a/n: Honestly speaking, I really wanted to post once every two weeks or so. However, certain things happened in life that put me out of the mood to write. If you don't want to read about it, skip to the story. If you do, read on. Either way, enjoy!

So there's a thing called college everyone's been working towards since let's say...kindergarten. And especially for the last four years of my life, college had always been the main goal. Get good grades, take AP classes, do some extracurriculars, ace the SATs...all for the sake of getting into a good college. So let's just say that I got rejected from my first choice (UCLA, btw). No big deal? Wrong. I've been a bit bummed out lately, wallowing in my own self pity and whatnot.

But now that I've decided to move on (somewhat) and head on over to another UC instead, this chapter was influenced by my experience. I won't spoil the ending for you, but if you pay enough attention to Elizabeth's reaction, you'll see how I'm trying to take life at the moment.

I meant to write a longer chapter, but that would have taken even longer. And you guys have waited long enough, so I put some things out of my way to get it done.


There she was again, stuck in that same courtroom. The last place on earth she wanted to be. Elizabeth lazily glanced around the room, frowning at the sound of a fly buzzing about. How she hated flies.

The session had begun ten minutes ago, and the judge was droning on about something extremely pointless. It wasn't her fault that she zoned out. In fact, everyone else in the room had gone off on their own tangents. Nobody wanted to listen to a reiteration of laws that divorces had to follow. They'd just wanted to get it done and over with.

George sat on the other side of the room, texting away on his phone. Next to him, his lawyer wore a snobby look on his face, as if it'd be better if he were the one doing the talking. His elbows were crossed and his expression was apathetic.

Elizabeth found the sight of them distasteful and pursed her lips. She sighed and idly looked at the papers in front of her. Absentmindedly, she picked up her pen and began to tap it against the table. She felt like she was back in her school days, stuck in some room with a professor who was good as dead.

The slanted angle of Mr. Collin's nose caught her eye and she began to draw. Tracing his profile with exaggerated lines, she drew something that looked half pig, half chimpanzee. There was no doubt that Mr. Collins remotely resembled those animals, but there was also a reason why she'd failed art class in grade school.

She'd just gotten started on coloring in his large pupils before she felt a breath down her neck. She nearly yelped in surprise as Mr. Collins crookedly leaned his head over her shoulder to see what she was drawing. Elizabeth froze in horror. She wished she'd chosen to draw pretty butterflies instead.

To her relief, Mr. Collins merely chuckled amusedly at her portrait and resumed his position. Elizabeth left out a tiny sigh of relief, glad for once that Mr. Collins's lofty character made it impossible for him to make the connection between her drawing and his appearance.

Her attention soon shifted back to the familiar buzzing of the fly. Following the sound, she eyed the fly as it landed right in front of her. 'Oh, you are so dead,' she thought, grinning to herself.

Wham!

The slamming of a stack of papers as it met the surface of the desk echoed loudly throughout the wooden room.

"Aha!" Elizabeth victoriously declared out loud.

Glad that the buzzing was no longer there, she shifted back into her seat to finish her drawing, but soon realized that something was amiss. The droning in the court had stopped. When she glanced up and looked around, she surprised to see the faces of every occupant in the room turned towards her. She had been a bit too loud in projecting her triumphant glee.

"Yeah…err…there was a fly," she awkwardly said, gawkily waving her finger around in the air to imitate how the fly flew. "And I killed it."

Across the room, George's lawyer snorted.

"Yes, Miss Bennet, it's quite obvious that you've killed it," Will smirked, pointing to the stack of papers on top of the fly.

"And it's quite obvious that you are unappreciative of my efforts," she shot back. "Most people would clap their hands and worship me for having enough coordination to terminate the existence of any fly."

The lawyer opened his mouth to proclaim his rebuttal, but the judge sensed a change in the atmosphere and spoke before him.

"Flies or no flies, this court case will continue."

Elizabeth shot an indignant glance at Will, whose face now harbored irritation from not being able to express his thought.

"We must bring our attention to the subject of property division," the judge began, peering at Elizabeth over his spectacles.

