Fake Marriage Box Set

I laughed for a moment before nodding my head toward the doors of the courtroom. I walked inside, looking back for a second as Quinn smiled and made her way to the back corner of the row. She looked beautiful, but I had to put that out of my mind. I walked over to where Amanda was sitting and took a seat next to her, giving her the thumbs up sign. Amanda chuckled and shook her head, taking in a deep breath as the clerk took a seat behind her mound of paperwork. Nerves were rushing through my stomach, knowing that any second the judge was going to come in and we were going to start the session in court that would decide my fate as Jake’s father. I took a deep breath as the court officer walked to the center of the room and cleared his throat.

“All rise for the Honorable Judge Brown,” he yelled.

I watched as the judge came into the room, the same one who had heard our original court case. As we sat there, I could feel my stomach turning. I looked over at Sarah who was grinning at me maliciously. This bitch was about to learn her lesson.

Chapter Fourteen

Quinn

I sat there in the back corner listening intently as Amanda laid out Luke’s case piece by piece. I had never been in a court case that needed such intimate attention, and I found the way she talked, how she moved the puzzle pieces around to fit, absolutely captivating. The judge’s eyes moved back and forth as she walked across the courtroom, spelling out her case. Her voice was loud and strong, and you couldn’t help but to be focused on everything she was saying. Not only did she prove every statement she made, but she took no shit from Sarah when asking her questions. There was even a point where the judge hid a smile after the attorney became so feisty.

“So, what you just said, to clarify,” Amanda said as she questioned one of the character witnesses for Luke. “You have known Mr. Thompson for fourteen years, consider yourselves acquaintances, have been at numerous functions with both Mr. Thompson and Ms. Smith, and have never seen Mr. Thompson get so much as irritated with anything.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he responded.

“Thank you, Reverend,” Amanda replied. “I have no further questions for him.”

I smiled and looked down, not trying to show my emotion to anyone in the courtroom. I glanced over at Sarah who was now sitting alone since the judge had Jake go with a court supervisor since he was not comfortable with him being in the courtroom. Sarah did not take the chiding from the judge very well, but Luke kept a straight and professional face the entire time. Amanda continued through the character witnesses, who vouched unequivocally that they had never seen any instance where Luke had abused Sarah, much less even got agitated around them about anything. One witness went as far as to point out a temper tantrum Sarah had thrown at a holiday party when she didn’t get her way, calling Luke names and stomping out, creating a scene.

The witnesses did more than prove that he had no abusive tendencies, or

no telltale sign of an aggressive personality, but they also attested to Luke’s love for his son. In a last-ditch attempt to smear Luke’s name further, Sarah’s lawyers attempted to paint him as promiscuous, saying his dating habits were not healthy for Jake to be around. Amanda struck right back with their ace in the hole: me.

“If Mr. Thompson is so flagrantly promiscuous, how do you explain the fact that we have his fiancée here for testament?”

Immediately my chest tightened, and butterflies flew into my stomach. That was it; it was my turn to take the stand. I was incredibly nervous, and I clutched my hands together as I stood and faced the judge from the audience. He looked at me for a moment and nodded his head, leading Amanda to wave me forward.

“Your honor, I would like to call Ms. Quinn Mallorie to the stand,” she said.

“All right,” he said, with a kind smile in my direction.

As I walked forward, I glanced over at Sarah, whose jaw had dropped open. Her eyes had narrowed in my direction, and I could tell that she was livid. I could also tell she thought she had this proven wrong already. She whispered to her attorney as I walked through the gate and up to the front. Sarah was shooting daggers at me from her seat, and it was clear there were no second chances for that relationship. Not only had I burned that bridge, I had taken C4 to it, making it impossible to ever rebuild. I could feel the heat of her stare as I sat there waiting for the attorneys to gather themselves. I glanced over at Luke, who smiled kindly at me and nodded his head, causing a surging wave of comfort to wash over me for a moment.

I realized at that moment that this was most definitely going to change everything about my life. I was out of a job, certain that Sarah would give up her freedom before she ever allowed me near her or her home again. Also, if Luke and Amanda’s little gambit failed, I would be shut out of Jake’s life forever, never seeing him again. I would be back where I started, and would end up mourning the loss of this little boy, maybe not as strongly as that of my own child, but definitely to a strong degree. The only choice I had at this moment was to go with it and make it as believable as possible so that didn’t happen.

I watched as Sarah growled quietly at her attorney before he stood up and placed his hands on the desk. Amanda turned her attention to him, looking above her glasses as she waited, knowing he was about to say something. He cleared his throat and began to speak, sending butterflies into my chest.

“We object to this character witness, Your Honor,” he said. “The woman in question is Jake’s babysitter, and certainly not Luke’s fiancée.”

“Miss Goodall?” The judge looked over at Amanda.

“Your Honor, if Miss Smith’s council would be patient, we would be happy to explain,” she said. “It is true that Miss Mallorie was Jake’s babysitter, employed by Miss Smith, which is how Miss Smith and Mr. Thompson met in the first place. And, that being said, who better to help Mr. Thompson with joint custody than a woman who is currently spending more time raising Jake than his own mother?”

“Objection,” the other attorney yelled.

“Miss Mallorie,” the judge said, looking over at me. “How often were you watching Jake?”

“Six to seven days a week,” I said, into the microphone. “Most of the time he wasn’t at school or asleep.”

“Thank you,” he said, turning back to the other attorney.

“Sustained,” he said, clearing his throat. “Normally, I would take a recess, and take time to think things over and put things to the test, but after hearing these testimonies, I have already reached a conclusion. Miss Smith, you have, at every turn, pointed your finger at Mr. Thompson, calling him a liar, an abuser, and a bad father, yet you offer no proof. Today, I have heard line after line of testimony to the contrary. I would hope that you understand that lying in a court of law is punishable with jail time and a large fine. Not payable by your ex-husband, by the way. That being said, Jake has been out of his father’s care for nearly two years, making this a big change for him. I have decided to award Mr. Thompson joint physical custody on a provisional basis. Mr. Thompson, this is with the understanding that a court official will be assigned to the case and will be reviewing your status to make sure you really are committed to building a stable family for this boy.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Luke said into the microphone.

“I want you to fully understand what it takes to raise a child, a boy especially, in this day and age,” the judge continued. “We are attempting to send strong and independent men out into the world, with drive and goals. I expect you to be the leader in that charge, Mr. Thompson.”

“Absolutely, Your Honor,” he replied, nodding his head excitedly.