Always speak how you
feel and never be
sorry for being real.

__________________

"Ally, are you sure?" Hope asks for the eighth time.

I roll my eyes as I read the newspaper. It's been tiring for the past few days since the trial of Sienna's case and Daniel shouting at me. That case was a small disaster. I couldn't get out of my house for two days because the media surrounded my house and office. My friends were with me the whole time, consolidating for God knows what. I wasn't upset about what had happened, I was angry. You know why? Because I couldn't hit him when he dared to call me a whore indirectly. You know whom I'm talking about, right?

Daniel!

Right!

Adam and Ben looked like they don't know what the hell was happening while Cassy looked like she might faint. Hope was only one who thought I had gone nuts.

She's always the right one.

Shut up!

C'mon, I didn't do anything wrong. I was just watching Avengers, eating popcorn and supporting the super heros. You can't blame a girl for that especially when the men are getting hotter everyday.

My inner mind rolls her eyes at me.

They all expected me to either sit and cry or shout at everyone. I didn't do either because that's not how I work. I agree, it was depressing to watch your face flash in the TV as a blood sucking devil when I'm actually an angel deep inside.

Angel? You got to be kidding me.

That's how the world works. They question you when you make a difficult decision. The sooner we make a decision, the better chances we'll have. The media is going to burn us, people will feel bad. But if we're right and if we achieve results in the future then people will understand why we did what we did.

That's what happened in Sienna's case. I was cent percent sure that the case against Jacob was fake. Sienna wasn't raped though she says otherwise. On Friday, when I attended the third trial but my first trial in the case —since you know Jacob's attorney met with an accident and the case was passed to me – I did what I always do. I wore my best professional smile, fired my questions at Sienna, she panicked and that ended up in her tears. I agree, it was cruel of me to call her a gold digger but I had my reason. I questioned her intensions not her innocence. She wasn't able to answer even one question because the poor girl was shocked, terrified and disgusted with my questions, and moreover she didn't understand what was happening. Within minutes, the case was back in my hand and the chanceof me winning the case was above ninety percent.

Media started their usual job which is questioning the actions of one. There would have been no media if the accused one wasn't the son of the mayor. Yes, Jacob is the son of the mayor and that makes the news hot. I was too tired after the trial that I decided to take a small break before I attend Amanda's case but God wasn't helpful. Daniel barged in and shouted at me as if I killed someone. I get it, people find it difficult to understand my ways but that doesn't mean they can call me a whore.

To be frank, it somewhat hurts to know that he didn't trust me enough to ask me why I did this instead of jumping to conclusions. Maybe it hurt because I expected more from him and that was wrong of me. We had met just before three days and I should have known that this is how it's going to be. I still don't get why he took it more personal but I knew a part of him felt betrayed though I'm unaware of the reason.

Now, two days later, I'm standing in front of Sienna's house to talk to her. Hope thinks this is a bad idea but you know me, I really like bad ideas. I want to talk to her not because I hurt her but since I felt the need to help her.

I turn towards Hope. "How do I look?" I ask, twirling my dress slightly. I'm wearing my scoop neck chiffon green Bohemian dress and my kitten heels to go with it. I styled my hair into a loose plait, wore my green cloche hat to go with it.

"You look... green," she replies, her face cringing slightly.

"Perfect," I tell, grinning at her.

She frowns. "Why are you in a summer outfit when it's so cold?"

"I want to celebrate summer early," I said, moving towards Sienna's house, folding my newspaper and handing it to Hope.

"You've been acting a bit weird today. Are you alright?" she asks, following me. "Why are you reading newspaper instead of using your iPad?"

"iPad cannot give you the feel of reading newspaper. I'm absolutely free today so I wanna enjoy it my way. Got it?"

Hope shakes her head. "Not exactly."

I wink at her as I continue my journey. I choose to park my car a little far from Sienna's house so that I can walk towards her house.

Well... now where we?

Helping Sienna.

Right. Helping Sienna. Jacob called me after the trial and I swear this's the first time a client is upset because I helped him. He was so upset that he started crying. Jesus! That was horrible. The poor boy loves her though she's the reason why he's suffering today. That is why I decided to take matter into my hands.

It's already in your hands.

Yes, it is but only professional not personally. Anyway, my work will be less since I plan to end this fake case today. Then it's my perfect wedding.

You are planning to marry him?

I roll my eyes. Why will I not? Because he called me a whore? I'm not the one to back off when someone throws few words at me, my skin is much thicker than you can imagine.

So you're taking off from tomorrow?

Hmm.. Not exactly. Amanda's case is still going on. Last trial was better. Though I was stressed with Sienna's case, that didn't distract me from Amanda's case. I was able to prove that Heather wasn't in her right mind that night since she used drugs that day and Amanda was unaware of it. I have two more trials in hand and that's on Wednesday which is two days away from today. Next case is Merlin's case which may take more time than I expected since it's a custody case. They're so many things I need to consider.

"You need to stop day dreaming," Hope interrupts my thoughts. "We're here." I look around to find myself in the porch of Sienna's house, it's a small house which looks like it may fall any moment.

"I think it’s a bit of a stretch to call this a house, but okay." Hope laughs from behind me. "Very cute though!"

I huff out some air in annoyance as I knock on the door since I don't see a doorbell.

The door opens revealing a woman who looks like she might be in her early fifties. Her eyes widens when she catches the sight of me. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?" I ignore her shouting as I step inside the house.

I smile when I find Sienna sitting on the couch in their small living hall. Sienna's eyes widen when she sees me, she rises to her feet. She looks wary of me.

"Get out of here. I'm going to call the sheriff," the woman spats at me.

I turn towards the woman, grinning wide. "I would like a cup of coffee with less sugar," I tell her. She blinks at me.

"I would like to talk to you. Can you come with me?" I ask Sienna, her brows furrows but I could see her nod her head lightly.

"What?" The woman shrieks. "I'm going to call the sheriff."

"Just so you are aware," Hope whispers in my ear as we move towards the door, "The lady looks like she might kill you and remember, you're really young. I don't want to be a witness for your murder and worse is I don't want you to die so that I don't loose my job."

"And how do I look?" I ask, shaking my head and staring at her.

She frowns, looking perplexed. "Like you don't care?"

"Exactly," I whisper. "Come," I tell Sienna as I start walking. Sienna and Hope follows me without another word.

We walk together down the house to the roads. It looks beautiful around here with less vehicles, the sun shining bright and wind dancing around us. We walk another three blocks before I stop in my tracks, turns towards Sienna. She looks at me with disgust and hatred.

Can't blame the girl.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask, my voice polite.

Sienna raises her brows. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I sigh, shaking my head. "Why are you accusing a boy of abusing you when he did nothing of that sort?"

I look down at her fingers which are knotted. She gazes at me from beneath her lashes. "I'm telling the truth."

Hope and I shared a look. I give her a small smile before I turn towards Sienna. "Generally, I don't do these private visits," I start, a smile playing on my lips. "But I choose to do otherwise because my client isn't happy with what has happened."

Sienna looks perplexed.

"Jacob called me and shouted at me for making you cry. He told me that you didn't deserve what had happened in the court. He was crying," I state, folding my hands against my chest.

Tears forms in her eyes prompts me to continue. "I know.. you need money for your sister's surgery but do you think this is the right way to get the money?"

She freezes, her eyes widening, tears escaping and rolling down her cheeks. "I.. I didn't mean to go this far. Aunt told me that the compensation can help me with Anna's surgery. I.. I didn't.. know.." She starts crying. Hope rushes to her side, holding her and rubbing her back.

Anna is Sienna's eight year old sister who has a heart problem and requires a surgery as soon as possible which lead Sienna to the stupid idea of case and compensation.