Straightening up in her seat, Elizabeth put her pen down. The judge was finally getting to what she had been waiting for.

"A settlement between the properties will be issued fairly between both of you," the judge said, scratching his forehead.

"I'm totally fine with the jurisdiction, as long as I get my inheritance and equal share," Elizabeth said, happy that the judge was going to settle the affair fairly.

"You speak with paradox, Miss Bennet."

A voice from the other side of the room whipped away Elizabeth's momentary relief. Elizabeth looked over at Will and raised her eyebrows, demanding an explanation.

"You want an equal share of property division, correct?" Will asked.

"Who doesn't? If he doesn't, I'll happily take his part," she answered, glaring at George.

"And you want your inheritance as well, right?" he asked again.

"Yes."

Elizabeth sensed that the lawyer was planning something against her, but had no choice but to answer in the affirmative again.

"Then do you want to tell me how it's fair for you to have both your equal share and your inheritance on top of that?"

Elizabeth's temper dangerously rose. How she hated people who got around catching loopholes in another's words.

"As a lawyer, I was sure that you'd be able to tell between what is fair or not. Apparently, I'm mistaken," she retorted. "But we do have this guy here to settle the matters," she finished, jerking her head at the judge and glancing hopefully at him.

When she turned to look at the judge, she found him staring back at her with somber eyes.

"Miss Bennet, it is only fair that both parties divide up all aspects of property equally. Mr. Darcy has kindly provided me with a set of stringent rules stating that all joint accounts must be divided."

She couldn't believe it. Elizabeth's eyes grew wide and she opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Finally, she shook her head defiantly and stared back at the judge.

"What kind of nonsensical madness is that?" she questioned loudly, angrily crossing her arms.

"Law, Miss Bennet," Will emphasized as he interrupted, "is never nonsense."

'Shut up, Mr. I-Think- I-Know-It-All,' Elizabeth thought bitterly, completely ignoring his statement and keeping her eyes on the judge.

"Well?" she repeated, her brows furrowing in annoyance.

"The account was under Mr. Wickham's name as well. As long as it's under both of your names, it has to be split," the judge calmly explained as he tried to shrug off Elizabeth's mounting anger.

"Well, is that fair? I don't think so. Was George's name in my dad's will? I don't think so. Did my father even know of George's existence in the world? I don't think so." Elizabeth glared at everyone in the room before she nudged Mr. Collins in the ribs, trying to get him to say something.

Upon receiving the harsh jab, Mr. Collins looked up from twiddling his thumbs and cleared his throat.

"Ahem," he started before pompously standing up to address everyone in the room. "I personally believe that my client should receive the inheritance because it is hers."

Elizabeth nearly slammed her head against the table. Instead, she winced and smacked herself on the head.

"What a profound statement to hear coming from someone who's been in law school for eight years," she muttered angrily to herself. 'That was real deep insight, genius. I applaud you.'

She looked across the room and found Will and George to be biting back a laugh. Even the judge seemed amused with Mr. Collins's amateur statement. Save for the time she lost her balance on a platform in the mall and fell directly into a Roman-themed fountain, Elizabeth had never been so publicly embarrassed. Now she had learned it the hard way—her lawyer was better off not talking.

"Opinion has naught to do with law," Will spoke lazily, giving Mr. Collins a snickering look of condescension.

"And who makes those laws if opinions aren't taken into consideration? Isn't the decision between good and evil made from one's very feelings and morals pertaining to justice?" Elizabeth interjected, sending her sharp retort over to Will.

She had no idea why she was defending her lawyer, for it really should be the other way around. Perhaps it was her determination to spite George's lawyer. Will shrugged before his eyes lit up with an answer after looking seemingly thoughtful.

"Opinions made from people involved in those very affairs contain bias. Unless you are a third party, your opinions aren't worth a penny," he replied, avoiding Elizabeth's piercing glare.

"I shall have to agree with Mr. Darcy," the judge began, nodding approvingly to Will. "The law states the terms and I carry out those terms. That is only thing I or anyone can do," he finished."

