When Mirabel woke, she could not believe it, the shadows were already beginning to set in. She had not thought that she could sleep again so soon given how long she had slept in the hotel.She got up and found that she was famished.She waddled into the kitchen to make something for herself. She did and brought it out into the dinning to eat. She had just a Ted naturally. It was while she was eating that she remembered that she was in Joel's house and had wanted to continue to treat him as a stranger but that was that.Jonas came out and was pleased to find her eating.'Ah, you are already awake. Good'.'I was so hungry that I had to make a little something for myself to eat', she explained.'And who ate you explaining all that to? When have we started explaining to each other why we eat in our house? This is your house as well and you do not need any explanation to eat any food here', he said looking at her lovingly.Joel came in just then and heard what his father had said but kept
'Well now that I have assured you that you are the only one in the picture for him that I know of and I must tell you that I have had a serious talk with him and he assured me that that is the case, would you tell him about your past?''Os that how he had been open with me about his past life?''What do you want to know?':Nothing!''You can't mean that definitely!''I mean it. Oh hell. Since he is so Adamant about knowing the ills of my past, then here it is'.'You do not have to say anything if you do not feel inclined to. This is not a law court. But I can assure you, it would make you feel lighter and it is good for your health. So if you are sharing it with us, do not do it grudgingly but with a good heart'.'Oh okay. I lost my father at a very young age. I had grown to find my father always fighting my mother for one thing or the other.I grew to think that they may have been forced to get married and did not get married to each other because they loved each other.I prayed that
'It is okay. You can relax for now. We get it', Jonas said when she started sobbing in remembrance of the situation that had caused her mother's death.' i. I have already started. I have to finish my narration and I do not want to be interrupted. This is what you wanted, then that is what you shall have', she said and sniffed before continuing her narrative. 'Before she died', she gave me some money which she had been saving up for me to start something if my own and when I counted it, it was far more than I had envisaged.Living with the MacDonalds made life easier for me and I though I had the security that I had craved for but that was before I found the master of the house making out with one of the servants in the garden one day when his wife had left the house for one if her book club meetings. The girl was a young girl. Far younger than I was and I was shocked. I could not believe that he could do any such thing. He had always acted as a real gentleman and the girl was just t
'Afterwards, Jonas asked me to come live with him so that no vengeance would be plotted against me and that was where I met you.I felt that I could never love another man. it I found that I could not resist you. It surprised me that I could allow any man to touch me intimately and I thought that I had arrived and got that which I had always desired, a man who loved me as much as I loved him but I didn't know that I was being delusional. But now, I have learnt my lesson and I want to go back home to my business. That is all I can rely on at the moment'.'Really?' Jonas asked smiling.'Apart from you of course. You are now my father. If I do not rely on you, who else would I rely on?''There is someone I w t you both to meet and it is going to become clear to you the reason, I want you to meet the person if you can exercise patience till this time tomorrow. After that, we are good to go and will go back without wasting any more time to Lake District'.'Who is this mysterious person?''
Mirabel had heard enough. She emerged from behind the door where she had been hiding.Shandy was shocked to see her. It meant that they had settled and Mirabel had told them everything and she was only here to complete the charade.'You?''Don't pretend that you never knew I was here. Did you all cook up this act to try to convince me if his innocence? I do not need any convincing because I know what I saw and he did not look like someone who was drugged.You should all stop this charade. You must have planned this on your way from work.Were you not the one who I heard speaking with your friend about your upcoming marriage with Joel and how he was saving you because you are so prim and proper that you would not allow him touch you like other cheap girls did?You decided to go against your principles to keep him to yourself so that I do not take him completely from you.You told me alot of things that only a fiancee could have known and now you want to deceive me further by playing th
Mirabel and Jonas got to Lake District and her workers were happy to see her once more.it was true that they had tried their best while she was away but alot of people came to the eatery because of Mirabel and the two months she had been away, they stopped coming but the news that she was back caused the place to start bubbling afresh.As a beautiful young lady, she had many admirers that she had kept at arm's length because of her experiences at first and later because of her relationship with Joel.Now that she had found out that Joel was just as deceitful as the rest, she made up her mind to be a bit flexible with them.Jonas started seeing all these and was not happy but did not say anything. It was her life afterall.A month went by and Joel did not visit, two months, three, four. She started wondering if she had not been too rash.She did not want to admit it to anyone including herself that she was missing Joel terribly. She had expected him to come and continue pleading with
