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.

Chapter 28 ~ This Particular Day (3,2K)

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

Ana's PoV.

.

As I am sitting between Christian and Franklin, waiting for the Judge to come back to the Courtroom, I let them discuss their lawyer stuff. I hear that Franklin is a bit annoyed at Christian because he managed to not get me back on the stand, but I for one am certainly not complaining. Christian said that he and Flynn would use my deposition for the rest of the trial, even though Christian and I both know that the deposition isn't very informative about everything that happened between Michael and me.

But Franklin seems to think that Christian's idea isn't something that great. Several times, he actually asks Christian what he negotiated for me to have this little favour, and when he asks the question yet a third time during their hushed conversation, I start to ask myself the same question. I mean, Franklin seems very concerned by this information, and he actually told me a few days ago that Michael could try to negotiate something in order to avoid the death row or even prison.

As Franklin asks once again what Christian negotiated, his voice suddenly all strong and demanding, Christian's eyes linger on me for a second before going back to Franklin and glaring at him. And to be honest, I don't like that Christian is looking at Franklin like that because of me. Every time Christian talked about his mentor, he always told me how he admired Franklin for his passion, his demagogy toward him, his sense of justice. And now, it seems that Christian all but despises Franklin, and I feel awful because it is all my fault.

"Do you remember why you asked me on this case, Franklin? The exact reason why you particularly asked for me, and not any other lawyer?" Christian asks with irritation, clearly annoyed that Franklin is questioning his way of working; and Franklin nods, his eyes swiftly flying on me before reporting their attention on Christian.

It seems rather clear that my name must have appeared somewhere when Franklin asked Christian to represent me, and that none of them wants me to know about it. I don't know, it seems like that. But since Franklin never talks to me about Christian, and that the very few times Christian and I talked over the past few days, it was about the trial, I don't know what to think.

"This is me owning up to my word. You're not my boss, here, Franklin. You're not even my client if you think about it. Let me do my job as I see fit, and win this case without interference."

Franklin seems like he wants to say something, but the Judge appears, and everyone stands up until he tells us to sit and that the audience is back on track. We all sit, and Michael is called to the stand.

As he takes his oath on the Bible, I can't help but find this ridiculous. I know that Michael is not a Christian. He doesn't even have any faith. So why do they make him swear on something he doesn't believe in? I think it would be more logical to make him swear on something he has to believe in. Like the Constitution, for instance. I actually think that it makes more sense in a Court of law, to be honest. I should probably ask Franklin how they do it with people of other confessions. Like Muslims, or Jews? Do they swear on their own Holy Book? I personally think they should, it would mean more to them.

Once Michael is sitting on the stand, Flynn walks to the centre of the courtroom as he reminds the jury of how much of a Lolita I am. But this time, I don't pay attention to him. I pay attention to the jury and how they react to his awful speech. There is this one chubby guy with just a few hairs here and there on his scalp who writes everything that Flynn is saying. Everything. Which I find odd because there is already someone paid by the tribunal who is doing so. But maybe he is the person the jury elected as their 'president'. Franklin told me that juries usually elected a president among them to organise their deliberation. But maybe I am wrong as well. I don't know. All I know is that he writes a lot.

Especially when Michael finally starts talking to give his own version (though I keep my eyes everywhere but on Michael).

"Anastasia has always been more mature than her age. I never saw her as a child, but more as a person. She always stayed with me when her mother was away; and one night when her mother was not home, she came to my room asking to sleep with me. And … that's how we started to be more intimate than we should have been. But I swear that I never touched her in any inappropriate way.

She's the one who always initiated any sort of physical relationship we ever had such as a kiss, or an embrace. And one day, a few weeks after her fifteenth birthday, she said that we should go further into our relationship. I denied her for a while … But … I gave in …"

I can't believe this! I can't believe that he can lie so easily! Me coming on to him?! And having consensual sexual relations with him? Is this for real? Did I really hear all those words coming from his mouth? I just can't believe it!

Without fully realising it, I squeeze someone's hand hard with mine, and when I start to feel numbness in the tip of my fingers, I look down and see that I am crushing Franklin's hand. I turn my head a little and see that he is looking back at me with worry, and I suddenly feel a wave of gratitude toward him at this right instant. I don't know, I just feel grateful that he is by my side, right now. It makes me feel less alone.

