Fragile (Always Be My Never)

Chapter 15 | The First Trial

"That's very kind of you, but please, don't ask me to hold this thing a little longer. I really don't want it."

"Well, it's quite strange, though. You carry that away for a full seven months and suddenly you changed your mind and wanted to get rid of it as quickly as you can." Dr. Johnson shrugged. "I just think it's not fair. You, rich people, come all the way to the hospital only to get rid of your own baby while there are many couples out there who would kill to get pregnant, like Arabella."

His words silenced her for a while. Her eyes stared blankly to the ceiling when Dr. Johnson led her back to his room.

He opened his cupboard and pulled out hospital clothes for the operation. "I ask this for the last time. Are you sure you want to get rid of her?"

***

"Rossie!" Camilla snapped at her once she saw her coming. "You didn't tell me you were going somewhere! I thought you were in your room or in the bathroom so I left the door openㅡ" Camilla paused and raised an eyebrow at her. "What's wrong with you? Why do you look as white as a ghost?"

Ross started bawling. She fell all the way to the floor, putting her right hand on her chest as if it could cover the invisible hole she had in her heart. Meanwhile, Camilla started to panic as she didn't have any idea what was happening right now.

She stroked her daughter's hair gently, but she couldn't hold herself from asking, "What happened, Rossie?"

"It's over, Mom," she cried. "It really is over now."

Camilla frowned in puzzlement. "What? What is over?"

"My baby!" Rossie pulled her face up to look at her mother's face, to see if there was a little sense of motherhood in her eyes.

Camilla's eyes fell to Rossie's stomach and went round. It looked deflated now, and it shocked her. "But how come? Did you bleed? Youㅡyouㅡ"

"Does it even matter now, Mom?" Rossie had stopped crying now. There was a sharpness in her tone which Camilla never heard before. "What matters the most is that my baby is gone now." Suddenly she rose to her feet and wiped her tears away. "But on the bright side, that means I'll be able to start a new life now."

***

The Present

"All rise! Department One of Victim Assistance Court is now in session, the Honorable Judge Smith presiding. Please be seated."

Judge Smith adjusts his glasses. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Calling the case of Sophie Bishop, nee. Anderson, plaintiff vs. Rossie Miller, defendant. Prosecutor, would you like to make the opening statement please?"

Kate rises to her feet, spreading her confidence to Michael who sits beside her. "Your Honor and ladies and gentlemen of the jury: the defendant has been charged with the crime of sleeping or cheating with a husband who belongs to someone else. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop's son, Joshua, has testified that Mr. Bishop has brought Ms. Miller to his apartment when Mrs. Bishop was not at home and had sexual intercourse for more than thirty times in total, in the span of August 2014 to May 31."

When Kate sits back, the defendant's lawyerㅡMichael learns her name is Julia Fisherㅡstands up. "Your Honor and ladies and gentlemen of the jury: under the law, my client is presumed innocent until proven guilty. During this trial, you will hear no real evidence against my client. You will come to know the truth: that Sophie Bishop nee. Anderson's whereabouts were never known, even to her own husband. It is natural to think that something might have happened to her, as there was no news from her for eighteen years. Therefore my client is not guilty."