Against All Odds

Chapter Twenty-One

The case gets underway as soon as the judge, a stern looking beta with oval glasses, sits down. He looks between me and Aaron before looking down at the papers spread out in front of him.

"Let's hear opening statements." He looks up again, eyes settling on Aaron's attorney.

The burly alpha who is representing Aaron stands up, coming to walk in front of the tables. Every part of him makes me want to recoil, the size of his broad body and the sneer he shoots my way.

"Thank you, your honor." His voice is deep, ringing loudly through the courtroom. "My client, Aaron Harris, is a respectable alpha. One who stood by his Omega, despite Mr. Katz insistence on going to school and starting his own business. He even went through a year of fertility treatments with Mr. Katz in their efforts to conceive a baby. As far as I can tell, Mr. Harris has paid his due, done much more than any other alpha should, and he should be allowed to gracefully divorce his husband."

"Respectable my ass," I hear Nico mumble behind me.

His words bring a small smile to my face. Aaron is the epitome of an asshole alpha, and it seems like his attorney is trying to play up traditional values, making Aaron seem like a wonderful husband, instead of a less-than commendable one.

The attorney sits back down, hands resting on the table as he looks over at Herri. "Your honor, my client, Milo Katz, has pushed past the stereotypes and restrictions set on omegas by society. He went to college to earn a double major in business and accounting, started his own businesses that were easily embraced by the community. He has endured much to get where he is today, and to have it all ripped away due to his former alpha claiming his right to mate?"

She shakes her head. "Milo, stand up please." With shaky arms, I push myself up from the chair I am sitting in. Herri turns back to the judge. "As you can see, your honor, Mr. Harris is trying to take everything from my client, without a legal standing to do so. Mr. Katz is clearly able to have children. In fact, he is pregnant with twin right now, by an omega no less."

The words sting a bit, but Herri had warned us that the words exchanged would be harsh. They would have to appeal to societal views, instead of moral ones. And an alpha not able to get someone pregnant while an omega can, is seen as a harsh blow.

Gasps come from the other side of the room, rather dramatically. My eyes flick up for only a second, but it is enough time to see Aaron staring at me with a tense jaw and clenched hands. His pregnant girlfriend is watching me with wide eyes, hands clasped to her stomach. In all honesty, I am surprised my parents hadn't told them yet, especially since they seem to be on Aaron's side.

"Your honor," Aaron's attorney stands up. "How do we know that the children inside Mr. Katz are not Mr. Harris'? Since he is clearly able to have children, then he was probably pregnant when they split up and this is his way at getting back at Mr. Harris; probably trying to get as much money as he can from an alpha who he clearly can't let go."

My mouth drops open at his words. His whole speech has done a three-sixty. But he is still blaming me. And the thought of using children in the way he suggests I am doing has my stomach turning. That sounds like something Aaron would do, not me.

"Oh spare me," Herri says to Aaron's attorney, making the still silent judge raise his eyebrows slightly. But he doesn't reprimand her, so she continues "Your client never wanted to have children with Mr. Katz."

She walks out from behind the table, handing a manila folder over to the judge. He takes it and scans over it, eyebrows rising even more before he looks up again.

"I don't see how this proves that Mr. Harris did not want to have children with Mr. Katz."

Herri nods. "Your honor, those medical records show that Mr. Katz had Minuere, a dangerous heat suppressant is his system. On its own, this drug can have such severe side effects that it can cause strokes and even death. That is why it is carefully regulated now. The only way Mr. Katz would have been able to get that drug was if it was prescribed to him. But, he has no records of it in his medical file." She turns to look at Aaron. "Conveniently, Mr. Harris is a doctor. He has easy access to this drug. It would not be too hard for him at all to replace Mr. Katz daily vitamin with a dangerous suppressant. Therefore, preventing Mr. Katz from getting pregnant, and allowing him to easily leave his husband and be with his pregnant lover," she gestures to Aaron's girlfriend, whose eyes are wide, "and take everything with him."