Isabella~
"Xavier, I am so happy for you." As soon as he came out of the courtroom, I hugged him happily.
"What are you doing here, Isabella? You were sick, right?" He broke the hug and looked at me with suspicion.
"Sorry, I lied to you." I nervously rubbed my back, determined to tell him the truth.
"Hmm, I can understand now; you don't want to accompany me because you want to hang out with your new friend, right?" His voice became resentful, the sharp tone cutting through my defenses.
"Xavier, what are you talking about?" I looked at his face with confusion, feeling the weight of his mistrust sinking in.
"James William, weren't you with him?" He gave me a raised eyebrow, his doubtful eyes piercing my heart.
"Yes, I was with him, not because I wanted to hang out with him, but for other reasons." I tried to clarify his misunderstanding, feeling the urgency to make him understand.
"I don't want to hear any more excuses, Isabella. I already saw what you were doing with him in his car." He held out his phone in front of my eyes, and I saw the photograph that showed me and James in his car.
Someone took a picture of us while I was applying lipstick. However, the photographer captured the photograph in a way that implied James and I were engaged in a romantic activity in his car.
"Xavier, who sent you this photograph? I am sure this is Jordan Lucas's new attempt to create a misunderstanding between us." I told him the truth to calm his anger, but he didn't seem interested in hearing it.
"That's enough, Bella; I am not in the mood to listen to more lies. I didn't expect this from you." He looked at me with mistrust-filled eyes, his emotions spilling out in a rare moment of vulnerability.
He walked away from me and approached the waiting journalists. I firmly closed my eyes to prevent tears from streaming down my cheeks.
"Victor, congratulations! I am so happy for you." I noticed Victor coming out of the courtroom.
"Thanks, Bella." He hugged me tightly and put his head on my shoulder, the gesture of comfort cutting through my spiraling emotions.
"Victor, what happened? Why are you so tense now?" I patted his back to comfort him, noticing the shadow of distress in his expression.
"My suffering is not yet over; I have only reached halfway." He gazed at me after raising his face off my shoulder, his expression filled with sadness. His eyes brimmed with unshed tears, threatening to overflow.
"It's Victor; everything will be all right." I let out a long sigh to lighten the weight on my heart.
"Bella, forget about me; tell me why you didn't attend today's court session. Do you know that Xavier performed outstandingly today? I'm sure Dad will forgive him and approve of your relationship with him."
When Victor told me what had transpired during the court session, his face was beaming with happiness. I felt tremendous joy and pride for Xavier when Victor told me how confidently Xavier argued with Uncle Jorawar.
I sighed in relief after knowing that Xavier had finally returned to his old confident version. I won't have as much trouble sending Jordan Lucas to bars now.
"Bella. I am so happy today." When Dad emerged from the courtroom, he gave me a joyful hug.
I felt so lighthearted after hearing his cheerful tone. I'm glad the strained ties within my family are starting to heal.
"Come take a picture with me, Dad." Before I could tell him the truth, Xavier called him.
My father excused himself and walked away from me. I was standing alone in the corridor of the courtroom when Xavier, Victor, and Dad were busy answering journalists' questions.
"Uncle Jorawar," I observed Uncle Jorawar as he left the courtroom. He appeared to be deeply saddened by his defeat in the courtroom.
"I understand your pain, Uncle." I proceeded to discuss Laila with him.
"What are you doing here, Bella? You should go celebrate your family's win instead of pretending to feel sorry for me." I could tell how hurt he was by the sound of his cracking voice.
"Uncle, please don't misunderstand your brother; he misunderstood you in the way you misunderstood him. This is a game of Jordan Lucas. He consistently exploited our strained familial ties." For him to at least comprehend the cause of all this commotion, I made an effort to be honest with him.
"Don't use Jordan Lucas as an excuse to hide your family's selfishness, Bella. Jordan Lucas is far better than your father-in-law in that he at least agreed to give me Jonathan's address so that I can file a case against him to bring justice for Laila, but it's my bad luck that I lost this case and lost the last chance to bring justice for Laila. Richard Thompson was the reason it all happened; I would have won this case if he hadn't brought John's wife to court." He shook his head in disappointment and then left the courtroom.
Jordan Lucas had indeed blackmailed Uncle Jorawar under Laila's name. Xavier's guess was right that Uncle Jorawar chose to be a prosecutor in Victor's case due to some compulsion. Numerous thoughts raced through my mind, making my head spin.
"Isabella Morgan, or should I call you Veronica Luis?" The familiar, dangerous voice caught my attention.
He was lurking behind the pillar, vigilantly watching over us.
"Jordan Lucas, it was all your dirty plan, and now I am aware of your every move." I gave him a furious glare.
"Well done, Miss Luis. I like your presence of mind. I must say you are sharper than your ex-husband; oh, sorry, I should say your new boyfriend." His evil laugh ignited rage inside me.
"Jordan, I promise you that you will soon be imprisoned for all of your wrongdoings." His nasty laugh made me lose my temper, despite my best efforts to remain composed.
"Miss Luis, do you think I lost this case?" He paused his laughter and directed a pointed question at me.
He was right, actually; Jordan Lucas didn't lose anything in this case. He only played with the Thompson family.
"Jordan, this is the last time that you took advantage of the Thompson family to hurt them. I promise you from now on I will not let you take advantage of them." I warned him.
"Miss Luis, I like your confidence, but I am sorry; I already set a new breaking news for your family, and soon you will learn about it. Why don't you take some time to make up with your ex-husband before taking on another challenge in life? Since this story isn't about rivalry and drama, enjoy some quality time with him. I'm growing weary of your family drama and would like to see some romance as well."
When he saw James approaching me in the courtroom corridor, he stopped taunting me and vanished.
"What the hell is this?" Angrily, I tightened my jaw.
"Should we go now, Bella?" James asked me.
"James, you can leave now; I will come with Xavier in his car. I need to speak with Xavier right now and explain everything to him."
"Bella, Xavier already left the courtroom; didn't he inform you?" James gave me a perplexed expression.
"What?" I looked outside the courtroom and found it empty. How could he do this to me? His mistrust in me broke my heart.
"James, I will take a taxi; you should leave now."
I walked out of the court with a heavy heart.
"Bella, join me in the car; I will drop you at your house and will clear Xavier's misunderstanding." He sensed my sadness and asked me to sit in his car.
I sat in his car and allowed him to drive me to my house in the hope that Xavier would listen to his best friend and at least trust James' words.