#PTG35 Chapter 35
"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" the court asked me as I placed my hand on the bible. Hindi ko inaalis ang mga mata ko kay Iñigo habang isa-isa kong pinapakinggang ang mga salita. He needed to know... he needed to know how much he hurt me... He needed to know that I would not back down without a fight.
He knew me.
He knew how I fucking fought to finish law school amidst everything that happened in my life. I lost my parents... I lost Jax... but I fought to graduate. He must know that I would fight to death. I would fight him to death.
"I do," I answered, my eyes never leaving his.
Rinig ko ang bawat yapak ng mga paa ko sa sahig. Halos marinig ko ang bawat pagbuga ko ng hininga. I could do this... This was nothing compare to everything I had been through.
Nang tuluyan akong maka-upo, hindi agad nakapagsalita si Iñigo. It felt as though he was trying to read my mind as he stared at me with those eyes that lied. But he would never read what I was thinking. He didn't know me that well... Only I knew myself enough to know all the secrets I had been hiding.
"State your name," Iñigo began.
Hinawakan ko ang mga kamay ko. I needed to be calm... I had seen Iñigo do this a couple of times before. He always riles up people when they're on the witness stand. 'It's when anger's high that secrets let loose,' he always told me before.
"Katherine Tyrese Arellano-Ramirez," sagot ko.
For a couple of seconds, he just stood right in front of me. Parang gusto niya akong subukan sa bawat titig niya. But I wouldn't let myself play his game... This was my life... This was my game.
"You had been married to the deceased, Kieran Ramirez, is that right?"
I nodded. "That is right."
"For two years?"
I nodded again. "Two years, four months, and seven days. If you can tell me the time, I will give you the exact hours, as well," I replied, looking him in the eyes.
An amused expression quickly crossed his face... Quickly. But it quickly faded, and was replaced by his unreadable expression. I copied everything he was giving me. I wasn't afraid of him. He could not bend me to his liking. I would not let myself be another stepping stone for his career move.
If he wanted to reach the top, he needed to learn how to take the fucking stairs and quit using the elevator.
"That's not necessary, Mrs. Ramirez," he said. He took a deep breath. "How will you describe your marriage with Kieran Ramirez?"
Mas hinigpitan ko ang hawak sa aking mga kamay. This was it. He was beginning to set his traps... but I would not allow myself to be a fool and willingly step in it.
"A normal marriage," I replied. I should only answer what I was asked. I should not elaborate. I would not give him any opportunity to bend my answer in his favor.
"Care to elaborate?" he pressed on.
"It was a normal marriage, Prosecutor Borromeo," I repeated. "I answered your question."
Pilit siyang ngumiti. He was a great cross-examiner, but we came from the same school. What he knew, I knew, too. We were both cut from the same cloth... The only thing we differ in is the length we were willing to go to for our ambition.
"Jessa, your house help, mentioned... marital disputes. Care to elaborate on that, Mrs. Ramirez?"
'Breathe,' I kept on telling myself. 'Don't let him get to you. This will all be over soon.'
"I never hurt Kier," I answered.
"Never is an absolute statement, Mrs. Ramirez," sabi ni Iñigo. Naglakad siya pabalik sa lamesa, at muli ay may kinuhang brown envelope. Nagsimulang bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko... He liked surprises... He liked surprising his enemies with his 'little discoveries...' I needed to calm the fuck down.
"Can you tell us what's inside?" he asked, handing over the envelope.
Sandali akong tumingin kay Jax. He gave me a brief nod, as if prodding me to go on. Muli ay huminga ako nang malalim. Whatever was in this, this could not be worse than the last two years of my life.
"It's a record of all my check-ups with Dr. Maniego," sagot ko habang tinitignan ang mga petsa... Gusto kong mamangha sa sarili ko... I... I lasted through all these... I lasted through all the beatings Kier made me go through.
"About what?"
Huminga ako nang malalim, at saka tinignan siya sa mga mata niya. I wanted to look him in the eyes as I began to recall the hell that Kier put me through... For him to know what kind of devil Kier really was.
"Broken arms, mostly... Once for a broken jaw... Twice for a broken nose..." I listed as I stared into his eyes. I saw him clenching his jaw. Ano'ng pakiramdam, Iñigo? Ano'ng pakiramdam na dahil sa pangarap mo, ipinagbili mo na pati ang prinsipyo mo?
The prosecutor's job is not to crucify the accused... It is to uncover the truth... Masyado na yata siyang nalunod sa pangarap niya. Tuluyan niya ng nalimutan lahat ng pinag-aralan namin noon.
I felt like a lifetime when we were challenging each other through our gazes. But I wouldn't back down. Not now.
"Those... injuries. Those are because you were trying to instigate a fight with your husband? That resulted to you injuring yourself? As stated by Jessa, your house help."
I pressed my lips as I fought to hard to remain neutral. Letting myself wallow in my rage for him would not help my case. I needed to show the judge that I wasn't the vindictive woman the prosecution was trying so hard to paint me... I was rational. And I was not stupid. If I really planned to kill Kier, did they really think that I would leave my fingerprints all over the weapon?
But the thing is, the truth doesn't always win in the court... What wins in the court becomes the truth...
