Fated To Three Betrayed By All Until She Rose (Leilani) by Ahvahh novel Chapter 155

155 Creeping in.

Leilani.

Work that morning was extremely exhausting, and at this point, trust me, I have begun to think that maybe this whole idea of stealing everything from De’Storm cooperation was a mistake.

Because tell me why the fuck I now have to work nonstop, back to back for several hours, satisfying clients and at the same time, ensuring that our innovations are all up and running when I wouldn’t have had this much workload if I wasn’t so bent on ruining the triplets by taking on all of their investors in the first place?

I leaned into my chair and closed my eyes when I finished working on TINN’s programming language, but just when I decided to take a nap, my phone buzzed.

Sighing, I peeled my eyes open and glared at the screen, frowning when I realized I had about two more hours until the court hearing with my parents- estranged parents this afternoon.

I placed the phone down just as Jarek came into my office with a MacBook in hand and a frown on his face. When his eyes met mine- and probably noticed the tiredness on my features- he sighed. “I don’t think you’re good enough to help me right now.” He said softly, but didn’t leave. Instead, he set his MacBook onto my table, turned to retrieve a small bottle of water from the mini fridge and handed it to me.

“I think you should go home.” He said matter-of-factly. 8

My eyebrows shot into my hairline as I watched him quietly, smiling when I noticed the worry creases on his eyebrows.

This man cares about me… adores me… loves me… so what the hell is holding us back? I was snapped out of that thought when he snapped his fingers in my face. He drawled; “You’re even zoning out now. Go home, I’ll take care of all your unfinished work!” (1

A small smile spread across my lips at his words but I shrugged him off and sighed. “You don’t pay me to do my work for me.”

“And I don’t pay you enough for the things you do.” He added.

He leaned forward to brush off something at the corner of my lips and I bristled when his fingers lightly grazed against the surface of my skin, successfully setting it ablaze.

I knew that I was red right now. Hell, I probably looked like a beetroot. Clearing my

15:09

1/6

<

155 Creeping in.

throat, I leaned into my chair- mostly because I wanted to create as much distance between us as possible; and rasped; “I’m fine, Jay.”

“Do I know that already? Yes. But do I care? No.” He snorted. “All I care about right now is your health and you don’t look too good. And I want you to rest!”

Seeing as he wouldn’t budge. I picked up the water bottle, took a small sip and rose. “I’m not going home,” I said quietly, and when he frowned, I continued; “The court hearing with Mr and Mrs Blackthorne is in a few hours and it’s easier to go from here than from my house.”

“Can I drive you there?” He supplied quickly, not missing a beat; And at first, I wanted to say no. I wanted to remind him that I could take care of myself but upon remembering that my family was usually less likely to corner me with him being present, I agreed hesitantly.

“Okay.”

“Good then.” He said with a smile. “I’ll come pick you up in exactly ninety minutes. For now, let me finish with what I’m doing first.”

“I can help you with that.” I chirped in, but as soon as those words escaped my mouth, Jay pinned me a harsh glare and hissed, his voice low but gentle as he said;

“No… thank you.”

I rolled my eyes, smiling as I asked; “Why?”

“Nothing. But I can do it myself. Just rest up. I’ll come for you soon!” He snorted, and with that, leaned in to ruffle my hair before stepping out of my office with the bottle water he’d given to me earlier.

I chuckled.

I shuddered, not from fear but from cold.

In the past few hours, my health had deteriorated rapidly, leaving me trembling feverishly now that I was sitting opposite my parents and their lawyer.

The courtroom was silent except for the sound of wind blowing in the distance, and I watched in anticipation as the judge adjusted her glasses and looked over our file.

“Case number 2156. Leilani Sinclair versus Mr and Mrs Blackthorne.” Her voice echoed around the room, and it wasn’t until then that my father lifted his head to meet her gaze.

15:09

2/6

>

155 Creeping in.

He corrected proudly; “Beta Blackthorne.”

I rolled my eyes.

My body trembled then, more forcefully this time and I had to bite down on my tongue to stop my clattering teeth from making sounds. I didn’t look at my parents because those buffoons may think I am shaking from fear, when truthfully, I had no idea what was happening to me.

They sat across the room, stiff and expressionless, their attorney whispering something into their ears.

“Miss Sinclair,” the judge said gently, “your attorney may begin.”

Father’s eye met mine, cold and sharp, but despite my failing health, I glared right back and turned to my lawyer to give her all the evidence I’ve been able to accumulate over the past few years.

Her eyebrows shot into her hairline when she saw the disturbing pictures and after throwing a very weary glance at my parents she rose slowly and announced;

“Good afternoon, your honor. I am Ms Winifred Stone, counsel for the plaintiff, Ms Sinclair, who is here today to sue Mr and Mrs Blackthorne for the following reasons: Physical, mental and emotional abuse, battery, and neglect. She is seeking protection and justice for the harm done.”

And as soon as she said these words, inaudible murmurs rippled through the small crowd of spectators.

My parents’ lawyer stood, she was a woman who looked to be in her late forties with sharp eyes

and a wicked smile. She said; “Your Honour, these claims are exaggerated. As at the time this happened, she was a teenager and teenagers tend to misinterpret discipline all the time. We deny all allegations.”

My throat tightened at her words, and right there and then, I had this massive urge to smash her face into the wall. To rid her of that ugly smile and to force her to endure half the things I did… maybe then she would know if it was exaggerated or not.

I was however snapped out of these thoughts when I felt the Judge’s eyes on me. And when I turned to meet her gaze, I noticed that it had softened.

“Ms Sinclair, would you like to say anything?” She asked, but I simply shook my head and rose to my feet.

My voice shook while I spoke which was partly due to the fever shaking me to my bones, the other part was due to anger- I muttered;

15:09

3/6

<

155 Creeping in.

“Your honor, I have nothing to say,” I said slowly, and I didn’t miss the way my parents’ eyes gleamed in triumph when I said that. I smiled briefly at them and continued; “But I have proof.”

Father’s eyes thinned. Mother looked like she had swallowed half of Chalice’s make up

kit.

I then nodded to my lawyer who then went ahead to submit these said ‘proof’ to the judge.

My mother’s eyes widened when images began to flash across the projector’s screen beside the judge, all of which involved bruises I’ve gathered from all the times they hit me in the past.

Amongst those were hospital records, videos that Chalice had made of me just to spite me and the images of the series of injuries I’ve accumulated over the years, so much that I had to have my skin grafted.

Silence fell in the courtroom and I watched in satisfaction as the smile slowly left their faces. Even their lawyer looked shocked after I’d presented my evidence. She turned to them and asked in a small voice- “You really did that?”- but I heard her.

I smirked. “And more. I just didn’t have everything documented.”

Another round of silence fell across the room and this time, it was filled with so much tension, one could cut through it with a knife

After reviewing the evidence-photos, hospital reports, my testimony and the videos- the judge exhaled deeply.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify