Harry's P.O.V
When we reached court, I took Ameera in my arms again but she wriggled in my hold with a frown, wanting to walk on her own so Tahira and I took each of her hands in ours, walking inside.
Nick was waiting for us in the hall and when he saw us walking towards him, he gestured us to follow him inside towards the court room.
Amber's lawyer was there but Amber and her son weren't present when we stepped in. Nick led us to our places and we sat down. Nick was sitting on my right, adjusting and going through his papers. Ameera was sitting on my lap, playing with the bow on her dress while Tahira sat on my left, keeping our fingers intertwined under the table.
Just then the doors burst open and our heads snapped towards it. Amber stepped in, dressed in a small skirt and top. Six inch heels were on her feet, making a tapping sound as they came into contact with floor of the court room. But what caught my attention was the small boy she was dragging in.
He was small and frail. Blonde hair graced his head and from what I could see, he had green eyes. He didn't look anything like Amber. Or me. Only his eyes could be said we shared because they were green, but his eyes were a darker colour from mine. He had the most frightened expression on his face. His hand tightly clutching a small teddy to him. But that wasn't what had caught my attention in the pair.
It was the way Amber was dragging him in.
Her hand was wrapped around his wrist tightly. So tightly, for a while I thought that she was probably digging her nails into his small wrist. I felt so bad for the little guy. It wasn't his fault he got stuck with Amber as a mother. The poor boy wasn't even showing the pain on his face he obviously felt.
I knew Tahira noticed the same thing I did when her hand tightened in mine. A small gasp escaped her lips and I rubbed my thumb on the back of her hand.
"That poor boy." She said under her breath and I nodded, knowing how she felt. I couldn't even imagine treating Ameera that roughly. No matter what she did in the future.
Amber gave us a smug smile when she saw us watching her and the little boy looked at us with wide eyes. For some reason, I felt like there was a hidden message under that wide gaze. Something like a cry for help.
But I couldn't see more because Amber jerked him forward towards where she was supposed to sit with her lawyer.
"Nick, did you see that?" I asked him and he nodded, his face going grim.
"That's no way to treat a child. We could even use that against her." He said and before I could say anything, the judge came.
Once the formalities were over, Amber was called to the stand and Nick walked up to her.
"Ms. Pierce, you've accused my client of child neglect. Am I right?" Nick asked and Amber nodded and Nick continued. "Was he aware of the fact that you were pregnant?" Nick asked again and Amber nodded again without a hint of hesitation.
"Yes, he knew. I sent him a letter to which I never got a reply from." Amber said and I felt my jaw slacken a little at her lies. Nick raised an eyebrow and went through the papers he held.
"And you've also mentioned that your son was conceived two nights before Harry left the town you were in. Is that right?" He asked and when Amber nodded again, Nick turned towards the judge.
"A point to be noted, Your Honour. My client was with his wife, his bandmates and his wife's cousins that night. And I'd also like to add the fact that not many people know this, but that was the night Harry had proposed to his wife." Nick said and I saw Amber pale while the judge wrote something down.
"He came to me during the day." Amber said.
"Changing the time of day won't do you any good, Ms. Pierce. And if he did, can you tell when exactly? Because from what I've gathered, Harry was busy preparing everything for the night with his bandmates." Nick said smoothly and Amber paled even more but she stayed quiet.
"I have some questions I'd like to ask Mr. Styles, Your Honour. If you'd give me the permission?" Amber's lawyer suddenly spoke up and giving a look to Amber and Nick, the judge nodded.
"Permission granted." The judge said and I got up form my chair. Ameera made a protesting sound when I handed her over to Tahira. She settled down when I rubbed my hand on her head before walking towards the stand.
"Mr. Styles, the first thing I'd like to ask you is what was your relationship with my client in the school?" He asked.
"We were just classmates. I was slightly bullied by her and her friends until the truth about my identity came out." I said and he nodded.
"And may I ask why didn't you respond to my clients letter about her being pregnant?" He asked.
"Because I never received a letter from her. And if I had, the contents of the letter would have been nothing but a lie because I've never even hugged Amber much less slept with her." I said and he raised his eyebrows at me before nodding.
"Alright. Thank you for cooperating, Mr. Styles. That is all I had to ask, Your Honour." Her lawyer said and I went back to my seat.
"The court will be adjourned for an hour until all the facts are studied." The judge said and smacked her hammer against the paddle. We all got up and walked out of the room, Ameera was in Tahira's arms as we did.
"This will be an easy win. We have all the facts against her." Nick said when we walked out and I nodded in agreement. That's when our attention was grabbed a shout.
"If we lose this case, I'm returning you to the orphanage I found you in!"
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