LOOK UP AT THE STARS

CHAPTER 8 - MESSY

Shawn

I sat across the table in the lawyer's office trying not to show how completely pissed off I was with Jessica. She was acting the broken-hearted and done-wrong-by ingenue and it didn't impress me as one bit authentic. I didn't think either side bought it, but her lawyers were happy to go with the performance and mine had no option but to take the farce seriously.

"Mrs Mendes claims that you have a relationship with Ms Cabello that predates your marriage and that you and she had argued about it before you were married, at which time you claimed there was nothing between you." Jessica's lawyer read from his papers.

"That is correct. Mr Mendes and Ms Cabello have been friends since 2014."

"Is it not correct that there were rumours of a romance when they recorded their duet in 2015?"

"Yes, there were rumours, but as they confirmed at the time, they were only friends."

There was some shuffling of papers and my mind was going over everything that had happened between Camila and I over the years. Most of it nobody knew of, and those who did were too close to both of us to ever give us up.

"Is it true that a few days after Mr Mendes came home and, out of nowhere, claimed the marriage was over and said he was filing for divorce, without any discussion with my client, that he flew to Qatar in the middle east and stayed in a hotel with Ms Cabello, who also left her marriage that same week?"

"Mr Mendes came home to find his wife having sex with two strangers in their bedroom, after similar scenes on his wedding night, and this was the reason for him ending the marriage," my lawyer said.

"There is no proof of any such behaviour," hers replied. I smiled to myself, because I knew what was coming next, and she didn't.

"Actually, there is proof. Mr Mendes has CCTV footage of various activities that occurred at his home while he was away, proving his wife participated in various adulterous adventures in his absence. We also have sworn testimony from two people who witnessed your client in questionable activities during the wedding reception."

Take that, Jessica, I thought.

She had gone first white, then purple with rage, and she was glaring at me across the table. Her lawyers hastily conferred with each other.

"Footage taken of Mrs Mendes without her permission is not admissible......"

"Mrs Mendes was well aware of the CCTV coverage, it just seems she has forgotten about it. The security company has provided a sworn statement that she was with Mr Mendes when they came to discuss the installation, and that she was around the home when the cameras were put in place."

My lawyers were enjoying themselves, ready with a reply to every attack.

"You still have not addressed the relationship between Mr Mendes and Ms Cabello during the marriage and in the days following his call for the divorce."

"Ms Cabello and Mr Mendes had not been in touch since they were both dating their respective spouses, and you can search their phone and email records for that period should you need supporting evidence," my lawyer said. "Neither party were aware the other would be at the event in Doha. The timing of their leaving their spouses was coincidental and they were both surprised to see each other in Qatar. They stayed in the same hotel as arranged by the organisers but in separate rooms and they followed the strict laws of the country and there was no improper interaction between them during that time."

Her lawyers conferred. They could claim what they liked, but they couldn't prove anything about Qatar, not that there was anything to prove.

"Our sources say they spent all their time together and that they appeared to be a couple."