Shandy walked away smiling because she had indeed accomplished what she set out to accomplish.She had put a wedge between the two lovers. If she was not going to have Joel then Mirabel could not have him as well. She was tired of being jealous of her and the love Joel had for her. It was better for them all to remain this way.She praised herself for her ingenuity. Jonas would swear that she had said exactly what she was supposed to have said -- spoken the truth, confessed all to Mirabel and yet she had managed to sow doubt and distrust for Joel in Mirabel as well.She laughed merrily and those walking on the road were shocked to see her a ting that way..She got back to London and behaved as though she was sad when she met Joel.Joel did not ask anything if her but she knew that he was expecting to hear from her.'I have done everything you asked me to, hope you are satisfied?''Satisfied?', he asked incredulous. 'I thought you were my best friend. I shared everything with you and
Jonas who had thought that he would hear the good news of their settlement was disappointed.Everytime Mirabel wanted to go to somewhere, he would assume that she was going to visit Joel but was often disappointed.He started wondering what the problem was. It was already two months since the visit of Shandy.Could something else be the problem?He had called his son three times since then to ask of Mirabel had called. The answer Had always been the same until the third time when he had asked his father not to disturb himself anymore because he had already lost interest in Mirabel and would not be happy if he continued to remind him of what he had already forgotten.Jonas could not understand what was happening. With the confession Shandy made, all should be okay by now but it was not and it was already two months since then. Neither has his son visited nor Mirabel called. Everything seemed to have remained the same and yet he could see that Mirabel was suffering. And he needed no for
Jonas woke her as they got home and she was so sleepy,that she did not see the person standing by the door, welcoming them with a smile.She had almost passed him by when he grabbed her hands thinking that she had intentionally ignored him.She looked up to find Joel there. She was shocked. She had not expected to see him, then she recalled that he had not come to court. He could stay at home bit not come to court. It could only mean that he was ashamed of her and didn't want to be identified with her. Jonas had left them tactfully and gone inside.Mirabel tried to snatch her hands away but Joel held on tightly.'You make a wonderful speech. I did not know you could beat that lawyer at his own game', he said laughing.Mirabel was surprised. How did he know? They had just got home and Jonas had not had the time to speak to him, except of course if he had actually been there. But how could he be there and at home at the same time? He must have followed it either on TV or newspaper but i
'The accused lived with us after her mother's death and since she was going to be working full time with us and living in, I put her through alot if tests and she passed them all'.'Sorry, ma'am what kind of tests are we talking about here?' Chapman asked warming up to his cross-examination.'To determine her honesty, I would leave wades of currency, jewelries and other valuables, that someone coming from a humble background such as hers would have taken advantage of and hidden but she always brought them back to me thinking that I had misplaced them unintentionally. This caused me to come to trust her and I took her as my sister and treated her as such but little did I know what was going on under my nose'.Everyone in court knew what was coming next. The woman was going to say how Mirabel seduced her husband for money.'I did not know that the husband whom I had done so much for and loved dearly and trusted with all my heart was not only cheating me outside our home but disrespectin
Mr. Taylor had let her question sink in and have the desired effect before asking Mr. Chapman to cross examine Mirabel. He had not expected her to ask the question but was glad that she had done that and in a very cool detached tone that was very effective.Mr. Chapman himself had not known that the girl was as intelligent as that and was determined to throw her, though he did not know how to get about it except of course trying to get her angry so that she could lose that very chilling confidence she had.' Miss Cole, is it not true that you had secretly desired each one of your friends?''What do you think? That a girl could like all five or six of her friends romantically at the same time even if she were a nymph?''I was coming to that. You are a nymph, Miss Cole are you not?'Mirabel was getting impatient with this prosecutor but she refused to give him the satisfaction of showing her annoyance and impatience with him. She was going to throw him, defeat him by being patience pers
