Norman watched his brother walk to the seat opposite his and sit there, with his hands firmly cuffed. He didn't look so good. In fact, he looked pretty horrible, as though he'd not had a good sleep in days.

"Hey." Mac greeted casually, opting out of the staring contest.

"Ken said you wanted to see me," Norman said and he wondered how his brother had been able to keep up with this act for one month. No matter how much Ken had tried to persuade him into believing otherwise, it was just too difficult to think there was any other side to Mac - A good one at that.

Mac bit on his lower lip. "It's not like I said that. I guess Ken-"

"If you don't want to see me, it's fine." He interrupted him and made an attempt to get up.

"Hey." Mac called for his attention and Norman could read the conflicting thoughts right off his face. "This place is too disgusting you can't stand it for a minute?"

Norman reluctantly settled in the chair. He knew he wasn't ready to sit here or listen to anything Mac had to say, but he couldn't take Ken's pestering anymore.

"So, how're you?" Mac asked fiddling with his fingers, which was probably the only movement he could afford due to the handcuffs.

"Beatris has left me. We got divorced and she won't accept a dime from me. My only friend Leonard is not speaking to me anymore. It was his idea to sell the company to cut all ties with me. I got bored of working there anyway. And..." He looked up to see his brother who was watching him intently. "There's the case of that crazy doctor that thinks I'm some kind of evil person," He muttered the last statement and expected some sort of reaction or judgement from Mac. None came.

Those were certainly not the words that the psychologist had used. He felt like she was trying her best to be nice and friendly to him while she explained and went through his diagnosis, but he wasn't dumb enough to take her word for it. He made his own research and it was all over there on the internet what the doctor and the rest of the world preferred to think of him.

"Yeah... Ken told me," Mac replied.

"Great. So, you can be rest assured that even though you're stuck in this hell hole, you've not lost completely because my life is still shit," he replied with a smile on his face.

"Norman..." His voice was barely audible and his eyes held both worry and pity.

Norman shook his head as he scoffed. "I can't do this. I just can't sit here and pretend like there is anything right between us." He let out a deep sigh.

"I'm not asking you to pretend. I just... I just want you to..." Mac trailed off. One would presume that it'd be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for him to successfully say he was sorry. "Tomorrow is the final hearing for my case."

Norman adjusted on his seat. "I know. It's also your last chance to say the truth. I'd love to see how that plays out." He smiled.

"Are you scared?" Mac asked.

Norman smiled. "Are you?"

There was a play of silence for a minute before Mac finally nodded. "Yes. I'm scared," he said and his eyes travelled to the table. "That is why I probably told Ken that I wanted to see you."

"Why? You thought I was going to comfort you and make you feel better?" Norman chuckled.

"No. I thought you were going to annoy me and make me feel... better." His voice reduced as he uttered the last word.

There was another awkward silence between them and as much as they both hated it, they were well aware all of this was inevitable if they really wanted to navigate the path of trying to make any sense of their screwed up relationship.

"How can you still be here now that you know I'm a bad person?" Norman asked.

Mac hesitated for a while, before letting out a light smile. "There are no good people or bad people, there are just people with flaws. You either take control of them, or let them define who you are. Norman, you're brave. Much braver than I am. And this decision... I don't care if it's right or wrong, I only care that it gives you another chance to be the man that you can be."

Norman looked away first and got up. "Good luck, brother," he said taking one last glance at Mac before attempting to walk out, ignoring the man who obviously would've preferred him to stay longer.

"Are you gonna be there?" Mac asked.

"Do you want me there?" He replied and his brother was dumbfounded. Norman didn't wait for Mac's answer before walking out.

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Leo, you know I'm not supposed to be here," Elaine said with a frown on her face as she approached him and was pulled into an embrace immediately by the man who appeared very fidgety and nervous.

"Thanks for coming," he said as he released her and took a look around the hospital lobby.

She folded her hands across her chest. "We had an agreement. Your wife would not want me to be here."

"Ex-wife." Leonard corrected her pointedly and awaited a reaction but she insisted on not giving him any. "It's not like she wants me here either. She's not been speaking directly to me for the two weeks you forced me to be in that house and she kicked me out of the labor room." He complained.

Elaine smiled. "I'm not going to say you don't deserve it."

