My dear little broccolis💚💚💚,

💚 So, this is me doing a favour to the same someone who PMed me and asked to upload two of my stories with the FSOG names. I already did it for Forbidden Fruit, and now, here comes the second. The original fic is published under the Mortal Instruments franchise. If you're one of my old readers, well, you already know this story, so only read it if you want to read it with other characters in mind; if you're a new reader, well hang on and let's see how this Ana and Christian work in here.

💚 So, to understand this chapter, it is better to have heard of Lolita by Nabokov. This book is definitely not a book I would recommend to anyone, but you need to understand the plot of the book to understand better this chapter.

So Humbert Humbert is an average guy who has a thing for young (very young) girls. Just-hit-the-puberty girls. And one day, he marries a woman, who has a daughter fitting that description, Lolita. In the book, what happens between Humbert and Lolita is somehow consensual … but I find the whole thing creepy for reasons too long to explain. Anyway, I think this is the whole thing you need to know to understand Flynn's defence.

Chapter 26 ~ Lolita On Trial (3,6K)

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Ana's PoV.

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As I look at the man standing before me, it feels like I forgot everything Christian and Franklin told me over the past few days. All those important instructions they gave me are now all gone as John Flynn is up, ready to give his speech to try and defend Michael.

It is weird that no matter how much Christian and Franklin have been trying to prepare me for all of this, I am suddenly feeling so unprepared. Maybe it is because I am finally realizing how big an actual Court of law is. I mean, I always thought Courts would be small, intimate even; but they are actually very big and imposing. I didn't know so many people could actually walk in and just witness the trial as if it were a movie or something. And this makes it ten times worse.

Right now, I am already on the stand (or is it still called the stand when I am sitting?). The Judge is some grumpy old African American man with clear brown eyes. I don't know if it's because he is sitting so high up, but he looks very intimidating. Or maybe it's just his position as Judge that makes him feel seem so bulky. Like Christian and Franklin warned me, the jury is diverse and mixed. But as the Judge was stating what the trial would be about, Franklin told Christian that it was a good jury for me. Something about a lot of people above thirty-five. I don't know what that was supposed to mean, but Christian seemed to agree with that.

The first benches are apparently for the people who are related to the trial. Just behind Franklin, there is Lily who smiles to me to give me courage every time I look at her. There is also my Mom a few seats away from her, but I don't dare look at her. I feel really bad concerning her. Maybe I should actually talk to Lily and she would help me see feel better about all of this confusion. Behind Michael, there is his father, dressed in his uniform, but I never look in their direction either.

The other benches are filled with people I don't know, though I recognise some of them being from my old school. This is just awful. I'm sure that Suzannah is there, I think I recognised her among the people who are here. And the waiter who made me have a panic attack when I first went to the restaurant with the Greys, is here as well. It's not like the room is full and that every seat is taken, but there are quite a few people, and this is just … mortifying and frankly, frightening. I never wanted to tell anyone, and now, my most awful secret is displayed for the world to see.

This is just terrible.

So back to Flynn. When I first saw him, sitting next to Michael, I just thought that he was a lawyer like any other. A real lawyer, not a Christian-like lawyer. You know, small, with glasses, grey hair, wrinkles for looking at so many books under a bad light. I even saw a tweed under his gown before we entered Court. You know, he looks like … that friendly uncle that every family has. But now, … now that he is standing before me, ready to defend Michael and say that I am a liar … well, he doesn't feel that much of a friendly uncle anymore.

I can only look at the man, forgetting all about Christian's and Franklin's warnings, I forget about Franklin and Lily telling me to look at them every time I feel like giving up, I forget about Christian telling me to have faith in him, and that he would win for me. I just forget about everything, everything but the fact that Flynn is such a good lawyer, and that he only lost two cases in his whole life. I don't want to doubt Christian, but … he hasn't been a lawyer for that long. And … well, Flynn has. And he's good at it: people have flown him across the country to represent them.

I blink a little, looking away from Flynn and back at the table where Franklin and Christian are sitting. But I don't look at Christian, I look at Franklin who's looking right back at me. I can see in his eyes that he doesn't want me to start worrying because Flynn is going to pitch his case now, and so I try to do just that. Have faith, Christian said. Franklin inhales deeply through his nose, and exhales through his mouth, indicating me with his hand to do the same, and I nod, only just realizing that I have been holding my breath ever since Flynn got up.

