EMBRACE winrina

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

June first finally arrived. It was a day I had anticipated and dreaded for months. Caleb and I sat alone in his car, both of us anxious. He hid it well but I knew that his confidence of winning had been greatly diminished after Karina told him that she wasn't going to testify. He had scrounged up last minute testimonies from a few others, hopefully ones that would make up for Karina's absence, but it wasn't likely.

She was with Lavender. They'd be sitting in the back of the courtroom, watching. It reassured me, knowing Karina was still there for me even if she wasn't going to testify. If at any time I felt hopeless, I'd look back at her and maybe, just maybe, that would change a little.

I hadn't seen Leo in months. When my eyes met his, the world seemed to stop for a moment. I felt a surge of emotions, all different. None of them were positive. His face was cleanly shaven, his hair was combed to the side perfectly, and his gray suit seemed void of wrinkles. He looked harmless, honestly. He looked like a businessman, but he had done something to his appearance to give himself a softer, almost fatherly look.

When I stepped out of Caleb's car, I was met with reporters. Swarms of them, shoving microphones in my face as they pestered me with irrelevant questions I didn't want to answer. I quite literally pushed through them, following Caleb into a courtroom that was already pretty filled. I sat down next to him and looked back, searching for Karina. She was talking to Lavender, and even from far away I could sense her uneasiness. I knew she was worried about the outcome of the trial, for sure, but also worried about her safety. Those photos could still be leaked by whoever took them, despite what Lavender had said. That was worrying to both of us.

Lavender nudged Karina's side, nodding towards me. Karina's eyes shifted over to me, searching my face for emotions. She mouthed, "Breathe," and it was only then did I realize that I'd been holding my breath.

It wasn't long before the courtroom doors were shut, locking out the media. There were spectators, a lot of them. I had no idea who any of them were, but based on their appearance, I had a hunch a lot of them were here to support Leo. He was the boss of a lot of people, and coincidentally, a lot of people liked him. Quite a few adored him. I knew that. Hell, I had met some of those people. I didn't blame them. When Leo tried, he could be a decent person. But they didn't know what he was like when he got home. He only showed that side of himself to me, and on rare occasions, Emma.

Emma was sitting behind Leo, whispering into his ear. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe. I was so utterly done with Emma. She was an idiot in love, and I knew I was being hypocritical because I would probably do anything, anything to keep Karina safe, but I couldn't even look at her. I had protected her. I stood up for her. I let Leo beat me because I knew she couldn't handle it.

This was how she thanked me?

Now that Karina wasn't testifying, she was my only hope. Caleb had told me that she couldn't refuse to testify. Technically speaking, she was my mother, my legal guardian. I knew that people were entitled to stay quiet when it came to the prosecution of their spouse, but in this case, she couldn't. Because I was her child and my safety was in question, she couldn't.

I knew she wouldn't lie on the stand, but that didn't mean she couldn't dodge Caleb's questions.
I just had to have faith that he knew what he was doing.

The jury was sworn in quickly. Caleb and Leo's attorney had both gone back and forth, building a jury in their favor. We needed people that were sensitive to the safety of children, even if I was technically an adult now, while Leo needed people who sympathized with his method of parenting. Of course, neither Caleb or Leo's attorney could get exactly what they wanted, but they sure tried.