When Stars Align ||CL16||

Chatper Five

MY HEART WAS RACING THE second Charles and I walked through the courthouse doors. In the next hour or so, we'll find out if the judge will grant us guardianship of Kaden Hayes. I felt like I was going to puke.

"Izzy?" the voice hit my ears immediately. I looked to the left, where Kaden sat, grinning with the bright smile I've always loved. Kaden ignored the lawyers around him, pushing past every adult he could to run into my arms. "Izzy!" the kid cried out, hugging me tighter then ever.

Izzy is what he's been calling me since he was a baby.

"My little man." I whispered, going down to my knees so I could be at his height. I saw a glimpse of the judge sitting in the back, looking over at us, but I didn't stare over there too long because Kaden needed my attention more. "Hey..hey." I said, grasping his small face with my hands, trying to wipe the tears away. "It's okay." I mumbled, "it's okay."

"They—they said I could go home with you and Char." he tried to get out as more tears dropped from his eyes.

Suddenly, I could feel Charles presence closer. He was now crouching down, "that's why we're here, Kade." Charles smiled as Kaden hugged him as well. I smiled remembering how Jacob would always call him Kade instead of Kaden.

"I just wanna go home." the kid sobbed into Charles arms breaking my heart into pieces.

Charles wiped away Kaden tears, standing up while I did the same. Kaden held onto Charles side as he glanced at me. I was trying to keep myself from letting the tears fall...I failed. And I hated that Charles could see that. "Hey." he said softly, reaching out. His hand touched my face gently, wiping away the tear drop that was falling down my face. "Don't let him see you cry, Wolff. That will only make him more upset."

"Well. Isn't this so cute..." a voice forced my eyes off of Charles and onto someone else. "Two liars thinking they deserve Kaden."

Wyatt Hayes.

Charles jaw clenched while pushing Kaden behind him. "You shouldn't even be here." Charles spat out, trying to retain himself from pushing Wyatt backwards.

"Yet I am." he smirked, pushing past Charles and I so he could sit down.

"Everyone please be seated." The judge announced only seconds later. Kaden followed us to our seats, sitting in between us. Our lawyer sat to the left of me, looking down at some of his notes. "Alright. This is case 8924, regarding who will receive custody of Kaden M. Hayes." the judge spoke again, reading off of his paper. " I have Isabella Ramírez and Charles Leclerc. And then Wyatt Hayes. Now who would like to go first?"

"I would sir." Wyatt wasted no time, standing up from his seat, indicating that he was ready to speak.

The judge nodded. "Go ahead."

"Thank you sir. Now, as you know. I'm the only blood relative Kaden has left. Beside that..." Wyatt paused, glancing over at me with a smirk, "the only practical answer for this is granting me custody. I have my life together. I have a stable home, a great neighborhood for Kaden to live in, and I'm actually family. There's no doubt that I can give Kaden his best life...rather then two athletes that have messy lives, or two random parents in the foster care system."

We thought he was done...

And god I wish he was

"See, Isabella cheated on me two years ago. She's a unstable individual with no loyalty to the ones she loves. And Charles Leclerc has a revolving door of women in his life. I'm surprised he lasted this long with Amayah sitting by his side. Charles has no morals. And most of all, those two have a history of never getting along. My brother, Kadens father, use to tell me stories about how bad their arguments were. If I were you, I wouldn't trust them with a kid. Lastly, I'm an adult here. They are kids living a life of luxury. They want to play house for a couple months, then they'll get bored and Kaden will be left with no one again."