed and pulled the covers over both of us and went ot sleep. The next thing I remember, he was jumping out of the bed, running after you." She finished her story and looked at Lily expectantly.
Lily said nothing but Angie saw that her eyes had softened a bit.
"When I saw in the paper about the divorce and custody battle, I knew that Kevin didn't tell you that nothing happened. Mrs. Richardson, your husband loves you a lot. You're all he talked about that night. And I can tell you love him too. Give him another chance." Angie looked at her sympatheticlly for a moment and then turned and left the courthouse.
Lily watched after her and felt the hole in her heart widen even more. She had lost her husband, the man she loved, all for nothing. It wasn't as simple as Angie thought it was. You couldn't give another chance to someone who didn't want it. She was unaware of the tears that slid unchecked down her cheeks. She jumped when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder.
Expecting to find Hannah standing behind her, Lily's eyes collided with Kevin's silver green eyes. Lily stared into his eyes as he gently raised his hands to her face and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. Lily stared for a few more heartbeats before she sniffed and pulled away from him.
"How could you do this, Kevin?" she asked, wiping her face with both hands. "How could you divorce me and take Jeremy when nothing happened?" Tears streamed down her face once again as she waited for his answer.
"Lily." he whispered hoarsely and for the first time Lily saw the tears that were swimming in his eyes. "I didn't know. I don't remember anything about that night. I was out of the house by the time she woke up that morning and I assumed like you did. I didn't know any different until I just heard her telling you." He tried to reach for her agian but she shrugged off his hands.
"The divorce papers...custody. You did all that." She sobbed.
"I though you hated me, Lily. I assumed I betrayed you and I thought you hated me for it. I didn't know what to do. I waited months. AJ kept telling me that I had to let you go. I finally called my lawyers and they got carried away with the whole custody thing. I fought them on it but they convinced me that Jeremy needed me. Please believe me when I say that I never meant to do this to you. I love you, Lily. I'd give my life if I could take back all the hurt I've caused you." Lily finally allowed him to hold her and he pulled her close. "I'm so sorry, Lily. So sorry." he murmured.
"I love you, Kevin." she whispered and felt Kevin pull her closer.
The minutes went by and they just held each other, saying nothing.
Kevin finally pulled away and cupped her face in his hands. "I know that I've hurt you, Lily, but please give me another chance. I need you in my life. I can't live without you."
"Of course." she said and embraced him again. "I guess this means we have to get remarried."
Kevin pulled away from her and shook his head. "We were never divorced, Lily."
Lily frowned in confusion and said "But I signed the papers and sent them back."
"I know." Kevin said. "I got them. But I could never bring myself to send them to my lawyer. The divorce was never finalized."
Lily stood on her tip-toes and pressed her lips to his in a tender kiss of love. "Thank you." she whispered.
"No problem." Kevin returned, teasingly, and leaned forward to kiss her again. Moments before their lips touched, they heard someone clear their voice. They both turned smiling faces to Hannah, who was leaning against a wall.
"I'm guessing that ya'll have reconciled." she said and they both smiled at her. Hannah sighed loudly and turned to walk in the other direction. "I just wonder how long THIS one will last."
Kevin turned back to Lily and kissed her lips softly before whispering "For forever."
