Secrets And Lies

Chapter 26

March 23rd

It seemed as though the case against Scott and Tanya was moving slowly. Of course the charges they received were not going anywhere and it was evident that they were guilty but Tanya had used her diplomatic immunity and was pressuring Scott into doing the same although, he wouldn't.

Today was the day that Brooke and James were to testify against Scott, and at some point, Tanya.

Brooke was about to be called to the stand and she was extremely nervous. She was under oath and had to tell random strangers everything about her and Scott's romantic life. It was utterly terrifying.

When Brooke was called to the stand, she sat down and looked at Scott's lawyer, who began asking her questions.

"Ms. Eastwood, how long had you and Scott been dating?"

"About 7 months." Brooke replied honestly in a matter-of-fact tone.

"So you guys had developed a pretty serious relationship, right?

Brooke shrugged her shoulders before answering the question.

"I felt that it was getting serious since we were talking about our life together after college, so yes."

Scott's lawyer nodded before asking another question.

"So when Scott left, I assume that you were very upset." Brooke nodded her head before the lawyer began speaking again.

"And how did you cope?"

Brooke dreaded that question because she knew the answer was embarrassing.

"My father helped alot and so did my best friend. James also helped as well."

A smirk formed on Scott's lawyer's face as he continued to question Brooke.

"James is Scott's former best friend, correct?"

"Yes."

"And as he helped you cope, you two got very close?"

Brooke reluctantly replied with a "yes" even though she didn't want to. She knew how incriminating these answers were and how they were making her look bad.

"So you ended up dating Scott's best friend. How long have you two been together?"

"9 months."

"So would you and James also have a serious relationship?"

Brooke nodded her head in response, not actually wanting to admit what the lawyer was assuming.

"And while you were daring James, Scott was completely out of your life? You had no knowledge of his whereabouts?"

"No, um me and James visited Scott in Russia last summer. James was helping me find Scott so I could talk to him; persuade him to come back to Wisconsin." Brooke comfessed.

"But he refused. And so you and James started dating. Did you ever consider getting back together with Scott at some point in your life?"

Brooke shook her head.

"No. He broke my heart and left me, told me he didn't want to be with me anymore. Even though I sought after him, I was still having trouble seeing a future for us. It was later that I realized that I'd never want to be with him again." Brooke confessed. The lawyer nodded his head before pacing across the room before asking a few more questions.

"So you hated Scott?"

"Disliked would be a more appropriate term." Brooke countered. The lawyer smiled at her and Brooke knew what he was going to ask next.

"So you disliked Scott for breaking up with you?"

Brooke raised an eyebrow at him.

"What exactly is your point?" Brooke snapped.

"Well I'm just trying to understand why you're here, testifying against him if you loved him. It seems as though this is some type of revenge plot to me." The lawyer admitted before glancing at the jury.

Brooke was furious with his assumption but she kept her calm.

"Yes, he broke my heart but no, this is not for revenge. Scott did a horrible thing by working with another country to bring down this one and I feel he deserves to pay for it. Even if he hadn't broken up with me, I would still feel the same way because what he did was despicable! Any American would feel the same way if someone tried to interfere with their beloved country!" Brooke exclaimed.

Scott's lawyer eyed her skeptically before looking at the judge.

"Nothing further, your honor." He stated before walking back to the desk where Scott sat.

The defense lawyer came up and began questioning Brooke but Brooke was ready to be done with this. She couldn't handle anymore of these absurd assumptions.

"So you and James are in a pretty intimate relationship, correct?" The female lawyer asked.

"I wouldn't say intimate but yes, we are in a serious relationship."

The woman smiled at Brooke before turning to the jury then back at Brooke.

"I only ask because I noticed that beautiful ring on your finger."

Brooke glance down at it and smiled before looking back at the woman.

"So you and James are happy enough that he decided to propose. Why do you think Scott didn't do so?"

Brooke shrugged her shoulder before staring at Scott right in his eyes.

"I don't think I made him happy. Atleast not enough that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me." Brooke admitted. As she stated that, she could see a pained look in Scott's eyes but he tried to hide it by glaring at her.

"So you and James were very good friends with Scott. May I ask why you decided to testify against him if you loved him?"

Brooke didn't dare look Scott in the eyes but instead, she looked at the female lawyer.

"Like I said before. Scott did a terrible thing. My father's a police officer and growing up, he thought me to love this country and to defend it and that's what I'm doing now." Brooke explained.

"So if you and Scott were still together and you found out about his 'extracurricular activities', would you still be here?"

Brooke nodded her head.

"So this has nothing to do with your rough breakup?"

"No. If I broke up with him and still found out about his other life, I would still be here." Brooke confirmed.

"Nothing else." The female lawyer stated before walking back to her desk.

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By the end of the day, Brooke was mentally exhausted. All of the questions being thrown at her was rough and she tried to answer all of them as honestly as possible but she still couldn't help but feel guilty. Maybe it was the fact that Scott was for sure, going to federal prison afterwards.

Brooke always wondered what life would've been like if she was engaged to him but she wasn't. She was engaged to James and she was truly happy.

Scott screwed himself over by getting involved with Russians. He should've listened to Brooke when she begged him to come home but he didn't. He just continued to dig himself a hole in which, after he is sentenced, he will be lying in for the rest of his life.

Brooke felt a tiny amount of remorse for him but pushed it away. Scott was being incredibly stupid by believing Tanya when she recruited him. They would never live a happy life together. All they would ever see of each other is through iron bars as they rotted away in a cell.

And that's when it hit Brooke.

All this time, she had been trying to distance herself from Scott, fall out of love with him and she'd finally done it. Brooke no longer loved Scott anymore.

Brooke had finally stopped loving him.