I shake my head. "Do you really think that your sister is going to get a happy life after spoiling Jacob's life? You know what's actually happening? His father, the mayor, has been tore into pieces by the media. His sister can't go to school because she's getting bullied due to this case. His mother had to quit her job. The whole family is affected, the media is enjoying by throwing garbage at the whole family, humiliating them." I shake my head as I stare at the pale girl in front of me. "Forget about them. Think about you. I can prove that this is a fake in the next trial and do you know what will happen to you for all the lies you had blurted out in the court? Do you know the consequences? If you want money, you could have asked Jacob, he would have been happy to give you that."

She sobs, shaking her head. "I'm sorry," she cries, looking weak and sick.

"Listen, I can help you. There's no use of moving forward with this case, it can only cause you trouble."

She nods, tears not stopping. "I.. I'll do as you say. I.. I don't wanna hurt anyone. I just want to save my sister's life, she's just eight years old."

There it is! One of the other reason why I want to help her. It hurts knowing your sister's life is in danger and you need to do something. Just like me.

I turn my gaze towards Hope. She smiles at me. "I had already paid the amount required for your sister's surgery," I inform. Sienna gasps.

A pause followed in which Sienna thoughtfully looked away before saying gently, "You did?" I nod my head. "Why will you do that? I can't pay yo-"

I lift my hand indicating her to stop. "Go with Hope and she'll help you sort out the mess you made. And about the money, it's not free. You have five years to pay it back to me with interest," I inform her, shifting my hat slightly. "I heard you got a scholarship for your college. Take it, study, do something you wish to do and never do something stupid like this. Anyway, how did you get those bruises?"

She bites the her lip. "My uncle," she mutters. Jesus!

I turn towards Hope. "Take her from here and do the arrangements to cancel the case. Call the media and let her give them a statement." Hope nods, looking satisfied.

I grin at Sienna. "Goodbye and I'm not sorry for what I did in the court. You seriously deserved it, you don't have the right to take someone's life from them no matter what the reason is. That boy loves you, if your tears have some value then it should be wasted in front of him and his family. Take care."

Sienna stares at me with tears. "Thank you."

I don't say anything, I just walk away without another word.

Three days later, I stood in Judge's house, grinning at him. "How do I look?" I ask Judge, wearing my chef cap.

Mm.. Joker?

He rolls his eyes. "Ridiculous," he mutters under his breathe.

I frown. "That's rude, Mister," I tell him as I move towards his kitchen. Hope's settled on the kitchen counter, taking sips from her coffee.

"Tell me, are you gonna give me an off since you're taking a break for three months," she says, her voice going up a few octaves. 

I shake my head. "This break is just for me. Not you." I point my finger at her. "You're expected to work everyday as usual despite my absence in the office."

Hope sighs. "Fine," she mutters.

I grab the knife and starts cutting the bread only to mess it up. I growl loudly in annoyance. Why am I so bad at cooking?

Because you only know to eat not to cook!

I look over at Judge, and he doesn't share a bright smile. It's more of a grimace.

"Right," he finally spits out in a clipped voice before curling up the corner of his mouth in a fake smile and switching over to an even faker voice. "If you'll be so kind as to follow me, then we can cook something and finally have dinner."

"Does it make me a bad person if your misery is bringing me quite a lot of enjoyment right now?" Hope snorts, laughter still bubbling up out of her every few seconds as she tries to contain herself. "Oh, what do I care? Being nice is for the underprivileged and people with no sense." When has she gone this crazy?

After working with you?

Shut up!

"This way," Judge mutters, cutting the pieces carefully but quick enough. "Don't crush them, be smooth but focus. Use that brain of yours even outside the court otherwise you're not going to survive for long. I've been trying to teach you cooking since a year and all you know is to make eggs."

"I'm trying," I mutter, his face softens. "And I did learn to make cookies and pie."

Hope raises her hand before she says, "I agree with that. Her cookies are the best though I don't want to admit it."

"She learnt to bake when she started working in a bakery at the time of her college, it just stuck with her," he explains. "And it's stuck with me too since she drops tons of cookies here. I don't understand how you get time only to make cookies."

"I need to win the cases and I have to bribe you which needs cookies," I reply, giving him my best grin.