He was a little downcast, feeling like he was already giving his child reasons to hate him. Just like his father did. It felt like a vicious cycle, from one broken home to another.

However, he had to struggle to believe that the fact that he was not married to Sara anymore didn't necessarily mean he couldn't be a good father. Norman had used that emotional blackmail against him, but now he knew better.

Leonard was about to reply when the doctor approached them.

"How's my baby? And my..." He turned to face Elaine who'd looked away to avoid any awkward eye contact. "Sara," he said.

"They're both in very good condition. Congratulations she delivered a beautiful girl!" He announced with a smile on his face.

"Oh my God!" Leonard exclaimed as he turned to embrace the unsuspecting Elaine. He hadn't experienced such an exhilarating feeling all his life. He was now a father to a little girl and he couldn't even understand why he'd dreaded this day so much nine months ago.

Not having a perfect family and a father that had failed in so many ways was a major contributing factor. But he wasn't going to let anything hold him back anymore. Not his fears. Not his past. This was a chance to start over and do his very best.

"Can I see them?" He extended his hand for a shake.

"Of course!" The doctor said accepting his handshake before walking away.

"Congratulations, Leo," Elaine said and no matter how much she tried to hide it, he could see the pools of sadness in her eyes.

"Elaine-" He tried to take hold of her hands but she moved away.

"I don't know what I'm doing here. Am I here to celebrate with a family I ruined? Leo, I don't know... you'd have all been happy together, your child would've gotten the chance to-"

He moved closer to her, holding her cheek and silencing her with his eyes before leaning down to place a kiss on her soft lips. "You're here because you love me. And sometimes, we chose love over what is right because this feeling... It's overwhelming. It's too much to hide inside or go through alone. That child is mine and eventually, she's going to have to accept you as her mother too."

Elaine tried to look away but he wouldn't let her. "Leo, I don't know if I'm a good person. I don't know if that would ever happen."

"Then we're going to try and try again till we get it right. You have nothing to be afraid of." He assured her.

"Thank you so much for loving me. Thank you for not giving up on me. I'm going to try so hard. I promise to love her just as much as I love you. I'll never stop," she said breathlessly and her beautiful brown eyes were filled with tears of joy.

-----------------------------------------------------------

🎶 There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb 🎶

Beatris opted for an open top as she drove her convertible down the highway, singing along to the song playing on the radio with a loud, terrible voice, embracing the sweet taste of freedom.

Brianna frustratedly reduced the volume of the music and turned to face her sister. "We both agree I love you very much, but I ain't gonna watch you murder my favourite song like this."

Beatris laughed as she took a glance at her little sister. She'd never understand the feeling of being in bondage, bearing so many burdens, running away from so many memories for such a long time and finally getting freedom.

"Bibi, I think I have just been existing and not really living. This is what living feels like!" She exclaimed.

"To say I'm loving this new Beatris would be the understatement of the year," Brianna replied with a brilliant smile on her face.

"It feels so great to be a free woman. I have the chance to dream again. I have an experience to learn from. And above all, I have a lesson to teach others."

"Awww. But you forgot to mention you're loaded, sissy!" Brianna said excitedly dancing on her seat.

"Well... There's that too," Beatris replied with a sigh.

She could remember specifically telling that man she didn't want anything from him after their divorce and a few days later, a great amount of money had been sent to her bank account from an unknown source. She had no doubts who'd done that because the exact words of the texts she received afterwards were, 'It's not from Norman'.

She was sceptical about accepting it but had just decided to look on the bright side. This was a great opportunity to live life on her own terms.

Beatris exhaled as she felt the wind rush past her through the open roof, seducing her hair to dance to it's tune. She knew this was a sign of hope. Hope to live again. Hope to love again.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Norman listened impatiently and attentively as the judge delivered her final statement. He didn't know what to expect but there was not a lot of hope for his brother, who for the first time was innocent.

The whole courtroom adhered to his silence and he could see the anticipation on everyone's faces. Mac turned to faced him momentarily with a smile tugging at his lips. Norman was relieved he had guessed right. His brother did want him to come.

Their brief moment was cut short as the judge proceeded, giving Mac a life sentence with a possibility of parole in twenty five years.

After the resounding impact the hammer made with the table, everywhere fell silent and Norman sat there alone, lost in his thoughts.