Guilty

Ch-11

"Your trial has been moved to Wednesday."

"This Wednesday?", he asked horrified, his good mood gone in an instant.

"The very same and we are not prepped yet. The opposition put in a motion to move it up.", I told him recounting my conversation with the judge McKenna's secretary.

He sat unmoving, his coffee forgotten on the table,

"How bad is it?", he asked quietly.

"Don't worry. My PI is investigating. We will have the footage from the hotel soon enough and look for evidence to prove you innocent. But it will take two to three days at least."

"So we are in trouble?", he probed.

"Not yet. We just have to give the opening statement and get the preliminary facts down. It won't be much trouble. You don't have to speak this time. All you need to worry about is when they call you to the stand."

"I have told you repeatedly not to expect sympathy from me. I can win the case for you but I won't make the mistake of trusting you again.", I put it bluntly

"You changed a lot."

"You didn't leave me another option. I have to stand by you as an accomplice in your crime- of knowing that I destroyed another innocent woman's family. I became a home-wrecker, Professor."

And that was the crux of all the pain I was drowning in. Unknowingly, I had become a monster and when the realization had struck me, the magnitude of my actions had slain me. Some days I still couldn't look at myself in the mirror. Some days my guilt was all I could see.

"I am sorry. More sorry than I could ever express.", he said not daring to meet my eyes anymore.

"You know that's the funny thing about your apology. It is five years too late and simply useless. Don't bother saying 'sorry'. It won't make a difference. Think about your career and your case. Karma is a bitch you made the mistake of crossing."

I said coldly turning away from him. It was a useless conversation anyway. We would never resolve anything at this rate. Pain was a given if you loved but this suffocating guilt was pushing me over the edge. Better to think about things that could be repaired. Like his case.

This wasn't a dance I was willing to dance anymore.

I had gotten over him. I had stood up without his support and I would do it again.

"I will apologize still, Sultana and maybe someday you will forgive me. Maybe someday I will be worth your time again.", he said quietly and left.

I knew the posture of a defeated man when I saw one. I knew it personally, a result of defeating many men such as himself in court but I had never seen that look on Nate.

Weirdly, it didn't satisfy me as much as I thought it would. It was no fun to break a broken man.

"Is it very hard to lie on the stand?"

"I don't know. I haven't stood on it before. In any case, I am hoping we won't need to resort to perjury yet. Go home and put down anything you remember on paper. In that way you might remember something of that night."

"I will try. I am... uh... not sure that it will be a good idea. I don't wanna remember it."

"Try for your sake, Professor."

"Is there anything else I should know?", he asked tentatively.

I looked at him with my eyes narrowed.

"What exactly are you asking?"

"Earlier you said that you knew how to make evidence disappear. Have you done that before?", he questioned.

"Don't ask questions you don't want to hear the answers of .I practice law not morality, Professor.", I said rolling my eyes.

"And here I thought we made progress last night.", he said trying to divert the topic now.