"That's a lie" Ai Jin got up angered by the woman's words but the judge called for order and she had to seat down.
"I ask for permission to call Mr Yang up the witness stand."
Haru went up there, his mind completely perplexed. What the lawyer was saying shouldn't be true. It can't be true.
"Mr yang...How many months was your wife pregnant?"
"It was the last week of her sixth month" He answered but was slammed with another question that almost threw him off balance.
"When exactly did she tell you she was pregnant, remember the date and how many weeks she claimed?"
"W-well" he stuttered looking at her "She didn't tell me that..."
"What if your wife was pregnant before you were intimate with her? Sexual inter course after conception doesn't mess up with the DNA of a child. Are you aware of that?" He was speechless, his brows creased as he gradually slumped on the stand.
"You're telling me that the baby my wife was carrying wasn't mine?" his mind was still in a state of perplexity and he covered his face slightly with a hand.
"Yes. There's proof."
His eyes widened as he stood up right, hands on the top of the witness box as he screamed "Impossible" The way she said it with plain confidence made him think about ten outcomes at one time.
"I went through the pregnancy records of the same clinic your wife visited monthly and I found something very important. When her pregnancy test was conducted, she was nine weeks pregnant..."
"So?" Ai Jin scoffed, a minute ago she thought she was done for but the woman was just beating around the bush, she had no visible evidence but just theories.
"When did you sleep with your wife. What date exactly?" Haru was about to answer when Ai Jin's lawyer intruded "My lord, these questions are..."
"Let Miss Lilu Speak" The man bit his lip in slight anger, bowed then took his seat.
"Should I repeat myself?" Haru shook his head no as he tried to recall the exact date. He remembered the day she woke up by his side, he had a business meeting. "Give me a minute" Ai jin couldn't believe haru was doing exactly what their enemies wanted him to do.
"I remember I had a business meeting and it was scheduled for the third of march...the day I woke up by her side."
"The following month.. she conducted a test and was declared pregnant...9 weeks pregnant" The woman brought out a small slip of doctors report that was saved in the hospital's private files. She handed it over to the judge to analyse carefully.
The judge adjusted his glasses and turned to look at the plaintiff side "Do you have anything to say? It's quite clear that the child she was carrying wasn't yours Mr Yang" As the judge spoke, haru's mood crumpled whilst trying to remain composed. He seemed like a fool. Everything was a lie. That's what he'd been breathing in Ai Jin's toxic atmosphere and it didn't occur to him that he was getting accustomed to the walls of her deception.
Breathe in...lies.
Breathe out...lies.
The truth finally slipped out, smooth and easy like melted butter running down toast.
Haru defended Ai jin for as long as he could remember. He made Meilin seem like the antagonist in a movie who actually ends up innocent.
He had high hopes, such belief that whatever Ai jin was saying was absolutely the truth and nothing but the truth. She lied about him being the father and for months he'd been thinking it was his baby in her womb, but it was one of her tactics of winning him over to her side.
She hasn't changed and would never change.
He shut out every word meilin said, and he shut them out as if he was a heavy metal door, not even budging for the strongest man in the world.
"Mrs Yang...I will sympathize with your condition if you confess and tell the court everything"
Ai Jin gulped, everything was finally unraveling and it was impossible to undo it all. Fear hit her like a sledgehammer. Everything was going her way in the beginning but the lawyer she hired turned out to be useless despite being one of the popular ones. They'd both ruined their reputations and it was bound to affect their careers.
Maybe it wasn't too late to tell another lie, another lie...what could she possibly say when she was at a gun point situation. Everyone seemed to be starring daggers at her and she couldn't find a way to tackle the hurricane of thoughts causing a swirl in her head.
She stood on the witness box "I, Ai Jin Yang accepts defeat. I wasn't carrying my husband's child...Meilin didn't push me. I lied about everything" sadness drained her spirit and she waited for the judges conclusion and her charge for perjury.
The judge dismissed the jury and was ready to make his pronouncement "I declare Miss Meilin Yee Zhao not guilty and as for Ai Jin Yang...She is sentenced to five months of jail time and will serve up her remaining sentence with community service of the suburbs. The court has been adjourned" The judged slammed the gavel then got up.
Meilin felt so relieved, she was so occupied with giving her friends, the only support she had hugs and Guiren thousands of kisses. She missed when Ai jin was taken away and the depressed look on her face. She didn't care much about her, she was just Happy that the trial was all over and she could turn her attention to her kids.
Lilu gave her a hug "Thanks for everything Miss Fong" the woman waved her appreciation off "Thank You for believing in an underated lawyer. I hope you rest peacefully now that everything's been settled" She said with the beautiful smile she wore in her face.
"Bye" Lilu waved and Ai jin waved back and had arms slowly wrapped around her "I told you everything would be alright" She smiled as she escaped from Guiren's loose grip.
She turned to thank her friends as they all walked out with joyful expressions and the media cornered them all asking ceaseless questions from all corners.
Meilin stopped to say something. "After everything, do you still think I'm the bad guy?" she asked then turned to leave with her hand intertwined with Guiren's.
"Know what we need? A vacation..." Guiren said "You, me and the kids."
Haru went home feeling weak and broken. He could finally lose his sanity without anyone seeing him.
He rampaged in his room, hands pushing and flipping over any furniture in his sight. He broke picture frames, reaped the bed sheet apart and collapsed to the floor.
He'd been ignoring his aunt and other people that tried to talk to him. He blamed them for the way he treated Meilin all to relieve the guilt a little but it was no use. It weighed on his chest, seating comfortably on his heart and toying with the strings of his mind as he drank directly from the bottle of vodka in his private room.
He poured out his frustration on the floor, bottles after bottles until he slightly crossed his limit and slept.
Back at home Meilin and Guiren were celebrating, taking only a glass and feeding themselves cake. The young woman's celestial eyes shone bright as she placed her delicate hand in his; he placed his hand on her waist and whisked her onto the free space in the balcony. They turned and twirled as if they were professionals to the calm music coming from the stereo.
There was something special about their laughter, in the soft way they touch, the gaze that lingers when when they were a few distance apart. She felt the warmth, the familiar heat from the body of a man.
He leaned in to kiss her but she stylishly backed away. She didn't want a relationship, she can't take the risk again.
"Meilin..." He caught hold of her hand but she pulled away with a serious look on her face.
"I think it's time you leave."