All Chapters of She's Still A Laurent, Just Not Yours. : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

SophieThe entire courtroom froze. For the first time throughout the case, I felt Hayes' gaze waver. It caught my attention and I turned to face him. His eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw clenched. He looked away from me. His hand met his face and wiped the beads of sweat that formed. He returned his gaze to me and blinked, still in disbelief. Olivia, on the other hand, looked almost joyous. Her lips spread into a smile then at Hayes’s scoff, they dropped. She sniffed and wore a plain expression. My gaze shifted to Noah who seemed more scared than anyone else in this courtroom. His face had gone pale, eyes wide and eyebrows raised. His fingers that fidgeted in his lap halted when he met my gaze. Then his lips moved. My eyebrows twitched, as I tried to make out the words he’d said. “Mrs. Sophie,” Hayes’s attorney called. I tore my gaze from Noah and met his. “Hmm”.“Can you kindly repeat yourself?” He urged.I took a breath and attempted to muster the same confidence I had

Sophie“Where is your client?” The judge asked angrily.Heads turned, including mine. Hayes was no longer sited next to his attorney. His attorney reached for the documents on his table and pulled it to himself. He looked visibly anxious; like it was an act he couldn’t control. “Your honor, my client seems—” he paused and groaned. He tapped his chest repeatedly as he searched for what to say next. I wouldn't blame the attorney at all. Hayes couldn’t care less about this divorce. He had probably thought it was a prank and when it got too tough, he left. If only life awarded me such grace; to easily leave when things got too tough.“Your honor, my client had something urgent to attend to,” His attorney explained. Immediately after he spoke, he avoided the gaze of the judge. His eyes met the jury’s judging eyes. They all had a frown as they questioned their judgement. They whispered between themselves and I guessed the question that worried them was where was Hayes? He was just abo

Sophie“I need to know you’re okay with this,” Dominic said after he pulled the door open. He stared at me, searching for an answer.“I am,” I nodded.He nodded in return before he stepped aside. I climbed down then took a few steps forward. When I heard the door shut, I took in a breath. “This way,” he ordered as he headed towards the front doors and I followed. I looked around the hospital, although I had seen it many times. I forced a smile at the nurse that waved in my direction. I wasn’t sure if the wave was directed at me or Dominic. I shifted my gaze to Dominic. He didn’t glance at the nurses or patients. He kept his head high as he took a turn. I followed, my attention now on him till we arrived at his office. He pushed the door open and walked in. “Give me a minute,” he said as he made his way to his chair. Everything in his office was placed neatly. There was no speck of dust and I was sure whoever cleaned it kept the placement of everything by memory. He stretched his

Sophie“Hayes must be crazy,” I said with my arms crossed as I sank into the chair, hoping how comfortable I was would get my mind off him. It didn’t work. My mind still ran back to his words because I had watched the interview on my way back to Cesca’s home. I jerked forward. “I can’t believe he said that. No, I can’t believe he even told the press about this because he was the same person that said we should keep the whole marriage away from the press”.Cesca returned from the kitchen with a glass of water. He placed it on the table before sitting next to me.I turned to her. “I need something stronger. I don’t need water”.“Just take this before we talk about how crazy he is,” she suggested. My eyebrows furrowed as I glanced at the glass of water. My throat did ache from all the yelling. I glanced back at her. She urged “Just have it first”.I sighed. “Fine”.I stretched towards the table with my gaze on her.I missed it. I turned to the table and grabbed it. I pulled it to m

Sophie“I know it isn’t you, Dominic. You’re only saying that to protect Sophie but she doesn’t need your protection,” Hayes protested. “Just admit you didn’t do it, I have proof. Tell everyone it was Sophie”.Dominic didn’t say a word. Hayes groaned. He was annoyed that he couldn’t get a reaction from Dominic that favored him. He shifted his gaze to his father who had the worst frown on his face; eyebrows furrowed, jaw clenched and lips pressed into a thin line. He had his eyes on Dominic. “Are you sure of what you say, Dominic?”Before Dominic could response, Hayes added. “I knew that it had to be Sophie that leaked the news but I wasn’t sure and didn’t know how to go about it but Olivia did. She also has the good of the company at heart, that’s why she used your resources and found out it was Sophie that leaked the news.”Hayes’s father’s gaze shifted to Sophie who had fear written all over her. She had gone rigid, her hands between his laps and her gaze glued to the ground. “Do