*
*
"Are we ready to begin?" The Judge asked, she was a woman who appeared to be in her early fifties or thereabouts.
Faith released the deep breath she had been holding, she met Mr. Sullivan's stare who whispered solemnly.
"Do you remember all that I've told you? Seeking sympathy will boost your chance to win this case. You don't have to be scared."
Faith swallowed nervously, trying to smile but it wobbled off.
Mr. Sullivan had reminded her this morning that she might as well do anything that would help her win the case.
Tears were her last weapon, he had told her to think about her daughter if she couldn't cry aloud. She didn't think she would be able to survive if she never saw Maya again.
Her eyes chose to glance at that particular area of the courtroom.
Sterling had arrived more than a few minutes ago after she did.
She hated that she looked nervous while he appeared as though this was another business deal for him. Dressed in a charcoal grey suit, his features were harsh and forbidden.
Faith couldn't help but notice the young woman she had met in his study the other day.
She was also present.
She didn't know why the woman's presence annoyed her as much as it did.
"Yes, your honor, we are ready to begin! I'll like to ask my client a few questions." Mr. Sullivan started.
"You can proceed." The judge permitted.
"Miss. Jameson, when did you first find out you were pregnant? How did you respond to the news?"
Faith bit her bottom lip gently, it was time. She met the judge's stare as she responded slowly but clearly.
"At that time, I was still married to my husband. I was v_very excited, just like every woman who was expecting to be a m_mother." The lie made her lips sting. She had been nowhere near excited.
Even while fully clothed, she could feel the intensity of Sterling's stare in her direction, piercing right through her.
"Did you inform your ex-husband about your pregnancy? What conclusions did the both of you make?"
Faith paused, she didn't know what dragged her eyes to meet Sterling's, one of his dark brows was lifted at her interestingly, as though he wanted to hear her response as well.
"Yes, I did inform him." She muttered slowly, his eyes narrowed slightly, apart from that, he didn't have any other reaction.
Faith turned back to the judge. " At that time, he was not ready to be a father___ He w_wanted me to abort the b_baby!"
There were several gasps across the room, followed by loud whispers until the judge brought them to order.
"He wanted me to kill my own baby! But as a mother, how could I do that? Maya is my own flesh and blood! I wanted her so badly, so I did what I thought was right, I divorced him so that I can care for my baby on my own!" Faith continued with a moist gaze, she even managed to shed a few tears. It was difficult as it felt as though she was even slashed to bits by a pair of hot iron sets of gazes.
There were several whispers across the room, Faith managed to catch a few.
"Men could be so wicked, how dare he want her child back after his despicable act!" A woman spat.
"You would not believe that I went through a similar situation last year, men especially ones like him do not deserve to be a father at all!"
Faith hugged her arms around herself. "I can't lose my daughter, she's all I have left. Even when I was pregnant, it was difficult to get a job, but I worked very hard only so I can provide my baby with a good life, I might not earn a lot but I will care for her with everything I have, please don't take her away from me!" Her tears and pleas this time were earnest.
The bailiff walked over to hand her a pair of handkerchiefs but Faith was looking so frail as though she would pass out any moment.
"We will take a break of five minutes!" The judge announced.
*
*
A gust of wind brushed across Faith's face as they stepped out of the courtroom.
"You did great! You managed to surprise the hell out of me!"
Without thinking, Faith hugged her lawyer tightly. He was the only person present in her support today.
Julian had not been able to make it back on time.
"I think we are going to win! I managed to get their support, right?" Faith asked.
"We can't be fully certain yet, but the odds are most definitely going to be in our favor."
Faith smiled, but it rapidly vanished when she saw who was approaching. His purposeful stride didn't stop until he stood right in front of her. Faith gently broke away from the embrace, she couldn't hide her smug look, or she would have realized the rage in his eyes was due to something different.
"Come with me!" He gritted and without waiting for a response, his grip encircled her wrist.
"Where are you taking her?" Sullivan shouted.
"It's none of your fucking business! Stay out of this!" Sterling growled at him.
"I'm her lawyer, her business is my business!"
Faith tilted her head to meet his stormy expression with a snobbish look.
"Are you upset? How does it feel knowing you are going to lose?" She taunted.
"You lied." He stated and Faith flared up.
"So what if I lied, I wasn't going to sit back and watch you completely rip my daughter away from me! I wouldn't have resulted to this if you hadn't forced me to! You never knew she existed, and Maya and I would have been just fine without you interrupting our lives!"
She glared up at him, hating the fact that he looked so calm, and even ___bored.
