"Convict Me, Attorney." (Law Series #2)

PART TWO: THE KING OF COURT TRIALS

I looked at her, she seemed sad and worried.

"There's something we can do," I said, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

Her eyes brightened up. "Really? Ano?"

I smiled. "Give Traise to me."

Her smile faded. "Manigas ka."

Inirapan ako ni Courtmey at muling tumingin sa coffee shop. Halos mapatalon ako nang biglang namilog ang mga mata niya at tumili.

"TRAISE IS COMING!"

I looked at them. Traise went inside the coffee shop and sat in front of the woman. They were even smiling at each other when their eyes met.

"No wonder why they think they are couples," I said. "They look good together, though."

"AVERY!" Courtney exclaimed.

"Why?!?" I exclaimed as well. "Bawal ba 'kong magbigay ng opinyon?"

"Keep your opinion to yourself," she said, and dialled something on her phone. Few seconds later, it rang and someone answered.

"Hi wifey," I heard Traise's voice said. "Miss mo ba 'ko? Ako miss kita."

I cringed.

"A...s'an ka...?" Courtney asked, panicking.

"Work," he briefly said. "Ikaw ba?"

Courtney's eyes seemed disappointed.

"Oh, work..." she answered, looking at them. "Okay..."

"Why? Is there a problem?" Traise asked but he was smiling at the woman in front of him.

She didn't answer.

"Why are you so quiet?" Traise asked. "Talk more. I missed your voice."

But Courtney didn't talk, she looked like she was about to cry.

"Hey. I love youuuuuu!"

And Courtney abruptly turned the phone off.

"He's cheating..." she said and cried.

"Hey, hey!" reaksyon ko nang totoong umiyak talaga siya. "Stop crying! Don't drop any tears on my car!"

She looked at me.

"Avery, help me..." and her face went dark. "That girl deserves a beating. I'll let her know how does the toilet water tastes!"

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed.

Immediately, she opened the door and dragged me outside but I managed to resist, and immediately closed the door. I locked it.

"OPEN IT!" I can see Courtney  shouting outside."I SAID, OPEN IT!"

"I WON'T!" I yelled back. "YOU DO IT YOURSELF! IF THAT BECOMES VIRAL I'LL BE KICKED OUT OF MY JOB! I JUST SIGNED A CONTRACT AS A PROFESSOR, BITCH!"

"HELP ME ONCE!" she shouted back.

"DO IT YOURSELF!" I exclaimed.

"YOU WON'T?!?!"

"I WON'T!"

"FINE!" she said. "I'LL RUIN YOUR WHEELS! ASA'N BA PANG BUTAS DITO..."

"COURTNEY?"

My eyes grew bigger when someone came. Napatingin din dito si Courtney at nanlaki ang mga mata nang makita kung sino ito. Halos lamunin niya para maitago lang ang stick na napulot niya sa kalye para sana sirain ang gulong ko.

"T-Traise...?" Courtney uttered.

"What's...happening....?" he asked, confused.

Courtney looked at me and her eyes were asking for help.

"Oh shit..." I murmured. I opened the window and smiled. "Sorry, Courtney!"

Just like that, my car departed and I left her there.

The next thing I knew, I was inside the court room and the preliminary trial of my dad's case just ended. Of course, nag-plead kami ng not guilty. Bakit ko basta-basta nalang i-su-surrender ang tatay ko?

The prosecution, on the other side, continued to charge my dad with graft, despite of my request to just drop the case.

Courtney? Oh, she's fine. Traise got to know what's on her mind after I  I told him Courtney's rants. Siyempre, galit na galit si Courtney sa akin noong una but eventually felt grateful kasi pagkatapos malaman iyon ni Traise, mas binigyan na siya ni Traise ng oras at panahon.

Turned out, engaged na rin pala iyong babae at nag-uusap lang sila tungkol sa trabaho so there's no room for jealousy. And the mind blowing fact? Courtney had been feeling something painful on her stomach. Nang malaman ni mama, she told Courtney that she might be pregnant. And Courtney acted like she was really pregnant!

Mas naging maarte si Courtney at gustong bini-baby. Si Traise tuloy kung minsan ay ayaw nang pumasok dahil mas gusto siyang alagaan at ang baby 'kuno' sa tiyan niya.

I mean, she's not even pregnant to begin with!

Nagdadalang tae, pwede pa.

I sighed.

Masiyado nang masakit sa ulo itong couple na 'to.

Nang bumukas ang elevator ay agad akong tumindig para pumasok. Ngunit akmang aakbang palang ako nang mahinto ako dahil mayroon nang tao sa loob. Nang magtama ang paningin namin ay napa-ismid ako.

"Won't you come inside?" he asked.

Silently, I walked inside. When I looked at him through my peripheral vision, I noticed he was wearing his signature outfit: white polo tucked inside his black pants.

It was him.

It was Tyler Scott.

"I told you to just plea guilty" he then said, breaking the silence.

"And I told you to drop the case," I said with the same fury.

Tyler faced me. "Avery, you know what my job is."

I scoffed without looking at him. "And you know what my job as well is."

"Avery, can you like talk to me without being shady?"

I smirked and that's when I faced him. "Why Tyler? Will you drop the case once I do?"

"Why do you keep on asking me to drop the case?" he asked and he was somewhat frustrated.

"And why do you want to convict my dad?" I asked back.

He looked at me with a serious face when he saw my expression changed.

"Trust me," he said. "I'm not doing this to ruin you or your family."

"Well you just did," I said bitterly. "Just the fact that of all the prosecutors, why does it have to be you?"

"It's the best thing to do, Avery," he said. "It is."

"No, Tyler," I said. "When you picked this job, you already picked a war with me."

"Avery, please do understand my position."

"I won't," I said. "I felt betrayed, Tyler. I still do."

"Avery, I know you know it's the truth. Your dad put millions of public's money in his pockets and he needs to pay for that."

"No," I said and I smiled. "You have no right to say that."

The elevator opened and I met Tyler's eyes.

"You're a prosecutor, so don't simply make assumptions," I smirked, quoting him, and I turned dead serious.

"PROVE IT."