𝘽-𝙎𝙞𝙙𝙚

ｐｒｏｐｅｒｔｙ ｌｏｓｔ

Ｔｗｅｎｔｙ Ｓｅｖｅｎ-ｐｒｏｐｅｒｔｙ ｌｏｓｔ

As the opposing lawyer got up, my heart started to race. I had seen what he had done to the other witness, how he had made her look like the complete opposite person. My hands instinctively go back to playing with my ring that's on my chain.

The lady's heels clicked loudly as she walked toward me as I shrunk into my chair.

"Why did you break up with Alex?" She asks as I exhale sharply,

"He was cheating on me with somebody that I knew."

"Well then wasn't it your fault?" I scoffed, this lady had no idea what she was talking about. I can't control what this man and the lady was doing. I stare the lawyer right in the eyes, daring her to go against me,

"It wasn't my fault. I can't control what people do or say,nobody can." I blink, cutting off our contest and sending her reeling back. She coughs slightly and straightens her posture,

"Okay. But who introduced the girl to Alex?" When she calls Alex by his real name, I raise an eyebrow, aren't lawyers supposed to reference their clients as Mr/Mrs?

"One of my friends, her name's Araluen." I say, looking at their chemistry. When she walked towards Alex and got contact from him she relaxed underneath his touch. Were they sleeping together?

As she walked toward me I noticed her shirt, it was the same one that Alex wore when I met him for the first time. They were sleeping together!

"Did Araluen get your permission to introduce her best friend to Alex?" She asks and I shake my head,

"She did it behind my back."Romeo gets up,slamming his hand on the desk,

"What's the relevance of this line of questioning?" The judge looks toward the lady who nods, briefly,

"There is none." The judge slams his hammer on the round coaster looking part of his desk,

"The jury will not take that line of questioning into consideration." He booms out as I sigh in relief. I look towards Ty who looks at me reassuringly.

"Alex told me that you visited him at his office the other day. Did you?" She asks me while holding a smirk on her face.

"Yes I did go to Alex's office."

"Why did you go there? Did you go because you have feelings for him?" I furrow my brows as I hear the last question. Did I have feelings for him? No.

"I went there because I wanted to see if he actually harassed the employees." I say, looking at Ty with pleading eyes, hoping that he would stop this.

"So you don't have feelings for him?" She asks, trying to change the topic. I shake my head furiously,

"No, I don't have feelings for him anymore."

"Then why are you wearing his ring?" She asks, hinting at the ring that's been with me since we broke up. I bite my lip, trying to find a way to explain why I kept his ring.

"When I ran out, I had no reason to keep the ring but kept it anyways as a reminder."

"As a reminder of what?" She presses me, and I sigh quietly, wanting this to finish. I undo my necklace and hold it in my right hand,

"As a reminder to always have control." I say, setting the ring on the outer lip of the desk. She takes the ring off the desk and throws it into the crowd and I gasp, reaching for it.

"Do you have control ,Talulah? Do you?" She asks as my vision gets blurry.

"I don't. I don't have any control, but nobody does. I know for sure that you don't." I swallow thickly as Ty stands up,

"The opposition calls for a ten minute recess." The judge looks toward me with a sympathetic look and nods,

"Ten minute recess." He booms out, banging the gavel. I rush out of the stand and run towards the direction that she threw the ring only to have Romeo hold me back,

"We already checked, it wasn't there." I run my hands through my hair as I panic, that ring was everything to me. I turn towards Romeo, who tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear,

"I don't want to testify anymore." I say and he nods,

"Let me check." He walks to the judges chambers with Ty as I sit in the stands with my head in my hands.

"Hey." I look up to find Alex there, looking at me with a coffee in hand.

"Leave me alone." I say, my voice shaking. Alex ignores me and slides in next to me,

"I'm sorry for what Sophie did. She was trying to win the case." He says, and I turn towards him, fury evident in my eyes.

"Stop trying to defend her, she took my property and got rid of it without a second glance. That's not her job. Now get out!" I say, my voice raising near the end.

Romeo sees us and yells,

"Hey, leave her alone!" Alex looks toward him and grumbles,

"Fine but don't come to me when Rhys breaks your trust." I watch his back as he leaves. Ty looks toward me,

"Are you okay?" I shakely nod and ask,

"Do I still have to testify?" Both of them shake their heads. Romeo sits next to me,

"No, the judge is gonna get Sophie a strike on her record and he's gonna rule in our favor."

"So we won?" I ask, cracking a small smile. Romeo looks at me, smiling now too,

"Yes, we won."

"Can I leave?" I ask and they look at each other before nodding. Before I leave Ty grabs my hand,

"Thanks for helping us. If you ever need a lawyer you know where to look." He hands me a card and I leave the courthouse feeling a bit better.

I hop into Dory and speed home, excited to tell Rhys the good news. As soon as I park in the driveway, Rhys comes out of nowhere and says,

"I have to tell you something." I look at him, making sure to lock the car,

"I do too, but let's walk and talk." I say, while climbing up the stairs. My hand reaches for my keys and unlocks the door,

"Ara, I need to tell you something!" He screams as I open the door. There standing in front of me, looking through my tote bag,was Araluen.

"What the hell!"