“Why do they have to wait until someone is physically hurt to put an end to this stuff? Hell, they ought to be persecuting him, because he caused me to go into premature labor and deliver our boys early. He endangered their health as well as mine!"She jumped up and started to walk to the door, but she only got a few steps before Benjamin pulled her back to him. "Where are you going?" "To beat the ever-loving fucking hell out of him! I have had enough of this shit, this needs to end, now." "Sweetie," Benjamin hushed her, and his hand went to her head. He pushed her hair back and made her look him in the eyes. "Calm down, love, and let me deal with this. Don't you worry; he's not getting away with anything." She shook her head in frustration, and let out a growl before breaking down and crying in Benjamin's arms. He held her to him as her inner voice repeated the same thing over and over again. ‘Come on, Pandora. Pull yourself together, he only wins if you let him break you.’ She
"Momma will change you while Daddy gets your bottle ready, okay?" Benjamin's eyes flashed to her and she nodded, smiling as he handed her Jack. "I can't believe you are hungry again, you were just fed not too long ago, little man," she commented to him. She changed Jack's diaper and just as she finished, Benjamin walked in with a bottle. "Come to Daddy," he cooed, grinning as he sat down next to Pandora. She placed Jack in his arms and laid her head on Benjamin's shoulder. She relaxed, watching him talk gently to Jack as he fed the baby. "You make this look so easy," she said, feeling a little jealous at how easy Benjamin was adapting to everything. "I have had years of experience with babies," Benjamin replied with a wink. Micheal started to cry, making Pandora hum. She kissed Benjamin's lips and stood up to get him. Once he was changed, she took her breast out so that she could feed him. "Oh, breast alert," Milton hissed, spinning around so that his back was to Pandora. "And
She shook her head, knowing that she came close to losing him. "I love you, too," she sobbed. "I love you, and need you more than I have ever needed anyone, and that scares the shit out of me," she told him truthfully. He opened his arms and she moved to him. They both held each other close. "Are you sure you want to marry me and be my husband?" Benjamin tilted his head down and she looked up at him. "We're already married, sweetheart. The only question is do we—you—want to do it again, and do it right this time in front of our family and friends?" She nodded at him, making him grin. "Not good enough, you have to verbally say it." "Yes, I want to marry you again and do it right this time," Pandora replied firmly and his grin got even bigger. "Yes," he hissed before kissing her. "So, we'll recite our vows again on our anniversary then, now we just have to get it all booked." "Yes, my wedding's going to be that day again," she said, stopping and biting her lip. "The same day as m
"You worked many hours, and your brain may have been too tired or just didn't want to see or accept that everyone was right about him. Add that to the daily verbal abuse and it fits. He was sly and always made it seem as if he was trying to help you.” “I have seen many men and women in the same situation. Some people just know how to play the game. And I'll bet that up until finding the two of them in a compromising position, Derrik had gotten his way in everything in your marriage and your wants had been pushed to the side." Milton raised his eyebrow but Pandora nodded, knowing he was right. She had to accept her responsibility for Derrik's behavior towards her. After all, she allowed and even encouraged it. "So when you didn't give in to his demands during the divorce, it sent him down the path to making you regret it. Only he made mistakes, he's not as smart as he thinks he is. He will pay the price, for everything he has done. The District Attorney is filing charges and intends
"I know, Momma," Derrik said, sounding like a little boy. "Hey," Ron called, kissing the side of Pandora’s head. "See that, she just lets him kiss her and does nothing! That just proves that she's sleeping with them all like you think. I bet she's lying and is just saying that doctor is her partner so the judge will look kindly toward her." "Who let the dog out?" Ron asked loudly. Miriam huffed and glared at them. "Ron," Milton said in a warning tone. "Not here." Miriam gave Ron a big smile, showing her teeth because she felt she had won something with her little show. "Preston v Leonard," the court clerk called. Benjamin growled a little but took Pandora’s hand and led her into the courtroom. The Judge that granted the restraining order walked in. His eyes flickered to Derrik and stayed there as the case was read by the court clerk. Once they were told to be seated, Mr. Hill remained standing. "Your honor, may counsel approach the bench?" "Yes," the judge stated as both Hill
"We have proof those babies are Mr. Preston's," Derrik’s attorney stated. "Now, you look here!" Miriam yelled, standing up. "He was drunk and she raped him. He was ashamed and embarrassed about it so he lied." "Mrs. Preston, you were warned and are now in direct contempt of court and have gained yourself thirty days in county lock up and a fine of five thousand dollars. Bailiff, remove her!" Miriam's mouth just opened and closed as she was put in handcuffs and led away. The room was silent, and Derrik looked as if he had seen a ghost. "Your Honor, Detective Milton Banks is present with a bench warrant for Mr. Preston due to breaking the restraining order," the bailiff stated from the door and Milton entered the courtroom. Milton walked up to the bench and handed the paperwork to the judge. The judge read it over and looked at Derrik’s attorney. "Since you and your client are both here, I'll allow you to have fifteen minutes of conference time, and we will hear your client's defe
