“Then you’ll be held in contempt,” the kid said, shoving the papers at me and starting to leave. “Court starts at two p.m.”
“What am I going to do?” I cried to my friends after the young lawyer left. “Tatiana’s going to take Alfie from Sebastian!” I pulled out my phone and tried calling him, but he didn’t answer. “He’s never going to forgive me, and I’m never going to forgive myself.”
“Just go in and tell them that you think Sebastian is going to be best for Alfie,” Ivy said. “It’s going to look terrible for their side if their big key witness is like, ‘No, Tatiana is an evil witch. Don’t let her have a child.”
“Right,” I said, nodding.
Sophie handed me a piece of chocolate cake. “This will help your nerves.”
Elsie pushed her plate away. “Amy needs protein and water.”
“I need a new life,” I said, slumping onto the couch.
I rehearsed my talking points with my friends in the few hours before the trial. I was feeling slightly more confident when I walked into the courtroom.
That was, until I saw Sebastian. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
I just wanted to give him a hug, but he looked at me in confusion then hatred as Tatiana exclaimed, “There’s my star witness!”
I wanted to tell Sebastian that it wasn’t what it looked like, but then the judge, in her voluminous black robes, walked into the room.
“All rise!” the bailiff commanded.
I twisted the bracelet on my arm.
“In the case of Rawlings versus Rawlings, we are resolving the custody dispute over Alfred Rawlings.”
The lawyers went through their opening arguments about the contested custody of Alfie, both sides alleging that it was in Alfie’s best interest to remain with their respective clients. Then the judge called for character witnesses.
Tatiana smirked as I was called to the stand. I couldn’t even look at Sebastian.
I was sworn in, then the lawyer began to question me.
“You’ve worked with Tatiana,” he said.
“Yes,” I told him. “But I wouldn’t give Alfie to her to raise. I’ve known Sebastian longer than her and—”
“That’s not the question,” he said in a smarmy voice. “You wrote a glowing review of Tatiana’s character a few weeks ago.” He handed me the paper. “Please read the highlighted portion.”
I stumbled over the words. I tried to keep my eyes on the paper because whenever I looked up at Sebastian, he was glaring daggers at me.
“I wrote the glowing praise about Tatiana while super drunk one evening,” I said in a rush when I was finished.
“This is a signed and notarized statement from you that what you wrote is true, and that it is your honest opinion and reflects your experience with Tatiana,” the lawyer said, taking back the paper.
“I know,” I pleaded, “but I recant my statement.”
“Did something happen between the time of writing and now?” the lawyer asked.
“Uh…” I racked my brain. Sebastian’s death glare was boring into me.
“She yelled at her mother at one of the bridal meetings.”
“And why was that?”
“Because she was eating and drinking,” I replied.
“Sounds like she was concerned about her mother’s health.”