Flynn is holding a book in his hands, and once he is sure to have everyone's attention, he starts his speech:

"In my hands, I hold a bestseller. A book that everyone has heard of. A book that is classified as a must-read, alongside Moby Dick and Pride & Prejudice. A book about love and passion, about right and wrong, about desire and duty.

Nabokov's Lolita.

We all know the story of this man who fell in love with the daughter of his wife. We all loved with him as he succumbed to the charms of the young Lolita. We all felt compassion for poor Humbert Humbert and his lack of luck in his love.

So now, I am asking you: what is the difference between Humbert Humbert and my client? Like Nabokov's protagonist, my client fell in love with a girl significantly younger than him, a girl that he never should have looked at, in the first place, a girl who was the daughter of his companion.

So, is my client guilty of having reprehensible actions with Miss Wilks? Surely. Is he guilty of rape, like Miss Wilks accuses him? Certainly not. According to the definition itself of the word, rape is only considered as such when sexual intercourse is not consensual. And my client will assure you that everything that happened between him and Miss Wilks was purely wanted and consensual."

When he's finished, Flynn goes back to his table just to put down his atrocious book while I clasp my hands together. Franklin and Christian warned me about that, they warned me that Michael might not try to deny everything bluntly, but try to smoothly tell that it was all my fault. And still, it is hard to hear that. I know that it is not Flynn's fault, he's only doing his job, but … It is hard.

Once again, Franklin tells me to breathe, and I do so, doing my best to stay unfazed by this terrible lie. This is not the truth, I am saying the truth, so I should hold on to that.

Flynn is back in front of me, and I look right into his brown eyes. Weirdly, he's not wearing his glasses anymore. Maybe he just needs them to read. Why do I concentrate on that one detail, I have no idea. I swiftly glance at my table, and I see Franklin saying something to Christian who is looking at me with his brows furrowed. What's wrong?

"Miss Wilks, according to your statement earlier, you have been suffering sexual abuses since the age of eleven. Why did you wait so long to press charges, or even tell anyone?"

I clear a little my throat and look back at the attorney representing Michael as I say with the strongest voice I can manage at the moment: "Because he threatened to kill my mother if I told anyone. He said that he would kill her before my eyes if I talked about what he did to me."

Unconsciously, I glance in my mother's direction. I don't really look at her, I look at her hands before adverting my eyes away and looking at Lily. I see a bit of concern in her hazel eyes, but she still gives me her smile that gives me a little courage.

"That could have worked on an eleven-year-old child," Flynn concedes me, but then he adds: "But as you grew older, as the years passed by, you still did not tell anyone about your so-called 'rape'." I don't know what hurts the most, the quotation fingers he used when he said the word or the detached way he implied that I was a liar.

My eyes go to Christian, who slightly nods to me. We have been preparing this question, and as he said, it is one of the first questions asked. We didn't prepare an answer cliché, but Christian made me say over and over why, so the answer would come naturally when Flynn would ask it. Have faith, Christian said.

So I take a deep breath, and answer, looking down on my hands: "Because I learned over the years that me pressing charges wouldn't mean that he would have been arrested, or even asked to justify himself in a Court of law. Because no one listens to girls when they are abused. No one listens to children when they are in need. No one listens to someone who's hurt, even when it's screaming all over the place. Because … because no one cares …"

Once I am done, I swiftly glance at Franklin and Christian; and I see that the two of them are looking at the jury. Both of them told me over and over again to not pay attention to the jury; but now, I can't help but look at them. Maybe I said something I shouldn't have, and that they know that the jury will not appreciate. Maybe they think that the jury already made up their mind.

I know that Christian kept on insisting that I should stay as myself and that I shouldn't think of anyone else but me, but … there are so many people hearing about my life. One of the juries is frowning while looking straight back at me, and so I look away, letting my eyes go back to Flynn. His brown eyes are hard on me, but there's another emotion hidden behind his hard gaze, something I can't manage to qualify.

I blink a little, and he continues his interrogation: "Miss Wilks, could you please tell the Court what kind of job your stepfather is doing?"