"No," I calmly responded. "I have no history of being violent, if that was what you were trying to imply, Prosecutor Borromeo."
"Maybe before... but things must have changed when you married Kieran Ramirez, Mrs. Ramirez. If... If you weren't violent like you are claiming, then who must have inflicted your injuries?"
Tahimik akong tumingin sa kanya.
It was either me... or Kieran. And if it were me who hurt myself, I would just be taking back all the statements I made... And if I tell them the truth about Kieran, they would just use it to dig a deeper grave for me. I could already sense Iñigo wanting to use me being a battered wife as a reason why I plotted to kill Kieran.
"Objection," Jax interjected. He must've seen the hesitation in my eyes.
"On what grounds?" Judge Marquez asked.
"Lay witness opinion, Your Honor."
Rinig ko ang kabog ng dibdib ko. Halos ipikit ko ang mga mata ko habang naghihintay ng kasunod.
"Sustained," Judge Marquez said.
Iñigo's jaw dropped. "But, Your Honor—"
He made the mistake of questioning Judge Marquez's ruling that's why he and Jax were summoned. Pabilis nang pabilis ang kabog ng dibdib ko habang kausap silang dalawa. I could see how Iñigo's face clenched with dismay. Jax's face remained impassive. He knew that this was just beginning. I was sure that Iñigo still had a lot of skeletons in my closet.
Nang matapos silang kausapin, kita ko ang pag-iling sa mukha ni Judge Marquez. He... He didn't like how Iñigo questioned him. And it made me wonder. Iñigo knew that the first rule in arguing in court is to always be pleasant to the judge. Angering him wouldn't help you win your case.
Something's amiss.
Lumapit si Iñigo sa lamesa. He got something, and his eyes quickly scanned it. Muli ay bumilis na naman ang tibok ng puso ko. He kept on surprising me... but I needed to remain calm. This would all be over. I just needed to stand on my ground that I didn't kill Kier. I couldn't have. I just didn't have it in me.
"Do you have any more question for the accused, Prosecutor?" Judge Marquez asked, seemingly annoyed at the delay.
Biglang natigilan si Iñigo. Para bang tinitimbang niya kung ano ang tamang hakbang ang susunod niyang gagawin.
"None... Your Honor," sagot niya.
Fuck.
He's done.
Jax did it.
"Defense, do you have question?" Judge Marquez asked.
Agad na tumayo si Jax. Naglakad siya patungo sa akin, hindi iniaalis ang mga mata niya sa mga mata ko. My heart began to calm down.
"Mrs. Ramirez," Jax said. A clench was felt throughout my system. I hated him saying that... but we were in the court of law. We were being watched by people... by spectators... by Kier's devil of a family. I knew they all knew my history with Jax, but I would not allow them to use him against me. "Can you recall for the court what happened the night of Mr. Ramirez's death?"
I felt chills ran through my spine. Patuloy ako sa paghugot nang malalim na hininga. Pagod na ako... pagod na pagod na akong ulitin ang mga nangyari... but I needed to get through with this. I needed to finish the fight that Kier started.
I would not let him drag me to hell once again.
Two years of hell with him were enough.
"That night..." I began as I once again told the story of Kier's death. I forced myself to only look at Jax. I could not bear to look at Kier's mother. No matter how much I hated Kier, I could not hate his mother for directing her anger at me... She lost his son. No amount of apology would be able to appease her grieving heart...
But she would not get justice from me. I may... I may end up in jail, but the real killer would still be out there. Iyon ba talaga ang gusto nila?
When I was finally done recalling the horrors of that night, Jax showed his own envelope. My heart began to go wild at the sight of that. I hated seeing that. I hated the mere sight of that.
"During that night, Mrs. Ramirez, after being slapped with such force, ended with her banging her head against the bathtub," Jax said, opening the envelope, and handing it over to the judge. "We have requested an examination on Mrs. Ramirez. Results proved that the force to her head was enough for her to lose consciousness. It also shows that her right arm was broken. The injuries were consistent with the narration of Mrs. Ramirez as she fell down. The pictures of the crime scene will coincide with the statement of the defense."
Halos hindi ako maka-hinga. I needed Jax to win this. I needed to get my life back.
"Prosecution could argue that Mrs. Ramirez could have used her left hand, but she's right-handed. The angle and the precision of the wound," he said, placing another picture on the desk of Judge Marquez. "Forensics stated that the stab wound was done with the right hand. That, together with the medical fact that realistically, Mrs. Ramirez could not have injured Mr. Ramirez—who was much stronger than her—with her injured arm. It could not have been possible for Mrs. Ramirez to commit the crime. I rest my case, Your Honor."
I didn't know that I was holding my breath until Jax concluded his statement.
"Fifteen minutes recess," Judge Marquez called once again. Agad akong nilapitan ni Cha. Sinubukan kong tumayo, ngunit parang agad bumigay ang mga tuhod ko sa mga pangyayari.
"You did well," Cha said. "We're gonna win this."
But I couldn't listen to her. My eyes were only on one person... And as soon as we were escorted to a room, I closed the distance and enclosed him inside my arms. I could feel him shaking. He's scared... He's scared just like I was.
"Thank you," I whispered. "Thank you, Jax." He didn't answer... but I wanted him to know that he did well... that he fought well...