"Jesus! She never stops this nonsense," Judge scoffs, walking across the room to stand in front of the small fireplace. Did I tell you that Judge have a fireplace in his house?

Don't most of the people?

It's just so pretty and I love sitting there. We taunt each other for others and Hope interrupts us in between with her useless jokes. This is pretty much my home but don't tell them.

"The cutting is better. She'll be fine today," Hope states with a wave of her hand as she takes another sip from her coffee. "Your wedding is just three days far and everything is fantastic so far. I guess tomorrow is your last day in the office untill the next three months."

I nod my head, my eyes on the bread. "Since the two cases are done, only one is left which is Merlin's case and that will take time. I'll take care of it later." I grab a bowl and follow the instructions Judge has written down on a sheet of paper for me. I put the small bread pieces into the bowl, adds some water and let it soak for few minutes.

"Anyway, you did a wonderful job. I didn't expect all this mess to end up soon. I didn't think Heather would admit everything in the court. It was shocking. How did you do it?" Hope asks, raising her brows.

"She herself didn't know that the girl would confess," Judge says in a low, annoyed voice, finally turning away from the fire to cross his arms over his chest and give me another pointed stare.

"I knew she would confess," I fire back in annoyance.

Liar!

Right.

Actually I didn't know that the girl would confess. Yesterday was Amanda's trial and it went fantastically. I requested the jury to let me question Heather once again and that ended up in her confessing that she's the one who turned the wheel causing the accident. The whole court was surprised including me. I mean I knew she'd did it but I didn't expect her to accept it soon.

I guess she was angry. Well, that was my intention too. I fired up questions patiently, kept coming back to the same point again and again, tried to embarrass her slightly and as a result she just burst out. It took me few seconds to realize that she actually told the truth that she's one who turned the wheel. That's the power of anger, they have the strength to push you down as well as pull you up.

I still remember the expression on the faces of Ella's family. They couldn't meet Amanda's eyes but what I liked was the stupid grin plastered on Travis' face. He really likes Amanda though he's scared to take a step. I expected Amanda to jump up and down in happiness but she didn't, she choose to give me a small smile but that did hold a lot of emotions.

"Will Heather get fifteen years like Amanda would have?" Hope asks, taking another sip from her coffee.

I shake my head as I grab the necessary ingredients. "No. Amanda may have got more years since there's a chance for the accident to be on purpose but in Heather's case, it's not purpose. Moreover, Amanda's statement is not against Heather so that makes it an accident with no hidden motive. But since she Heather lied in the court, there's a chance for investigation and she may get more than five years," I explain as I mash the soaked bread pieces with a fork.

Since the two cases are down so that makes only one more to go. Merlin's case, which will take time since there's a lot to negotiate. It's about a child's custody so we need to clear about many things and I'm not satisfied with the previous attorney's route. He could have done more, the child support asked from the father is too low when we check the fact that he can afford it. And it was mentioned nowhere about the abuse and the possibility of the danger that can be thrown at the child. Maybe these are the reasons why Judge asked me yo help Merlin.

"So how's Sienna?" Judge asks, walking over to me.

"She's good. I heard she's back with Jacob, they would make a sweet couple," Hope gushes, her eyes softening.

After our confrontation, Sienna went with Hope and cancelled the case. It had so many complications since the trial has already been started but we managed to get her out of it. She admitted to the media that she was lying including her motives and the reasons behind them. Her uncle was arrested after she reported against him in the police station which was according to my instruction. Her sister's surgery is scheduled next week and all is well so far. I heard Jacob and Sienna are trying to work out their relationship again. That was expected.

"Gossip columns are enjoying your new cases. Everything is interesting and moreover the misery of your engagement hasn't revealed yet," Hope says, smiling at me.

I posted a picture of my hand with my engagement ring sparkling in instagram but didn't give a caption or anything about the fiancé. Media has started digging through my dating history but found nothing. Since Daniel and I haven't met for the past few days so they can't conclude anything and I decided not to give a statement.

Sometimes curiosity really helps.

