The one where she's a proud wife

~Bella~

I slipped into the courtroom as the judge was coming in through his side door.

Everyone was standing to recieve him. Good! I used that opportunity to slither down to the front and take my place without him noticing.

I made it to my seat safely. My co-counsel raised his brow at me.

I smiled apologetically and shook my head. He gave me a look that said we'd talk about it later.

The judge sat. The whole room bowed and sat too then the judge began the proceedings.

As customary, we were asked to introduce ourselves.

When it came to my side's turn, my partner stood first, "Parker Smith, counsel for the prosecution," he announced in a clear, bold voice.

His voice alone sent a tingle down my spine. I blushed. When would I ever get used to this?

It was my turn so I stood too. "Bella Smith, co-counsel for the prosecution."

After a few words from the judge, the opposing team stood and gave their opinion statement.

Next, Parker stepped out to the front of the courtroom, cleared his throat and began his speech;

"My lord, honorable jury, if I may plead the indulgence of the court for a small experiment before I begin?"

The room tittered excitedly. This is what they'd been waiting for. The judge nodded after giving it a thought.

"Thank you my Lord," he said. He briefly fiddled with his wristwatch then folded his hands and stood silently.

Seconds ticked by. Then minutes. Five minutes...ten minutes... People began to shift restlessly.

"Mr Smith, is there a purpose to this?" The judge asked impatiently, finally breaking the silence.

Parker Smith hit a button on his watch and peered at the screen. "11 minutes and two seconds," he announced.

"What does that mean?" The judge asked, just as intruged as the rest of the audience.

"That's how long this honorable court could sit in silence before becoming bored and impatient," he supplied.

"Yet that was barely half the time that my client, Mr Benedict Darll, spent trapped in a ditch, under a truck due to the lack of diligence of the defendant company!"

There were gasps all around the court room. People began to whisper.

"Order!" The judge shouted and banged his gravel. The whispers died away.

Parker's voice rose. "Underneath the truck, it was pitch black. Mr Benedict couldn't see or ear anything for THIRTY WHOLE MINUTES before someone came looking for him and found him there."

He paused and looked into the faces of the jury one after the other.

"And all that happened because someone high up didn't think it was important to follow protocol for the sake of ensuring their worker's safety!"

My heart swelled with pride as I watched my husband deliver his rousing speech. I could feel my cheeks heating up.

He was so good; definitely one of the best lawyers in the Decacities!

The best part was that he had only been in practice for ten years now so he was literally a genuis. I'd never meet anybody as smart as him.

I remembered the first time I saw him. At that time, I was still a final year law school student. I'd come with some friends on an excursion to the court.

Parker had been the assistant counsel on the case that day.

He'd come up to deliver the opening statement and had done such a wonderful job that he'd left the entire room stunned, much like today.

That was the day I fell in love with him, even if he didn't know it yet. After that day, his fame had grown and grown.

Eventually when I graduated, I made sure to apply to his firm. Four years later, we tied the knot and I became Mrs Smith.

With each passing day and case, he was only getting better and better.

Parker completed his heartfelt speech and returned to his seat to deafening applause.

The judge struggled to regain order to the court. I caught Parker's eye.

"I love you," I mouthed, making sure to pour all the intensity of the feeling into my eyes for him to see.

He smiled and mouthed back, "I love you too."

'I don't deserve him,' I think. I didn't deserve this amazing man. I couldn't believe it when he'd returned my feelings and asked me out!

I could only hope that one day I would become as good a lawyer as him! As for now, I was no where close.

I mean, I even forgot all the questions I drew up for the witness at home this morning!

Soon, it was my turn to examine the witness. I stood slowly, reluctantly.

'Clumsy oaf!' I chastised myself.

I'd had to hastily rewrite out as many of the questions as I could remember... which wasn't much. This was going to be a disaster!

I briefly paused to send up a prayer to whatever gods might be out there listening.

"Please help me this once. If you do, I promise to pray every day!" I rethought it. "Okay... maybe not every single day... but like very often! I promise. Helllppp!"

I stepped out to the front and bowed first to the judge and then to the jury. Then, I turned to bow to the spectators.

I turned to the witness and cleared my throat.

"Mrs Hill, do you remember the events that took place on the 13th day of August, 2007?"

The elderly woman nodded, her white hair bouncing. "Yes, I do."

"Can you recount the events as you remember them?" I asked.

"That day, I was at the office when Mr Benedict came in after working in the field. He complained about the truck, saying that it was acting up the entire day."

"And what did you do?"

"I filed it in the report for the day," she answered.

"And is this something you usually do?"

"Yes," she answered.

"And usually what is the protocol when you do that?"

"The higher ups get someone out to check the truck and make any repairs necessary," she answered.

"And was that done this time?"

She shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of."

"Good," I said! I quickly scanned through the paper in my hand. 'What do I ask next!?'

That was where my hurriedly scribbled questions ended. Shit! 'What do I do now?' I started panicking.

"Mrs Smith, are you planning to run the same experiment as your husband? Because I think we already get the point," the judge said sarcastically.

There was tittering laughter across the room.

I blushed. "No, I'm sorry. I'll continue now, your honor."

My eyes colored with embarrassment. Tears gathered in my eyes. I should be doing so much more, asking smarter questions!

I was so embarassed, being like this in front of Parker!

"My Lord, I--" I started to say but the hair at the back of my neck suddenly prickled.

I looked up and scanned the rows for the source of my discomfort only to see a unfamiliar face in the crowd, piercing me with glittering eyes.

The stranger's eyes were so dark, they were practically black.

'Who the hell is that and why is he staring at me like that?'

I swallowed apprehensively.