"He's a PE teacher in the high school I used to go to," I tell him, not knowing where he is going with this. I glance at Christian, who confidently nods at me once again. Apparently there's nothing wrong with this line of questioning. And I guess not. I mean, the trial is about Michael and me, so I guess it's normal.

"And what was his profession before that?"

"He was a Marine for the US Navy for fifteen years." Where is this going?

"Didn't he earn the Medal Of Honour for his brave actions abroad?" Flynn asks, and I frown, still lost in this maze he is leading me to.

"He did."

"Ladies and gentlemen, May I ask you how this good man who risked his life for over fifteen years to ensure the peace in our country, how this good man who has been a PE instructor over a decade can be accused of such a vicious crime? This is a man who took care of young children for over a decade to give them a good physical education, and who never received any sort of blame or even a critic over all his years of instruction? Michael Roberts does not fit the usual profile of a child rapist.

He has a companion, he works among children who never said a bad word about him, he is praised by his coworkers, and has always been qualified as the 'soft-one' by his former Navy comrades. The house he lives in has been searched, and there was no proof of any sort of child pornography found.

Mister Roberts is a man like any of us, enjoying his Friday night beer while watching a good ball game, after a long week of work. If he ever had any sort of physical contact with Miss Wilks, it was out of love for her person, not because of her young age, in any way."

You know, what's the thing saddest here? It's that as Flynn talks, I realise how good of a lawyer he is. Because twice he glanced at me during his speech, and just by the way he was looking at me, I knew that he knew the truth. I could tell that Michael paid him good money to keep him out of the death-row and that Flynn managed to make him plead that Lolita nonsense.

I look around to the room and the benches where people came to hear about the tribulations of my life, and my heart misses a beat when I actually see Jason with Carrick a few benches behind my table. I did not see them earlier, and now I wonder why they are here. I know that Christian is staying at Jason's because he doesn't live far apparently, so Jason probably came to support his friend, but Carrick lives over two hours by car from here, so why is he here? Why are they here the two of them actually? This is a weekday, they are supposed to work.

I frown with confusion and focus my attention back on Flynn and his inquisition: "Miss Wilks, isn't it true that the day Mister Roberts told you that the two of you should slow down your relationship and wait until you would be legal of age, you threw a fit at him, and ran away?

"No. It is not true. Michael and I never had the sort of relationship that you say we had," I say, my eyes going to the person who types everything happening. Franklin told me to always be clear about my statements because of that person because the jury relies on her notes when they deliberate.

"Be realistic. Your accusation does not make sense. If you did not want to press charges because you thought it wouldn't change anything, why did you now, when you were with your biological father away from your 'abusive stepfather'?"

I blink a little, and, finally, look at my mother. Very briefly. She lost a lot of weight over the year I did not see her. And her hair is all dry and messy. Her face is like I remember it toward the end. Always on the verge to tears, looking like all the weight of the world is on her shoulders. And now, now that I know more, I can understand that emotion that she always had in her eyes and that I never understood. It's a mix of guilt, despair and desolation.

Swiftly, I look away and stare back at my hands. They are all red because I tortured them too much with fidgeting. But I still say with a small voice: "Because I realized that I was being selfish and that I was not the only one. I realized that I owed it to my mom, at least, to do my best to try and put Michael behind bars."

Flynn looks at me funny, his brows slightly furrowed as if he was not expecting that answer; and then I sigh of relieve when he says: "I have no more questions."

I cannot express how pleased I am that he did not question me any longer. Christian warned me that Flynn could try to cook me for hours, talking about how I lied in my new life, and that was because I was used to lying, but he didn't. This is a small ray of sunshine in the raging, dark haze of anticipation and fear.

Yet, in one small stroke of his index finger in the air, Flynn kills all my hopes. His eyes, which were focused on me the entire time, shifts to Christian and he asks: "Wait. I hope you don't mind if I ask you just one more question?"

My eyes widen, glancing at Franklin and Christian with helplessness. Can I refuse him? Well, he does not give me a choice as he asks the last thing I was expecting him to ask: "Is it true that you engaged a romantic relationship with the man representing you as your lawyer?"

