Another Broken Smile

68- "Asshole, I love you"

A/N: This is by far the best chapter... 

"Anything in defense?" the judge asks our lawyer and my heart is in my mouth at the loss of his words. The lawyer frequently just keeps shuffling through his pages in hand with words scribbled on them, but as the words betray him on the white sheets, I can feel the tears welling up my eyes.

"Anything in defense?" the judge pronounces sternly in repetition.

Just as I am losing hope, our lawyer strides forward and passes on a bundle of papers to the judge as proof before he begins his rehearsed monologue, "It is sadly the truth that Mrs. Roberts has been facing difficulties in job stability since the past week..."

At this Alec glances at his mother, clearly unaware of the situation beforehand but his mother just gives us a weak smile of reassurance.

The lawyer continues, "But my client here is very efficient. She has applied to five more companies and has got a call back from three of them. She is not going to be resigned on the basis of her inefficiency in work but the fact that the company she works is in great loss and closing their branch in this part of the state. She has three insurances in the name of Audrey and has already secured a safe future for her daughter. We already know the disadvantages of the biological parents in this area that I would not like to pronounce them loud once more, for the sheer fear of humiliation."

And there it is, the announcement of rejoice. A couple more arguments are spat back and forth until the judge declares his decision rewarding the biological parent's' visitation rights once Audrey has turned seven years of age and knows the fact that she is adopted.

For now, happiness is still a treasure in our hands.

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"Hey Autumn," he calls me back as I get out of the car to reach the dreadful white mansion that I call home.

"Yes?" I ask as I turn behind to know what he wants.

"Umm.... I was thinking" he starts nervously for the first time and as I raise my eyebrows in surprise he gets himself together and asks, "Do you want to meet up for the project tomorrow?"

And something tells me it isn't what he wanted to ask me in the first place.

"Yeah sure," I tell him with a shrug still unsure of his changed behavior. The project is due after a month and even if we have been paired together for it this term, we still have a lot of time left.

"Umm... great... I'll see you tomorrow then" he says with hesitation in between his sentences and then with a nervous smile drives away.

Boys are so confusing.

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"So what's the plan?" I ask him as I lay sprawled on the bed browsing through websites of utter crap. With my procrastination on full mode, I do not see the light of the project meeting its end. Literally I started with a research, got diverted by an advertisement on the side that displayed a cute turquoise dress and now am currently browsing through stilettoes, don't even ask me how I ended up there.

"I am in no mood to do the project, we still have a month to complete," he says pushing his laptop away in frustration.

"You were the one that wanted to get started early in the first place," I tell him pairing a set of red sexy heels with a black cut dress and adding it to my shopping basket, it's not like I have the money to buy all this.

"What you doing?" he asks rolling from his side of the bed until he is literally on top of me and peeking into my screen.

"Get off me!" I yell at him, surprised, shocked and ready to face death with my heart racing in my chest.