'Is it not true that since you share a daughter - father relationship with Miss Cole, she will have confided in you what her plans were?' Chapman asked.'She told me that she would teach them a le....''... a little lesson, bla bla bla like you have told the court in great detail. it being as close as you are with her, could this not be the excuse you both came up with, a plot to mislead the court?''Objection, my lord'.'Sustained. Prosecutor, limit yourself to questioning the witness and not forcing your assumptions on him'.'Mr. Jonas, how is it possible that a girl who claim to have adopted as your daughter would be gang raped and you do not feel inclined to report to the authorities to ensure that they are punished?''I respected my daughter's wishes and you we'll know how women who have been ravished are looked on as spoilt goods. All these made me reconsider'.'Is it not possible that you planned all these with your daughter to escape justice? Being gang raped indeed!''Do yo
Two regular customers of Mirabel were called to the stand and both of the testified that she did not behaved abnormally and that she was very cheerful and respectful. She treated her customers with courtesy and even when they were rude and hard to please, she still devised meNs to satisfy them and keep them happy and coming. That was why the patronage of her eatery kept growing which would have been otherwise if she had had any mental problems.'That is not a kind of problem you hid for long'. One of them said.Chapman had no questions for them and then Taylor calked Dr. Rutherford to the stand.'Welcome doctor, may we meet you?' Taylor said, this was to establish the authencity of the man.'I am Dr. Peter Rutherford. I work at the General hospital here in London as a consultant and a specialist in the field of psychiatric and neurology'.'Please doctor, have you under any circumstances examined the accused Miss Cole?''Yes I have'.'What was the basis of the examination?''Well to de
Chapman was almost gloating and Taylor could not blame him at all. 'Your witness, Taylor', he said knowing that any question Taylor threw at Liam would only implicate his client further and aggravate the already angry spectators.'No questions!' Taylor said looking straight at Liam.Wise! Chapman thought.'Well I have one other person to call to the witness stand, Your Honour'.The judge nodded though praying that it was not another witness with a slashed penis. The case against the innocent looking girl was becoming very gruesome and he just wanted to be done with it.'I call Curtis to the witness box'.Curtis walked confidently to the stand, sparing Mirabel a glance that seem to say, you will have what is coming to you today as we take our revenge on you.'Curtis, could you tell us what your full name is?''Curtis Trowler'.'How did you meet the accused?''She came to my mother's shop to buy some groceries and it was much and I happened to be going the same way as she and I helped
The court was adjourned till the next day and Taylor was determined to get some witnesses to testify on their own behalf.He had made a call to a doctor he knew and asked that they met, and taken Mirabel to him for an examination and asked that the paper work be ready. He was sure that the doctor would be pleased to come to court to attest to the fact that Mirabel was not mentally unbalanced as the testimony against her seem to indicate.Mirabel was not very happy that Joel had not been attending the proceedings with them. His presence no matter how disapproving he might be would have given her more moral support.Jonas as though reading her mind had assured her that Joel was following the proceedings as he records and sends to him due to the demands of his job that had hindered him from coming personally.Mirabel knew that he was just saying that to console her. If she really meant anything to him, he would allow by gones be bygones and would have been there to lend his emotional sup
Adam Taylor, Mirabel's lawyer was impressed at the way the boys gave their testimony. It was evident to him that they had had enough coaching and from the best as well. He was almost convinced himself but he was going to fight back now that he had seen that they were fighting dirty.Chapman, the plaintiff lawyer called the next witness to the stand and this was James Abrams.It was evident to all present that James was indeed a very handsome boy but there was this scar on his face that belied his good looks as you looked at it but out of sight, you would love to keep looking at him.'You are James. James what?' Chapman asked.'James Abrams'.His voice was as sweet as his face was handsome. The deep timbre of his voice caused all eye to be fixed on him, it was hypnotizing.'I want to know if you know Miss Cole?''Yes, I do. We are acquinted'.'Oh, you are not really friends but acquinted?''Yes. I had met her when she parked newly into the neighborhood. She had looked so lost without
Mirabel had wanted to shout at the top of her lungs that Adam was lying through his teeth during his testimony but looking at Jonas in shock, he had gestured for her to calm down, telling her there would be time for her to state her own case and then people will have no option but to sympathize with her. He said this to convince not just Mirabel but himself as well because though he did not want to lose faith, it was not looking promising at all as their lawyer had foreseen.Mr. Chapman decided to call another witness to the stand. The quicker they were done with the heating, the better. He was sure that they had no witnesses and it was going to be difficult for people to take the testimony of a girl whose reputation was in doubt over five young boys who had injuries yo show for their efforts. She could get off with a less sentence of being mentally ill to inflict the boys with such injuries and would have to be taken to a mental clinic which was not a little sentence st all.'I wish