His wife had learned of his affair and was leaving him. Tonya couldn’t help but wonder if things would have turned out differently had she refused to keep Layla a secret. Perhaps Rick would have had no choice but to divorce his wife and be a father to her daughter. He would never have been a faithful husband to her, of course. Tonya was not so naïve as to think that she would have fared any better than his spouse. But Rick might have filled a position that, given Layla’s reaction to his existence, she’d been wanting.

Tonya forced herself to focus. She was here for Layla’s money, and Rick still hadn’t explained why he’d stopped paying, nor when he would start to do so. “In the interest of moving on, when can I expect child support payments to be restored?”

The attorney cleared his throat. “The issue, unfortunately, is that all significant expenditures must be submitted to Mrs. Redsell’s attorneys, and as per my client’s prior prenuptial agreement, certain actions carry a cost. In the interest of avoiding unnecessary expenses—”

“You mean that he gets charged every time he has an affair, so he still needs to keep Layla’s existence quiet.” Tonya fought a smirk. “How much does he get charged?”

“The terms of Mr. Redsell’s prenuptial agreement are really none of your concern,” Kelner said.

“On the contrary, they are my concern, as they’re why I’m not currently receiving my legally required child support. If he was paying, I wouldn’t be here. And as I’ve made clear, I see no reason to keep Layla’s parentage secret now that you, Mr. Kelner, revealed that she wasn’t the result of a sperm donation.”

Kelner winced. “Well, as I explained, I—”

“The divorce will probably take a year.” Rick looked at her like she disgusted him. “How much more do you want to shut up for twelve months or so?”

“Three hundred grand.”

The figure rolled off her tongue, even though Tonya hadn’t realized she’d come into the office with an amount in mind. Since being booted from her apartment, she’d been thinking about the cost of getting Layla into a more stable environment, and she also wanted a bit added for pain and suffering—compensation for Layla’s pain and a bit of financial suffering for Rick. Her subconscious had apparently been running the numbers.

Rick started to stand from his chair. Before he got up, he gripped his side and slumped back into the seat. “That’s nuts.” He gestured aggressively at his attorney. “That’s way more than I’d have to pay in child support.”