“All rise!” called the bailiff, introducing the judge as the entire crowd stood.
“Please be seated, and let us get straight to the matter before us,” the judge said. “I have already heard all the evidence in this matter, and we’re currently awaiting my decision concerning any prison time to be given to Mr. Devonshire, despite his lack of involvement in the actual crime. While I sympathize with the fact that the defendant has been attempting to live a life free of illegal activities, his past record indicates that prior to the arraignment on this case, he was hardly what one would call an exemplary citizen. There’s a long list of domestic disturbances, a few arrests for solicitation of a prostitute, and even a charge of possession of an illegal substance, all of which were explained away in a manner similar to the method this lawyer is currently attempting to employ. I cannot, therefore, release Mr. Devonshire completely from his complicity in this, despite the fact it was done without his knowledge. With all this taken into consideration, I am remanding him into custody for a sentence of one year, to be served beginning today. I’m also going to stipulate that time served must exceed six months before any considerations for early release be extended.”
“Your Honor,” said Archer’s lawyer. “I would like to point out that the impending birth of Archer’s child is expected in five months. Would it be possible to revise that stipulation accordingly to accommodate the possibility of him attending that birth?”
“Mr. Devonshire can, of course, be brought to the birthing when it happens,” the judge replied. “However, the stipulation will remain. Case dismissed.”
“Thank you, Your Honor,” said the lawyer, frowning, as all the other lawyers began to shuffle their paperwork and move quickly out of the way so the next case could be heard.
Archer stood up from his seat as the officers beckoned, his face set in grim determination, and he waved goodbye to his family, the look in his eyes of sorrow and loss almost more than Kady could bear to watch. In the background, Mia sprang to her feet. “I’ll wait for you, Archer!” she called after him, prompting several of the reporters in the room to snap her picture as she began to run for the door.
“Are you serious?” Kady growled, as she watched this activity, her jaw dropping in disgust. This woman was seriously mental. What would it take for her to get over her delusional idea that she and Archer would ever be an item.
“Come along, Kady,” said Athena, laying a gentle hand on her arm to nudge her out of the bench. “The judge won’t tolerate interviewing in his courtroom, and besides, you’re going to want to make sure that stupid little stalker doesn’t start spreading falsehoods all over the airwaves.”
When they finally came outside, several of the reporters branched off towards Kady and Athena. She felt a moment of panic at the gossip hungry looks in their eyes. Archer demanded his privacy, so they had never had to deal with reporters or paparazzi in all the months of their relationship. The questions started coming at her one after another, almost too rapidly for her to keep up with them all.
“Miss Ross? Is it true that your pregnancy is the result of becoming Archer’s surrogate mother, and not his girlfriend?” asked a woman, stuffing the microphone in her face.
“It’s true that when we met, that had been the intention,” Kady said, trying to find the right words to explain. “However, Archer and I are very much in love, and he never hired me to do that because we decided to become a couple instead. We made it work.”
“Are there any marriage plans in the works between the two of you, Miss Ross?” asked another reporter.
“We have yet to discuss marriage at this time,” Kady replied. Robert had grabbed her arm and began to walk her toward their car.
“Miss Ross? Miss Ross?” said someone else. “Are you aware that Mia Chong is stating that she and Archer are the item, and not the two of you?”
The question set all of Kady’s nerves on fire. She was so sick and tired of Mia’s manipulative games.
“Miss Chong has been stalking Archer for some weeks now,” said Robert, his voice hard, professional, and brooking no other questions, stepping between the reporter and Kady. “Mr. Devonshire hired me specifically to shield Miss Ross from Mia and her friends. Now, I’m going to have to ask all of you to allow Miss Ross to get into her car. We’re under strict orders to take her out of here and avoid upsetting her, and Mia Chong is probably the most upsetting topic she is dealing with at this time. I would ask that you please give her space at this time, as she and Archer are going to find their separation at a time like this extremely trying. Thank you for your understanding.”
Having said this, Robert pushed past the more persistent reporters who continued to shout questions in her direction. Kady made a dive for the car as Daryl opened the door, finally managing to get inside. Athena got in right after her, and then Robert. He had to forcefully pull the door closed against some reporter trying to keep it open, and then the car began to move soon afterwards.
“That was completely crazy,” Kady said, her whole body shaking as she tried to process not only the entire ordeal with the reporters, but also the news of Archer’s sentence. As they drove away, she twisted in the seat to look out the rear window.
“Wow, some of them are following after us. I never would have thought they’d be that interested. Archer’s not really in the media that much despite the amount of money he’s worth. Do you think somebody tipped them off or something?”
“I’d lay bets I know exactly who it was,” Athena scoffed. “That little gold-digger has certainly been trying her hardest to get her hooks into Archer, hasn’t she? Well, I’m not about to let her get away with her little scheme, I guarantee you that.”
“And neither am I,” Kady agreed with a frown. “Archer is mine, and she will never have him. I just wish I could figure out a way to get that into her thick skull.”
“Don’t worry, Kady,” Athena reassured her, gently patting her hands where they were folded tensely in her lap. “If there is a will, there is always a way.”
Chapter 25
Kady sighed as she padded into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Three months had passed since Archer had gotten sentenced to a year, and she already missed him like crazy. It was somewhat depressing to be viewed in the media as the woman hired to bear his child thanks to Mia Chong and her meddling, but short of blasting her own story as much as Mia was blasting her lies, there wasn’t a great deal she could do about it.
Archer’s mother Athena was there to help, however. Both on the phone and in person, she was constantly blasting Kady with the concept that it
didn’t really matter what some news reporter thought just as long as she knew the truth. She really appreciated that, too, because it helped her to realize that at least one person was pulling for her.
Of course, now that she had been blasted all over the media as the woman who had supposedly stolen Archer away from Mia when she’d never had him to begin with, she was pretty sure her own mother knew where she was. She just hadn’t gotten around to calling her yet, because she was sure that she must be upset with her over all of this. The guilt ate at her, but she just didn’t know how she could explain the complicated situation to her close-minded mother.
Looking in the mirror, Kady had begun to notice that her face was becoming almost as round as her belly. Well, maybe not quite that round, but still, she could hardly recognize it anymore. She was beginning to balloon up quite a bit now that she was heading into her sixth month of pregnancy, and she was far enough along now that she could find out what gender the baby was if she wanted to.
Archer had said he wouldn’t mind knowing so they could pick out some names, but Kady was still holding out on the idea. That sounded too much like opening your Christmas gift in August in her opinion. It would spoil the surprise. She rubbed her hands over the roundness of her belly, trying to imagine a little girl with long, curly hair or a little boy with Archer’s eyes. It was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes as she wished she could be sharing these moments with Archer.
With luck, he would be released after the sixth month period, and they could go about the business of figuring out the rest of their lives together, but now she just felt stuck without him. To her, it felt as if time had just stopped for her the moment the bailiff had taken him into custody. Kady shook off the depressing turn of her thoughts.