Chapter 14
I stood up from the defense table,
smoothing down the front of my charcoal suit,
and began placing my documents back into my bag.
As I turned to leave the courtroom,
Scott suddenly bolted from his seat,
scrambling across the aisle toward me with a desperate,
crazed look in his eyes.
"Avery!
Wait!
Please,
Avery,
just listen to me for one second!"
he begged,
his voice cracking as he reached out his hand to grab my arm.
Before his fingers could even touch my sleeve,
the court bailiff stepped in front of him with a stern,
warning look,
his hand resting firmly on his utility belt.
"Step back,
sir,"
the officer ordered coldly,
"do not approach the defendant."
Scott stopped instantly,
holding his hands up in a gesture of frantic surrender,
his eyes wide and bloodshot as he looked at me.
"Avery,
please,"
he whispered,
tears finally spilling over his eyelids,
streaming down his pale,
sweat-sheened face.
"We don't have to do this,"
he pleaded,
his voice dripping with a pathetic,
begging tone that I had never heard from him before.
"It was all a mistake,
I swear to you,"
he lied desperately,
"Kayla manipulated me,
she trapped me with the pregnancy!"
"I never stopped loving you,
Avery,"
he claimed,
stepping forward slightly until the bailiff glared at him again.
"We can tear up these papers,
we can go to marriage counseling,"
he suggested,
his words coming out in a frantic,
unfiltered rush.
"We can stay married,
just like my grandmother wanted,"
he added,
hope flashing briefly in his eyes as he tried to find a way to save the money.
"Think about our five years together,
think about everything we built,"
he whimpered,
"you can't just throw it all away over a silly mistake."
I stopped walking,
turning around slowly to look at him,
and the entire courtroom seemed to grow quiet as everyone watched us.
I looked at the man who had once been my whole world,
the man whose approval I had spent years desperately trying to win,
and I felt absolutely nothing but deep pity.
He wasn't sorry for hurting me,
he wasn't sorry for destroying our vows,
and he wasn't sorry for his cruel words.
He was only sorry that he had been caught,
and he was terrified of being poor.
"Our five years together,
Scott?"
I spoke,
my voice calm,
clear,
and echoing through the empty rows of the gallery.
"You mean the five years where you constantly told me I was lucky to be with you?"
I asked,
my tone devoid of any anger,
only containing cold facts.
"The five years where you made me feel small,
worthless,
and invisible while you spent your time with other women?"
"The five years that ended with you throwing me out of my own home in the middle of the night,"
I reminded him,
"giving me just two hours to pack my life into boxes while your mistress watched?"
"You told me I would walk away with absolutely nothing,
Scott,"
I whispered,
stepping closer to him until he could see the absolute strength in my eyes.
"But it turns out your grandmother knew you better than anyone else did,"
I said,
a cold smile touching my lips.
"She knew you were a coward,
and she made sure that your greed would be your undoing."
"There is no marriage to save,"
I concluded firmly,
"and there is no money for you."
"Goodbye,
Scott,"
I said,
May you like
turning my back on him for the final time,
"enjoy your forty-eight hours in my house."
