"We the jury find the defendant, Frank William Foster, not guilty."
Most people gasped when the verdict was announced, a few others cheered.
Carla just felt numb.
She wasn't exactly surprised that he'd been found not guilty. After Frank's solicitor had revealed those photos of her and Peter to the court, her credibility had been shot to hell. Leanne's little outburst hadn't helped either. Being called a "lying cow" by one of her few supporters had been more than enough to convince the jury to believe Frank's version of events over hers.
Carla had expected Peter to run after Leanne when she fled the courtroom in tears, but he had surprised her by staying. His presence was comforting. She could sense his anger though.
He wanted to kill Frank and in her current state of mind, Carla almost wished that he would.
"Come on, Love. Let's get you out of here." Michelle's soothing voice coaxed Carla out of the daze she had been in. Without saying a word, she took her sister-in-law's hand and followed her out of the courtroom.
Most of the crowd had dispersed by now. Norris and his annoying little sidekick Mary had fled almost immediately after the verdict was read. With those two busybodies on the loose, Carla was certain that news of Frank's innocence and her affair with Peter was already making the rounds.
Carla wondered if she would ever be able to face everyone again.
"I can't believe they've let him get away with this." Maria said, wrapping her arms around Carla in a show of support. "Have you spoken to your solicitor? Maybe you can appeal?"
"It's over, Maria. He's won." Carla declared, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Maria, can you stay with her while I go and fetch us a cab?" Michelle asked, squeezing Carla's shoulder reassuringly.
"Of course, yeah." Maria replied, moving to stand beside Carla as Michelle left the courthouse.
"It's gonna be alright, ya know. Frank will get what's coming to him eventually." Maria promised, although she didn't sound very convinced.
"And until then, he gets to walk the streets a free man while I get branded as a home wrecking liar…again."
"This isn't the same situation, even I can see that." Maria admitted, the awkwardness of the conversation evident in her tone of voice. Carla felt sorry for her. Must not be easy trying to console the woman who tried to steal your husband, but bless her heart for trying.
"I hated you for a really long time, ya know." Maria confessed.
"You should still hate me. I was an evil, manipulative cow back then."
"Yeah, you were." Maria agreed, smiling to try and ease the tension. "But you've changed. The old Carla would have jumped into bed with Peter ages ago – to hell with Leanne and Simon."
"Oh, believe me. It weren't for lack of trying." Carla admitted.
"When you broke down in tears after Peter and Leanne's wedding ceremony, it let me see a different side of you." Maria continued, ignoring Carla's comment. "Ya know, it's easy to be angry when you're the wife who's been scorned. But until then, I never realised how hard it must have been for you – loving someone so much when you know you shouldn't."
"I'm sure it were even harder when that someone was an idiot who kept on denying that he loved you too." Peter muttered under his breath, interrupting their conversation.
"I thought you'd left." Carla lied. She knew he had been there the whole time, standing a safe distance away as if he were afraid to approach her. Their affair may be public knowledge now, but it just didn't seem right for them to be seen together just yet.
"I'm not going anywhere, Love." Peter vowed, reaching out to gently stroke her cheek.
"I should go see what's keeping Michelle…" Maria interjected, sensing that the two lovers needed some privacy.
"No, you're alright. We'll come with you. I want to get the hell out of here." Carla sighed, already making her way towards the front doors of the courthouse.
"Alright then, let's go." Maria agreed as she took Carla by the hand and lead her down the front steps of the old building, with Peter following close behind. As the three of them made their way towards Michelle and the waiting cab, Carla stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Frank and his gang of supporters hanging about on the street.
"Come on, darling." Sally Webster said, loud enough for Carla to hear. "Let's go out and celebrate."
"That's a fabulous idea, Sally." Anne Foster declared, taking her son by the arm as the three of them got in to their waiting car.
"Just ignore 'em" Peter whispered into her ear, his hand on the small of her back.
"That's easier said than done." Carla replied, her voice strained as she desperately tried to keep the tears at bay.
"Ladies, I want to thank you for all of your support today. It really means a lot – to both of us." Peter addressed both Michelle and Maria, smiling in gratitude as he opened the cab door for them. "I'll take Carla home meself. It's been a long day, she needs her rest."
"Are you sure?" Michelle asked, her question obviously directed at Carla.
"Yeah, go on. I'll be fine." She smiled.
"Call me if you need anything." Maria said as she hugged Carla goodbye and got into the cab.
"I'm gonna stop at a hotel tonight – give you two some space." Michelle suggested.
"Don't be daft." Carla replied, although the thought of being completely alone with Peter was tempting. She wanted to crawl into his arms and just forget the rest of the world even existed.
"It's time I start looking for a place of me own, anyroad. I've been stopping at yours for so long, me mum's beginning to worry that I've switched teams – if ya know what I mean." Michelle teased, and despite her somber mood Carla couldn't help but laugh.
"I'll miss you."
"Don't worry, you'll still see plenty of me at work." Michelle assured her. "Speaking of which, don't you even think about stepping foot in that factory tomorrow!"
"I've still got a business to run, Michelle. I can't let him take that away from me in all."
"You've also got a very capable assistant manager who will keep everything at the factory running smoothly until you return." Michelle declared as she leaned forward to kiss Carla on the cheek. "I'll call you later."
And with that, her best friend got into the cab and closed the door behind her. Carla just stood there, hands stuffed in her pockets as she watched the car drive off down the street.
"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Peter asked as the pair of them stood in the middle of the street, neither one of them knowing what they should do next.
This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen.
It had started to rain – the cold, wet drops of water pouring down on them both. Carla was completely drenched, but even the rain wasn't enough to mask her tears – mascara running down her face as she finally allowed herself to cry.
"C'mere." Peter whispered as he quickly gathered her up in his arms, holding her close as she sobbed.
"He's not gonna get away with this." Peter vowed, gently running his fingers through her damp hair as her tears finally began to subside.
"He already has." Carla replied, and the pain in her voice nearly broke his heart.
"Come on. Let's go home."