Love and Only Love

Chapter 28

"Mrs. Gummer, don't you dress so you get attention from other men?" Kellerman asked. "I mean look at how you are dressed today.

Meryl was confused; she was wearing a nice pants suit that wasn't at all revealing. "I dress how I want to dress, how I am feeling on any particular day."

Don was sitting there furious as he looked at Mann who was staring at Meryl licking his lips. "Fucking bastards!"

"According to Mr. Mann, during your first meeting, you dressed very provocatively. Let's be honest, you're an actress, and a very good-looking woman and you know it. Weren't you looking for attention by dressing in a certain way?"

Meryl gave him a cold stare. "NO!"

"You didn't want to tease Mr. Mann, turn him on?" Kellerman asked.

Meryl was furious. "NO! I only want attention from my HUSBAND!"

"Isn't it true that you met him in a hotel, so you could have an affair with him?" Kellerman asked.

Meryl was furious. "No, I didn't even know him. I had lots of interviews that day. Press junkets are back to back and are almost always in a hotel."

"Come on, Mrs. Gummer. You'd say anything to keep your husband from finding out about your multiple affairs that your father-in-law states you've had, wouldn't you? You wanted Mr. Mann. You WANTED him." He wagged his finger in front of Meryl's face.

Don clenched his fists willing himself not to get up and grab that fucking son of a bitch by the throat. This was getting to be too much. He saw her color getting worse as was her breathing. He went into her purse to grab her inhalers in case she needed them. Dr. Abbott had warned that she could have an attack due to stress; and this was an absolutely hellish and stressful situation. He was ready to go to her if needed.

"NO!" Meryl cried. "No, I didn't want to be with any other man but my husband, I never have. I didn't want my baby to be kidnapped, my children to be threatened, to be hurt."

Kellerman got a cocky look on his face. "You're a sexy woman, Mrs. Gummer. Tell me, do you like rough sex?"

"LARRY!" Don hissed, he couldn't hold it in. "WHAT THE FUCK?! STOP THIS, NOW!!"

Larry had already jumped up. "OBJECTION. This is NOT about Mrs. Gummer's sex life."

"Yes, it is." Kellerman laughed.

The judge thought long and hard. "Sustained."

Meryl felt sick; she answered it anyway. "No...not like that."

"Sure you do! Admit it...you wanted it!" Kellerman taunted.

The judge hit his gavel. "That's enough, Mr. Kellerman!"

Meryl answered anyway. "NO! I didn't want a stranger to stalk me, to beat me and almost rape me. To cause so much terror that it took me awhile before I could be with my husband again. To be kidnapped. To be smacked. To be terrified for my baby's life; for all of my children's and my husband's lives. You think anyone would want to go through that? Do you honestly think anyone could be SICK enough to want to be violated like that?" Her words were choked out on a broken sob as the tears streamed down her cheeks as she was wheezing.

Don leaned forward in his seat, his heart breaking for her. Roy was gripping his arm in restraint. He wanted to go to his wife and gather her in his arms, and take her away from all of this. He wanted to strangle Kellerman and Mann for putting her through his humiliation. SHE was the victim, not that bastard MANN.