Don't forget, curiosity killed the cat.

But I don't have a cat.

Jesus!

I lift my head to meet Hope's eyes. "Tomorrow you have to go for the final fitting of your dress," I remind her. Angel had called me earlier informing me that the bridesmaid dresses are ready. Cassy, Angel, Phoenix and Ashley are the bridesmaid while Hope is the maid of honor.

Hope scowls, she eyes me as if I'd killed someone. "You never asked me to become your maid of honor. You just ordered to go and select the dress."

I roll my eyes sensing her annoyance. "You're always near me so the best way to do that during my wedding is to be my maid of honor. It's a part of your job so no asking and begging." I take the ingredients, add them to the bowl and starts mixing them.

"Rude," she mutters, throwing another glare at me.

"Mix them," Judge instructs, nodding his head at the bowl.

I give him a small grin before I turn my full attention to the bowl. I mix them using my hands without breaking the bowl like last time.

You're always a mess!

"Your dad was upset when I told him that you don't want him to walk you down the aisle," Hope tells softly as she grabs cookie from the tray and takes a large bite causing the crumbles to fall onto her lap.

"I don't care," I tell her. "Judge will do it."

"No," Judge interrupts me, his face filled with annoyance.

I shrug my right shoulder as if it doesn't matter. "If not you then I would ask Adam or Ben to do it but not my father," I declare, my tone sharp. There's silence in the room for another few minutes as I finish mixing the ingredients. I wash my hands, wipe them and gets back to the work in hand. I start rolling the mixture but stops when I hear a growl from Judge.

"You're not going to play with those balls, it's for eating so make it small," he snaps. I give him a sheepish grin before I resume my rolling.

After one hour, we three sat around the dining table to have our dinner. Spaghetti and meatballs are one of my favorites.

"Not bad," Hope comments after tasting my food. "You did much better this time. Nothing is burnt."

Judge doesn't say anything instead choose to have his food in silence but I know he liked it. I have been trying to learn this recipe for the past three weeks but didn't work out well.

I'm surprised that they're still alive.

Shut up!

"Have you talked to Daniel?" Judge asks out of nowhere causing me to choke slightly. I signal him to wait using my left as I grab a glass of water and takes small sips.

I breathe out. "He called me but didn't any reason to attend the call. He came to my voice to meet but I asked the security to escort him out without meeting him," I state, placing the glass on the table.

"I don't know what's your plan but you really should talk to him since you intend to get married to Daniel," Hope says, turning her towards me. She places the fork on her plate, focusing completely on me. "Allison, you have to stay with him for the period of six months so avoiding each other is not an option especially if you want to help him. He might have shouted at you but you need to let him talk so that he can explain himself. When he thought that you were doing something wrong, he reacted. Though what he said was wrong, you still can't ignore him forever. So call him."

I roll my eyes. "Nice speech," I mutter, focusing on my food.

Hope grabs her phone, types something and then the an audio starts playing.

"I'm sorry." I freeze when I recognize the voice. "I shouldn't shouted at you. I was angry and I.. I'm sorry. You're right. This is not going to work, we shouldn't do this marriage but it's too late to change anything now. So I think we continue our deal without interfering in each other's business. I assure you that I wouldn't come into your personal life again. I'm sorry."

I roll my eyes again after the audio ends. If Daniel thinks that I won't interfere in his personal matters then he can't be anymore wrong than that. I choose not to talk to him because I wanted to give him a dose of his own medicine but that doesn't mean I would continue this silent war for six months. The main reason why I agreed for this wedding is because he's a damn good kisser and I don't plan to remain celibate for six months. There's no way I would let him cheat on me and I wouldn't get out of his life until I do what I planned to do.

I choose him!

"Talk to that boy," Judge orders. "After all he has to tolerate you for another six months."

Right!

Shut up!

Hey, guys!

Ready for Allison's wedding? It's in the next chapter. Feel free to tell me your thoughts and vote if you like the chapter. Waiting for your response.

Take care, guys. Stay safe and happy.

Allison