MARRIED

Chapter Thirty-Three

Pharrell's POV

If someone would have told me years ago that I will be sitting in court at this very moment, fighting for the child I didn't want, I wouldn't have believed it. But here I am, wanting custody of the child.  

I had arrived very early about an hour before the hearing will start mainly because I was feeling nervous and uneasy. What if the jury ruled in her favor, that means I will lose everything.

"Don't dwell on the negative Pharrell, Mark has assured you that he will let them rule in your favor." I spoke to myself, reassuring myself of what Mark told me.

"Are you okay?" Mark asked.

"I am fine. I just want the b***h to come so that we can get this done and over with."

"Relax, she is going to be here. Besides, there are fifteen more minutes before the start of the hearing."

I sighed, trying to release some tension. It worked but the tension shot up again when she arrived. Beside her was Megan Bridget Richardson, American's most sought-after attorney. She never loses a case and she is good at what she does. 

Oh no-no. Why didn't we research who will be advocating for her? I hope she has not told her about my attempt to kill her. If she has, I will not only lose the case but I will also end up in jail since Megason doesn't leave any stone unturned.

"Relax man, and don't fret. We will win this hands down."

Because it's a private hearing, it was only the judge, the jury, the two parties, and their lawyers that were allowed into the courtroom.

Liana didn't spare a glance my path, she just took her seat and looked straight forward at the judge. Her countenance couldn't be read but one thing I saw for sure was that she was not afraid. I thought most women are afraid and hate to be taken to court when it comes to their children so why isn't she?

"Court rise!"

We all rose to our feet as the judge walked in. He settled down behind his bench and a couple of files were handed over to him. After about ten minutes of going through the files, he spoke up.

"I have read the plaintiff's complaints. Without anytime wastage can we proceed with this?"

"Thank you, your honor"

"My client the plaintiff here made it known to me that he had an affair with this young lady six years ago while he was on a trip to Spain. That affair brought forth a beautiful seed. When Mrs. Miller found out she was pregnant, she traveled here to texas in search of my client, who had made it known to her before he left Spain that he is married. She sought to destroy his marriage by coming here. Yet still, Mrs. Smith behaved very maturely and took her in as a younger sister. She was nothing when she came here, they made her who she is today. Because the couple didn't have a child of their own, Carmine Smith reason with her husband that they take good care of Mrs. Miller so that her child can become theirs when she gives birth after which they will enroll Mrs. Miller in school. But she was stubborn and always created troubles for the couple. She was caught drinking alcohol at one point. When my client confronted her, she slaped his wife, behaved violently with him and she eloped with the unborn child. Fast forward to six years later, my clients was informed by someone who knows them quite well that she has returned but with a baby boy we believe belongs to my client. She is unapologetic about what she did and what makes it annoying is that she is preventing my client, Mr. Smith from having access to the child  because she feels she is now of the same public status with my client since she is married to a rich and famous man."

Wow when Mark said he has everything under control I didn't think he could be this creative.

Two hours ago.

"Trust me man. I have everything I will say under my sleeve. All you will have to do is to play along. Don't think about the murder case because they do not have evidence against you. If they had, they would have taken it to the police. It's their word against us since everything that will be said wouldn't be able to be proven."

"Okay I will trust you on this."

Damn Mark, you are a genius. I grinned. This is a fantastic story Mark has told. I could see from my side view that Liana was looking at me. She was angry which meant victory for me.

"Can we now hear from the defendant party?"

"Sure your honor."

"We have heard one version of the story which is quite filled with lies. My client hasn't actually told me the story but what I know is that what my colleague said is not true. My client didn't run away with the child. Why don't we call upon my client, Mrs. Miller to tell us her version of the story."

Richardson's pleas were heard and her request was granted much to my disappointment. Liana was called to the box and she was made to take an oath after which she was asked to tell her side of the story.

"Your honor, I met this man in Spain not knowing that he was on a short business trip. I didn't even know he was married. He made it known to me that he was single and wanted to marry me. He was the one who broke my virginity and the first man I have ever kissed. This should tell you how pure, naive and innocent I was when I first started dating him. I felt sick one day and a trip to the doctor's office revealed that  I was pregnant. I was happy that I was carrying the child of the man I love and since I thought he wanted to marry me, I decided to keep the baby. I went to our apartment that day to find him gone without a message or a reason. With little to no information about him, I didn't know how to find him. Thankfully, this man is very popular and during an interview on TV my best friend watched, we were able to know his full name and which state of this country he lives in. With the money my friend had saved, I came here in search of him. A friend I met on my flight gave me a place in her home to stay until I find him. She was so nice that she made me stay longer when I found out that this man is married. I don't know what was wrong with me but thinking about it now, I think I was stupid because even though I found out he is married, I still believed he loves me and will leave his wife for me so I told him I am pregnant. He didn't accept it. He made his wife believe that he doesn't know me and I am a golddigger who was to make away with their money. His wife asked me to come and leave with them so they can take care of me until I give birth to which I agreed. I moved in with them with hopes of being happy but they made me their maid and maltreated me. They starved me and abused me. One day this man, came home drunk and beat me up to the point of death. I passed out and they believing I was dead dumped me in a bush where my now-husband rescued me. I woke up from a coma some months later and recalled what they did to me."

The room was quiet by the time she finished talking. It looked like they believed what she said.

"She is lying. She is a lier!" I yelled, 

"Mr. Owen can you please control your client or I will have him thrown outside."

"Please Pharrell, you need to behave." Mark whispered to me.