Pandora yawned when the alarm went off. She reached out and looked at the display to see that it was seven before she clicked off the buzzer. "Go back to sleep, love," Benjamin whispered but she shook her head. "No, I want to make you a good breakfast before you leave for your first day back to work," she told him as she got out of bed, wishing the past eight weeks hadn’t gone so fast. When she got to the kitchen, she started to cook bacon and pancakes. Not long after she began things, she heard Jack crying through the baby monitor. Pandora sighed and switched off the stove before going to get him. "Good morning, Jack," she grinned as she picked him up. She set about changing his diaper before sitting down to feed him. She got him fed and settled back down, and started to head for the kitchen. She barely made it to the door, when Micheal started to fuss. "Come on, my sweet little man," she said, picking her up. Again, she changed a diaper and sat down to feed the baby. As he was
It only took Benjamin a few minutes to come back to the table. He had a tray with their drinks and what looked like a couple of desserts. Pandora dug out the sandwiches she packed, and he set out the drinks. "I'm sorry that I didn't pack that much, I just wanted to have lunch with you." "This is perfect and really, you couldn't have carried more than this anyway, along with the boys and their diaper bag. Besides, they had some yummy desserts up there, and the cafeteria always has milk which is good for you right now." She smiled at him. "Next time you want to do this, pack whatever you want and call me. I will come out to the car and help you," Benjamin said, making her look at him. She smiled at him because he was always thinking of her as well as the boys. "How have they been today?" he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich. "They've been okay, but I think they are missing you— I know I am." "I'm missing all of you, too, so much," he confessed and leaned over to kiss her. Just
"Looks like you are going to have a baby," Emily said, showing her the test. "Or maybe two. Knowing you and Benjamin, it will be twins again," she laughed. "Hush," Pandora gritted out and glared at her. "Hey, you never know, it could be three this time," she smiled. Pandora snorted and slapped her arm. "No, thank you! Now, not a word about this to him. I want to surprise him!" Emily nodded. "Just glad I know someone that's having a baby who will be around this one's age," Emily rubbed her tummy as she spoke. "Maybe you'll have a boy and I'll have a girl and they'll get married," Pandora joked. Emily’s eyes lit up and Pandora knew her joke backfired when she got a big smile on her face. "That would be so awesome," she said. Pandora heard Benjamin yell her name and Emily winked at Pandora. "I better get back to work. Text me when you tell him!" "I will," Pandora replied and she opened the door and ducked out. "Give me three minutes, and then you'll be free to get out of here wi
"It was just some homeless man. I really don't know why they even followed up on it. But I was blamed, and then put in jail. JAIL! When I got out, I was a laughingstock. No one wanted to know me. No one, not even the people I had made great. They all left me to rot. My daddy left with all the money he had and started over in another country. I had nothing. I have nothing and it's all your fault." At that point, she stood and charged at Pandora again, but Pandora easily deflected her arms, grabbed her, and held her down as Raegan hissed and growled at Pandora. "Oh shit!" she heard Milton say and he moved quickly to her, restraining Raegan. "I told you to stay away from this place," he said. "This is all your fault. You and that bitch took my life. I was meant to be Mrs. Parks—it was my life!" she yelled and Milton sighed. "Handcuff her. We have to drop her off at the hospital again," he sighed to the female officer as Pandora watched her place handcuffs on Raegan. Pandora stood, a
Their imperfections, and the fact that they didn't want to be perfect, or have a perfect marriage made them able to cope when one of them made a mistake. Thankfully, Pandora was very kind, and since it was Benjamin that normally screwed up, that made him lucky. Benjamin glanced at Pandora who was hugging his mother, and he noticed she had a warm glow around her. He had always seen it, but it had become more evident to him since they renewed their wedding vows. Benjamin wanted—needed—to marry her again, not because they were both drunk the first time, but because he needed her to know that he meant it all and that he wanted her to be his wife. Pandora looked stunning in the wedding dress that Maisey had made her, but he thought she could have worn a trash bag and still shone like a star. She was so happy and cheerful that he made it his vow to make her that happy at least once a day. He hated to let her dance with anyone else at their reception, but it did give her a chance to hold