"Objection. Relevance to the case," Christian immediacy says, his face wiped clean of any emotion. However, I can tell by the tone of his voice that he was expecting that particular question. But I wasn't! I am like a deer caught in the headlights. Franklin is looking at me with concern, telling me once again to the breath, and I do so as the Judge says with his old voice:

"I'll allow it."

I look down at my hands, clutching them very hard to remind me to breathe. Air is becoming scarce. I don't like the way Franklin seems very concerned. He didn't seem that concerned during the rest of the trial. Am I going to lose the trial because I was with Christian? Is Christian going to be in trouble for being with me, is he going to lose his job? Did I put everything in danger by being with Christian? Don't cry, Ana. Don't cry.

"Yes," I answer, focusing on breathing in and out. In and out, again and again. What if I give the wrong answer and Michael gets to walk free? What if I have to go back to the Hell Hole because of some stupid law? Because of my relationship with Christian? What if Christian gets disbarred?

"Knowing that he is significantly older than you?" Flynn continues, and I nod, a part of my mind thinking that his last question was probably all planned and that he dropped it like that for dramatic effect.

"Could you say that out loud, Miss. For the record," Flynn insists, and so I weakly let out a small, yes, my heart beating so fast that I can only feel it. I can't even feel the tip of my fingers anymore. We're going to lose this case. I'm going to have to go back to the Hell Hole. Have faith, Christian said, but … I can't feel anything right now.

"Did you ever have sex with your attorney, Miss Wilks?" Flynn abruptly inquires, and I miss another breath looking desperately at Franklin while Christian objects once again, with an eloquent wave of his hand:

"These questions are leading nowhere to the case!"

"The witness does not need to answer the question. The case is about Mister Roberts, not Miss Wilks's relationship to anyone else in this Court. You would be wise to remember it, Mr Flynn," Judge Jackson says, admonishing Flynn. But I still end up mumbling:

"We … I … Christian and I never did anything."

As I say those words, I turn to look at Christian and Franklin; and Franklin looks at me with surprise, his brows strongly knotted. Lily leans above the wooden bar separating the two of them, and murmurs something in his ear, making him nod with concern. What are they talking about? Are we losing the case?

I miss air. In and out, again and again. Breathe.

I keep my eyes on them while Flynn accuses me: "Your Honor, my questions have everything to do with the case. Because my questions are here to unveil the wickedness of this young girl under her false airs of innocence.

How do we know that she didn't plan to do to young Mister Grey what she did to my client? Seduce him, make him fall in love with her, and afterwards play the victim and pretend that everything that happened between them wasn't consensual? How do we know that we won't be in Court in a few months from now; and that the young attorney Grey will be standing where my client stands, defending himself against rape accusation?"

"Your Honor!" Christian shouts, standing up with indignation and pointing his hand in my direction as Flynn's words keep echoing in my mind.

Have faith, Christian said … Well, I don't. We are losing the case. We lost the case. I know it. And I'll have to go back to that horrible, horrible place. ii don't care what Christian said, I don't care what Lily and Franklin said. They are going to make me go back there. All of this was for nothing, and I'll be the one who ends up being even more hurt.

I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can feel tears gathering up in my eyes, and I can hear the Judge addressing me from afar. Twice he calls my name, so I turn my head to look at him, but I can't hear him. I only see his dark lips moving. From the corner of my eyes, I see Flynn walk closer to us with a glass of water, but my head is fogging.

Did I breathe in the last minute? I try. In and out. But I can't. I can't breathe. I can't breathe.

And so I fall into oblivion, the scene before me blending into a myriad of colours and raised voices turning to a murky echo of sounds.

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💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚

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~ Finally, we start this trial. Know that we are soon coming near the end of part one. But that trial is something I was really looking forward to. Hope you will like it.

💚 Also, someone expressed in DM their surprise in Christian taking the case, since he is against Capital punishment, and I made a point n saying that this was a possible outcome for Michael. And yes. It was done on purpose. Franklin will briefly touch on that next chapter.

~ Anyway, question times:

` 1. What are your impressions of Flynn, so far?
` 2. What are your thoughts about Carla? I am curious about that because she will soon be put on the stand as well ...
` 3. What do you think of Carrick's and Jason's presence?

4. What was your favourite part?

💚Anyway, E.L James owns the names of the characters from the Fifty Shades franchise, everything else is mine.

Love, Mina 💚💚💚