The Marriage Deal [Jenlisa FF]

Part 4

"Hey, Kim!" the female guard called. "Your lawyer's here to see you."

Jisoo couldn't help but sigh heavily at the announcement as she stood up from her bed. She had come to dread her meetings with Kenneth Shaw; it was always the same conversation day after day. It seemed no matter how many times she told him she wouldn't plea bargain, he never let it sink in. "Oh joy. The thrill of my day," the girl commented sarcastically.

The guard led Jisoo down the hall to one of the conference rooms. "She's in there."

"Thanks for the tour. Pardon me if I don't take pictures."

"Quit mouthing off, Kim. You may be staying here for a very long time." She held the door open for Jisoo to step inside. "And don't even think about trying anything funny. I'll be right outside the whole time."

Jisoo rolled her eyes. "Lucky me." When the door closed behind her, she took a look around, expecting to see Kenneth sitting at the table in the middle of the room. Who she found instead was a far cry from the average-looking public defender. The dark-haired girl in the room was not only well-dressed, but extremely good-looking. "Are you lost or something?" she demanded.

Lisa glanced up from her papers. "Depends. Are you Jisoo Kim?"

"Yeah. Who the hell are you?"

"Then I'm not lost. My name is Lisa Manoban. I'm your new lawyer."

Jisoo looked her up and down. "What happened to Kenneth? Did he get run over by a bus, God willing?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, Jisoo, but he's alive and kicking. Your sister Jennie hired me yesterday to take over your case. I hope that's okay with you; she explained that you and Mr. Shaw didn't see eye to eye on your defense."

"What defense? Please, Kenneth just wanted me out of his hair. The guy was a prick."

Lisa laughed. "I won't disagree with you there."

'Thank you, Jen,' Jisoo thought to herself. 'This one's a definite improvement over Kenneth Shaw.' "So, what's your plan for getting me out of here, Ms. Manoban?"

"It's Lisa, just call me that. Before we decide on an official game plan, I need to know what really happened that night between you and Jacob."

"Haven't you read the case file? It's all in there," Jisoo informed her, pointing to the manila folder sitting on the table in front of her.

Lisa smiled, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms across her chest. "I want to hear it from you." she motioned toward the tape recorder, which captured their every word. "Humor me."

"Fine. We were at my house watching a movie in the living room with Ella. Jennie wasn't there, she'd gone out on a date that night. Everything was fine, we were laughing and talking. I remember making a comment to my sister about how the guy in the movie was really hot. You know, I couldn't even tell you what movie we were watching, it seems like a lifetime ago. Well anyway, Jacob got angry because of what I said. He pushed me off the couch and I hit my head on the coffee table when I fell. Then he got up and went into the kitchen, calling me all sorts of names I can't even repeat. When he came back, he had a knife in his hand.

"I told Ella to go upstairs, I was so afraid of him hurting her. After she was gone, he basically attacked me. Slapped me once and came at me with the knife. The look in his eyes told me he wasn't about to give up without killing me. It was either me or him, and there was no way in hell I was gonna let him win, not without fighting back. Jacob and I wrestled for the knife, and before I knew it, he was lying on the kitchen floor. I stabbed him in the gut. That's all of it."