She wanted him to feel the same fear she had felt when she thought that she would lose her daughter.
He merely took a glance at his wristwatch. "Five minutes is up. The decision is yet to be made. There's no need to be too excited." His gaze penetrated hers for several seconds, perhaps she saw wrong when his eyes flashed with something close to___ sympathy?
Remorse?
The look disappeared, and so did his grip on her wrist.
Faith glared at him as he turned around and started to walk away.
She wouldn't allow his words to instill fear in her anymore.
"Let's go, Miss Jameson."
*
*
Faith resumed her position and waited for the judge to continue.
"Mr. Sterling, your ex-wife accused you of abandoning her during her pregnancy which led to your divorce, is it true?"
Faith held her breath, waiting for Sterling's response which came after some seconds.
"No, your honor, I wasn't aware that she was carrying my child at that time."
There was a chorus of gasps across the room.
"May I ask what led to your divorce then?" The judge asked again.
There was a prolonged silence before which the bald man who Faith presumed to be Sterling's lawyer spoke.
"My client feels your question is not relevant to the case, but would also like to add that their divorce had already been settled, perhaps to exert revenge on him for leaving her, Miss. Jameson decided to hide the baby's existence from him!"
"That's not true!" Faith burst out, earning a sharp look from the judge.
"It's not your turn to speak, please don't interrupt again! You may continue." The judge beckoned to Sterling's lawyer.
"My client only found out about his child on the date of delivery, he was very concerned about his baby's safety since it's a known fact that his ex-wife is unstable due to some bad habits of hers!" The lawyer pointed out.
Faith glared at Sterling furiously, she didn't think she could possibly hate him more than she already did.
"Miss. Jameson, according to the report, the young baby being talked about was taken from the hospital due to some disturbing habits of yours, what do you say about that?" The judge turned to her.
"That is not true! I've never done drugs in my life, I think there's a mistake as to why the results turned out like that!" Faith explained, watching the bailiff handing some documents over to the judge who was silent for some seconds.
"But that's not what the report here says, you've clearly been an alcoholic and drug addict during and before the time of your pregnancy!"
Faith stared at the judge stunned.
Why would the results still turn out like that? She faced her lawyer who also appeared to be speechless.
"H_how could it turn out l_ike that?___ It's not true!" She cried, whipping her head to Sterling. She was wrong if she thought he didn't have the power to manipulate the evidence.
"There's also one more thing to prove that my client is innocent in all this!"
Faith watched the bailiff proceed to collect a small device from Sterling's lawyer.
The judge nodded and a few seconds later, a familiar voice echoed throughout the entire courtroom.
Faith recognized her voice instantly and panic swept through her.
"___I wouldn't have resulted to this if you hadn't forced me to! You never knew she existed, and Maya and I would have been just fine without you interrupting our lives!"
The blood drained out of her face and she had to grip her chair for support.
It was their conversation earlier!
It had been recorded!
The judge wore a look of disappointment, throwing Faith the next question.
"Didn't you say you told him and he didn't want the baby and asked you to about it?"
"I__I it was__" Faith stared at her lawyer nervously, why was everything happening so quickly?
How did it become like this?
"This here is telling a different story, does this mean that you lied to the court?"
"No! I didn't lie! I __"
"Are you saying the voice in this recording isn't yours? You have to be more convincing Miss. Jameson!"
Faith could feel the judgemental stares from all corners.
They all were blaming her!
They were not seeing that she was only a victim in all of these!
"Your actions are really disappointing. Women like you take the attention away from real victims out there!" The magistrate tightened her lips in annoyance.
"It's not me! It is him!" Faith yelled. "You call yourself a judge, how much did he pay you to fake my test result?"
The noise in the courtroom grew louder and louder, even the judge looked flabbergasted.
"Your honor, my client is just upset and unreasonable, I'll talk to he __"
"I'm more than upset! Unreasonable? They are the ones being unfair here!" Faith screamed at Mr. Sullivan who had just started to speak on her behalf.
She stormed towards Sterling amidst the noise, and without thinking, she grabbed his collar.
"Bastard!!" She seethed.
"How could you do this to me? Tell them what you did! You know I only left because you forced me to get pregnant! You are shameless! " She shoved his shoulders furiously.
"This is a courtroom! You can't assault your opponent! This case is dismissed! The court hereby grants Mr. Sterling Hunter the sole custody of Miss. Maya Hunter! "
The words felt like a slap across Faith's face, even the hands gripping Sterling stiffened. His eyes slowly flickered across her features as a slow smirk formed across his lips.
"You. Lost."