While they were waiting for Attorney Fernandez, Jane's thoughts drifted back to what Edric told her last night.
"Ahm...I'm ready to talk."
"Okay?"
Edric was very excited to hear what Jane wanted to say however, he didn't want to make it so obvious, so it came out like he was unsure if he was ready to listen to her or not.
"I have think about it from left to right, right to left, front and back, back to front."
"Wow. That's so much thinking, yeah?"
"No. I'm serious. Even if it's just a year as what you have said but a lot of things will happen during that time frame."
"So?"
"I have decided to agree to it."
"Good. I- I'm very pleased to hear that."
"But...I have my terms."
"Okay. Sure. As long as you stay loyal to me and be my wife within a year, I'll agree. List down your terms so we can talk them all over."
"Okay, so when will this starts?"
"You mean the wedding?"
"Yeah."
"We can just forget about the formal wedding. Having the marriage contract is what matters."
"Yeah. I'll arrange it when we get back to the Capital. I'll need your birth certificate then so we can start preparing the necessary documents. I know a judge who could officiate the wedding."
"Okay, then. Let's have a happy cooperation." Jane then offered her hand for a handshake.
Edric didn't know why but when she talked about this so casually, he suddenly felt uncomfortable.
But still, he still took her hand and they had a handshake.
When their skin touched, they both felt a spark in their hands. This caught them both by surprise that they let go immediately.
"What was that?!"
It was Jane who asked first.
"I have no idea."
Edric was really innocent.
"Okay. Maybe there's so much static energy in the air thats why when we touched it causes a spark."
Was that really the explanation?
Jane looked away after she explained that.
"Maybe. Ahm..."
Before Edric could even think about what to say next, the manager came again but this time with the attorney.
"I think he's your guy?"
"Atty. Fernandez?" Jane decided to ask in confirmation. He was wearing his gray pants, newly polished pointy shoes, and white button-up shirt under his gray coat.
He was wearing an eye glasses and his hair was combed to the right. Actually, Jane thought that they would be meeting a middle-aged man but this man seemed to be in his late twenties to early thirties.
Not bad.
"Yes. I'm Atty. Gerard Fernandez. Ahm, I'm here to talk about the case of Ann Sanchez?"
When she heard her mother's name, Jane got up from her seat immediately.
"Oh! She's my Mama."
"I see."
"Yes. I'm Jane Sanchez. Her daughter. This is Edric, a family friend." They shook hands except for Edric who rather kept his hands to himself because he was displeased with how Jane introduced him to the other.
'Wait. You agree to marry me minutes earlier. Then, aren't I your fiancé by now?' Edric asked her through telepathy making her to halt the introduction.
"He's the one who called you." Jane just shrugged off his annoying remarks inside her head.
"No. It's my assistant, but anyways, I hope you have good news for us?"
"Please do have a seat." Jane ushered him to sit on her seat while she moved towards Edric.
Before they start, Jane ordered coffee and some sweets for them to eat while they're having a discussion.
They started talking even while waiting for their orders.
"So, I studied the case based on the narrative that your assistant had given to me. And yeah, we have a strong case against those people, the police and the mayor should your mother's innocence be proven."
"I have a video recording when they planted all those fake evidences in our house."
Jane took her phone and played the recording.
Based from the angle on where the video was taken, it was clearly seen that all the evidences were fabricated.
"That's good! We have a very compelling evidence."
"Yes. And I believe all this is manipulated by Mr. Sandoval."
"May I know why?"
Jane then narrated about what exactly happened.
Attorney Fernandez listened to her patiently.
He also scribbled something on the paper.
Their orders were also delivered by one of the staff.
When Jane was done narrating, he heaved a deep sigh.
"I have to be honest with you, Miss Sanchez. Dealing with that kind of man is very dangerous for you, the complainant and the witnesses that will testify in court."
"I know. But if I'll not fight him in court, my family will never have a peaceful life should he be left free to roam around and do whatever things he wanted. My mom will be in danger forever because of him."
"I understand. I'll see what I can do. I'll file a motion for dismissal for the filed case against your mom. We will use this as evidence. Should they accept this, the case will be dismissed and your mom will be set free. And then, we will file our cases against those involved."
"Thank you, Attorney." Jane was really relieved after that. She's happy to find a lawyer who is brave enough to go against Mr. Sandoval.
"Okay. So I better be off, now. I'll start making the paper works so Mrs. Sanchez will be set free by Monday."
"Monday? That's too long."
"Today's Saturday. The court is open on weekdays only."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that."
"No worries. It does happen to me sometimes, too." Attorney Fernandez was such a nice lawyer. He always wanted to make his clients to feel comforted despite the heavy cases that they're against with.
He seemed to be the easy going type of person which was in great contrast of the profession he had.
"Okay. So who should I contact regarding this matter?"
"Just contact my assistant, Phil. Then Phil will tell Jane." Edric interrupted the conversation as he didn't like how Attorney Fernandez looked at Jane.
It was stickier than his liking.
The man could only smile at him and said, "Sure. I'll call him when I have updates. Just make sure to keep his lines always on."