"Where are we going tomorrow?" Jack asked. "The zoo," Amy answered with a roll of her eyes. "We can't all be great at remembering stuff," he replied, making the rest of them roll their eyes at him. "It's on the family schedule on the fridge... Oh wait, that's right, you don't look at that because then you would need to do your homework," Beth was quick to point out. "You're just jealous that I can do it in five minutes flat and still pass," Jack boasted. "That's not always going to work, and you will no longer be doing the work moments before it's due to be turned in; do you understand me?" Pandora asked him. "But, is it more important to get it done right or promptly?" he asked, making Benjamin stifle the chuckle that was starting to bubble up, knowing he just stepped into it. "No, mister smarty pants, and you'd be wise to use those smarts to mind what you argue. Getting your work done promptly and done correctly are both important and if you keep doing it at the last minute,
"They must have been naughty, they're back to being just mine," he said with a chuckle, knowing full well that they had been fighting all day. He gave her one last kiss before walking away. "Okay, Amy, you're up first," he said, pointing in front of him as he sat down. He took them one at a time, listening to what they each had to say. As it turned out, this was just a fight about whose turn it was to pick something to watch on the television. So as a punishment, he removed their TV time for the rest of the day and the next. "I can't believe I am going to miss watching golf!" Jack tutted. "What am I going to do now?" "You could read, like Amy," Beth told him with a touch of attitude. "I am not reading one of her silly books!" he bit back. "They were Mom's books," Micheal reminded him. "And Dad said he read them, too." "Yeah, I guess, but what about tomorrow? No TV tomorrow and I planned to watch the tournament. I wish school started already." "Jack, we have plans for tomorrow–
Benjamin took his time looking at the screen. He looked over all the measurements and made sure the spine was straight. Next, he paid close attention to the beating heart and found that it, as well as the other organs, were seemingly perfect. He let out a soft breath when everything looked good, and looked up with a smile. "Mackenna," he said softly as she had her eyes tightly closed. "Come on, open your eyes and look up here at the monitor. She's fine– everything looks great," Benjamin whispered. Mackenna had four miscarriages in the past ten years, and where Benjamin couldn't prove that they were caused by the mistreatment that she received at the hands of Derrik, he stood firm in his belief that the drugs he had given her had some long-lasting effects. About eight years ago, Pandora and she ran into each other while out around town. They got talking and Mackenna accompanied Pandora to the tattoo store Benjamin frequented. The couple had planned on getting matching tattoos on the
“On the twelve counts of Identity Theft Fraud, we, the jury, find the accused, Derrik Preston, guilty on all counts.” “On the four counts of Attempted Murder, we, the jury, find the accused, Derrik Preston, guilty on all counts.”“On the three charges of Breaking and Entering, we, the jury, find the accused, Derrik Preston, guilty on all counts.” “On the five counts of Mortgage Fraud, we, the jury, find the accused, Derrik Preston, guilty on all counts.” “On the six counts of Aggravated Assault, we, the jury, find the accused, Derrik Preston, guilty on all counts.” The reading went on, covering all the different charges. Meanwhile, Miriam was wailing. Pandora closed her eyes, feeling a sense of relief, as each charge came back guilty. "Mr. Preston, you have been found guilty by a jury of your peers; you will be remanded in custody and sentenced on Friday at ten a.m.—" "No! No, not my boy! You've made the wrong choice, you stupid people! I'll end you all for doing this to my baby
Benjamin and Pandora arrived just as the court was starting up. First up was Derrik, who sat there for almost three hours, trying to paint himself as the victim. It was hard sitting there listening to him spew out how Pandora was trying hard to ruin him, and she did all that herself to set him up. Miriam was the next to take the stand and she just glared at Pandora as she was sworn in. "I would first like to ask you about your son, who is he?" Derrik's lawyer asked. "Oh, my sweet Derrik is such a good boy. He was a star football player, but she..." Miriam hissed with a nod in Pandora’s direction, "made him give up his dream. She was always bossing him around, telling him what to do, and what to wear. He wasn't allowed friends, and she even tried to stop him from talking to me. But I wouldn't allow that to happen. I would walk through hell for my son." "So, Mrs. Preston, you are saying that Mrs. Parks was controlling your son?" "Oh yes, he wasn't allowed to work because she was af
During her testimony, Pandora learned that she was also known as Brownie. As she continued through the questions she was asked, Pandora had to bite her lip to stop the sobs from coming out. She told the court how she was paid to pretend to be Pandora. It was one thing to hear how she pretended to be her, but then she told the court how Derrik had sex with her several times inside Pandora’s home. She talked about being in Pandora’s bed, and it just about broke her. For the first time since all of it had started, Pandora was grateful that she had sold her home. "We have one more witness, Your Honor," the District Attorney said and with a nod, the Bailiff walked out. "We call Hannah Song to the stand." Pandora looked over to see a girl who looked like a teenager walking in with her head down. She was sworn in but her head remained down. "Can you tell the court your age?" the District Attorney asked. "Nineteen," she answered quietly, so the Bailiff adjusted the microphone in front of