Elizabeth turned pale with anger. The judge seemed resolute on his order, and she had not the money or power to argue against law. She didn't stand a chance against George or his lawyer. The chance of her winning an appeal under her circumstance was slim and unlikely. Nothing was fair about the near outcome of the trial. Although Elizabeth hoped for the best, she knew now that such hope was quickly fading.

A possible way out crossed her mind. She could certainly use the baby to argue for money. However, as quickly as the thought came, she dismissed it. Although it seemed perfect to use the baby as an excuse for a need of money, Elizabeth didn't want to do such a thing.

Why?

The baby was not a chess piece she could navigate around the board for the sake of her gain. It was not a puppet for her to maneuver and achieve her means with. She wasn't about to use her own child as the gambling piece for money. Her baby was worth more than that.

She'd rather live a life devoid of its luxuries than crawl on her knees begging George for an extra bit of pocket money. She had her mind set on paying for all the medical expenses by herself. Because she was putting the baby up for adoption, she felt that during the short nine months she'd ever know the baby, she would love it with the best of her abilities through her own efforts.

She wasn't going to drag the baby into the case. It didn't deserve to be a negotiating pawn for a bag of money. This was something she could do in her power to protect the child and keep it away from harm's way. And that was the only thing her pride would allow.

She had no other choice. But the only way out didn't seem so bad. Elizabeth was going to accept the outcome of the trial with grace and dignity. She was going to walk out of the courtroom with her head up and feet firm. Given, she wanted to send George and his lawyer to the deepest pits of hell, but there was nothing else she could do about it. She was going to handle her loss and disappointment with nothing other than pure acceptance of fate. Money will always be money, but her father's unconditional love and affections for her will live on forever. She didn't need to worry—it wasn't the end of the world.

"If the law is the law, then it is my intent and pleasure to carry it out."

Elizabeth emitted a courteous smile before glancing over to the other side of the room. George and his lawyer seemed to be beyond astonished. It was obvious that they'd expected her to pout, whine, and put up a scene.

She could tell that George's face held one of slight disappointment over the fact that she'd given in so easily without putting on a self-embarrassing fight to amuse him with. She could not tell, however, whether or not his lawyer's expression was one reflective of admiration or something she'd simply misinterpreted.

"Very well, Miss Bennet. You may all leave. This case is dismissed. I will see you three weeks from now for an update on your divorce status," the judge finished with a clack of his gavel.

Mr. Collins, who somehow had everything packed up already, said a quick goodbye to Elizabeth and left through the door with his briefcase. George left in a similar fashion, leaving Elizabeth and Will alone in the room.

The silence between them was awkward and loud. Hastily, she gathered her belongings, picked up the stack of documents, and strode quickly out of the room. As she was about to exit the building, she heard footsteps rushing to catch up with her.

"Enough coordination to kill a fly, but not enough dexterity to keep a stack of papers together, I see."

Elizabeth whipped around and found herself face to face with Will. She was surprised to hear a new tone in his voice, which for the first time, had not a trace of condescension in it. Instead, he seemed to be merely teasing her.

"Here, you dropped this," he quickly continued, handing her a couple pieces of loose paper that must have slipped out when she hastened from the room.

Elizabeth reached and took the papers from him, averting his gaze. 'Ah…so he is capable of showing some level of humanity.'

"Thanks," she muttered, looking up. However, the door was already closing behind Will as he left. Elizabeth watched him until he disappeared into the parking lot.

His character deeply puzzled her. Most times, he was an arrogant goat, strutting around as if he were the center of the universe. On rare occasions, though, Elizabeth would be able to catch a tiny flicker of understanding and sympathy pass through his piercing blue eyes. Mr. Darcy was an enigmatic man, and had Elizabeth liked him a bit better, she would have taken some efforts to figure out his true character.

For the moment being, however, she was content with the distance she put between them. She found it easier to live life without his face bobbing around in front of hers. Thank goodness she only had to see him once every couple of weeks.


a/n: Accepting rejection with grace and dignity...if only I could be like the characters who exist in my head. Anyways, PLEASE REVIEW. They will really make my day. I'm totally serious.