"He surely knows what to do."
"Okay. Bye Jane. Bye Sir Edric. See you hopefully on Monday."
Atty. Fernandez left leaving Jane and Edric alone.
"How do you feel?"
"I want to visit my Mama. Please come with me. I want to visit my Mama."
"Okay? That is not what I expected as your answer. Anyways, let's go then. I'll bring you to her."
Edric and Jane finished the slice of cake on their plates and brought the cup of coffee downstairs.
Edric insisted on paying everything on the cashier using his black card which stunned the poor cashier and even the manager.
Jane already expected this to happen. She didn't expect him to carry some bills with him but cards in uniform color.
Jane knew how much status that card signified to its bearer. She had read about it from the novels she borrowed from the library and also she studied this on the internet because she got curious about it.
"Don't you accept this card?" Edric innocently asked the cashier with a little impatience on his tone.
Jane literally rolled her eyes while looking at Edric.
Before things escalated, Jane decided to get the blue ones from her wallet after she saw how much all the drinks and the dessert costs.
"Miss, take this instead."
"What are you doing? I'm treating you."
'You're giving these people a heart attack.' Jane answered in her mind.
'I know that you're hella rich but they don't. So don't just show off your black cards just anywhere. Small towns like this one preferred bills over cash. It's more convenient.' She continued.
Jane apologized to the cashier and the manager for that little fright. The cashier then gave Jane her change and the latter walked out of the store with Edric behind her who was holding their unfinished drinks.
They waited for a while until a silver Mazda car pulled over in front of them.
The car was new. Actually, it was sparkling new with no plate number on the front and the back.
The door on the passenger side opened and the driver wearing a formal button up shirt got out from the car and then walked towards them while holding a document and a pen on his hand.
"Mr. McWilliams?" The man asked Edric.
"That's me."
"Oh! Here are the documents for the car. All I need is your signature and the car is officially yours." It turned out that he was the car's sales agent. And the car was transported from the city all the way to Jane's hometown.
"No. Have it changed into her name. Jane Sanchez. Can you arrange that for us right away?"
Though it was a short notice, the agent didn't sound surprised and in fact, he came prepared.
"Oh sure. I have a blank form with me. Just have to fill in the details and Miss Sanchez can drive the car."
"Excuse me, but...I don't have a driver's license yet." Jane butted in the conversation.
"It's no big deal. You can get your license later. Either Phil and I could drive for you for the meantime."
With Edric's response, Jane had nothing to argue about.
'And it's my gift for you for agreeing to be my wife. I don't want anyone to bully my wife.' He told her through telepathy.
For some reason, Jane found herself blushing from Edric's comment.
The agent then gave Jane a blank form and let her fill-in the details to avoid any mistakes and errors like the spelling of her name.
"Okay. Here is the key. And thank you for buying the car." Jane received the key and she watched the metal shining in her palm as it reflect the little sunlight.
The agent left with a huge smile on his face. The man could not hide the happiness.
Jane didn't know exactly how to respond to that.
It happened all of a sudden.
"Please do let me know if you plan to buy things for me in the future. I don't like surprises."
Edric didn't know why but there was some weight in it and it made him uncomfortable.
"Okay."
They both entered the car with Edric on the driver's seat and Jane on the passenger's seat.
The interior of the car smelled leather and it was all black. It was comfortable and she liked it. Not that she had been inside many cars but this one just hit different.
"Do you like it?"
Jane was probably still absorbed into checking the car that she didn't answer him right away.
"Yeah." It came out faint but for Edric, it spoke volumes already.
"Good." Then he frowned when Jane had not fastened her seat belt yet.
So, he unfastened his and reached out to fasten hers.
The moment he did that, Jane could feel herself frozen in her seat when she realized he was only an inch away from her face.
She could literally smell her shampoo and soap on him.
'Did he use my soap and shampoo when he showered?'
"I'm sorry. I decided to borrow your shampoo and shower gel since they're already in there. It's very inconvenient for me to go back to your room and open my luggage to get my toiletries."
Edric tried his best to explain himself.
"Oh. I don't mind. If you like it, I can make one for you of your liking."
"Oh thank you." But he looked surprised and looked even closer to her ignoring the small distance between them.
He even forgot his initial intention. He saw Jane trying to look away as if she felt suffocated by his presence.
Surprisingly, her mind was silent.
When he recalled that (fastening the seatbelt), he immediately do it in the speed of light.
Jane heaved a huge sigh of relief after Edric was back to his original position, at the same time, she felt embarrassed knowing that she acted such way.
"Sorry."
"It's fine. The police station is nearby. Let's go."
"Okay."
Edric then started the engine and drove off into the highway.
Seconds after, Jane frowned since she thought they were heading in a wrong direction.
"Wait! It's not the right way."
Though she's not from here, but she used Jane's memories as reference and yesterday, she passed by the police station while she was hunting for a lawyer.
"You want to see your Mama, right? I'm bringing you to her." Edric only answered her casually.
"But this is not the way to the police station?"
"Who told you that she's still in there?"
This caught Jane off-guard.