"So, when Miss Wilks claims that you forced her into sex when she was eleven …" Flynn starts and Michael finishes with vehemence:

"She is lying. I never raped her. I never touched her in a way she did not want me to. Everything that happened between us was purely consensual and initiated by Anastasia. And when she started being a little more demanding about the evolution of our relationship, I told her that we should wait until she was eighteen."

"What do you mean by 'more demanding about the evolution of your relationship'?" Flynn while my brain is still trying to understand how Michael can lie so easily about what happened. Wouldn't it be better for him if he said the truth right away? I read somewhere that honest culprits were rarely put on the death row. Or maybe I read that wrong. I should ask Franklin about that.

"She wanted us to go public. She wanted me to dump her mother so we could go on dates and not hide anymore. She wanted a real relationship, 'like in the movies' she said. And I told her that we should wait, and actually stop any sexual activities until she came of age."

"And what was her reaction when you told her to wait?"

"She threw a fit, saying that it wasn't fair for her to see me with her mother when I should be with her. And two weeks later, she was gone," Michael lies, and I try to see the reality through his lie. But I can't.

No matter how mature someone can be at a young age, who would try to seduce a grown man when they are barely eleven? Especially if that said man is currently their mother's companion? This doesn't make any sense. And why would I have run away if he just told me to wait? That doesn't make any sense either. I mean, if I was like the person he describes me to be, the logical solution would have been to get rid of my mother, not to flee from him. The reality that Michael created for the jury is not making any sense.

And it seems that the president of the jury feels the same since he is frowning so much his brows form one. And he's furiously writing on his notepad with a scowl on his face.

Flynn swiftly glances in my direction, but his eyes don't land on me but on Christian before he asks: "It is said in the report that you only reported Anastasia missing when school started, meaning a few weeks after she ran. Why did you wait so long?"

Well, to be honest, I am curious as well for this one. I didn't know that they didn't declare that I was missing right away. But … It couldn't have taken the police almost a year to find me, right? I mean, I'm not very good at hiding and stuff, so how come it took so long for them to find me?

"Carla didn't want to declare her as missing. It was when the school started asking me questions that she said that we should go to the police. She made her deposition to Officer Banner, alone, since I am not Anastasia's father, and we had been waiting for him to bring her back to us ever since," Michael simply says, and I feel that this is the only truthful thing he ever said. I don't doubt for a moment that my Mom did her best to delay the time she would have to report me as missing.

"Why would a loving mother refuse to do anything possible to find her child as soon as possible? Especially when that child is her only daughter?" Flynn questions with a fake concern that I've seen a zillion times on movies. And because Christian and I rehearsed what question he would ask me, and how he would ask them; I know that this particular question was rehearsed as well by Michael and his lawyer.

"Carla is many things, but I wouldn't qualify her as a loving mother. I suspect that she had her doubts concerning my feelings with Anastasia and the depth of our relationship. She encouraged Anastasia a lot to find a university abroad, and therefore away from me, and she found her a job as soon as Anastasia could legally work, rather far away from home and making our time alone even rarer. Carla was not even concerned when she did not find Anastasia in her bed in the morning of her disappearance, and I don't think she would have ever pressed charges if the school hadn't been so persistent on knowing where her daughter was."

I can feel Christian's gaze fall on me, but I don't look back at him. I know what he is thinking, but I don't want to see it in his eyes. Throughout the months that we spent together, I learned to trust Christian more than I thought I would ever do, and I told him a bit more about myself as a person. I mean, whenever we would talk about Michael and his vile acts, Christian would always listen; but there were some times when he would ask about my life before running away. How I was, who I was; and soon enough, he got to know about my resentment against my mother for her neglecting her maternal duties and about how hurt I was that she stopped loving me.

I mean, yes, she found me a job rather far away from home. Yes, she encouraged me to find a college in another state or even another country. But I didn't see any of those gestures as ones of a caring and loving Mom. At the time, it was just so she could have me out of the way, and all I could see was that she stopped being my Mom after that awful night.

I am suddenly brought back to the reality of the moment by Christian standing up next to me and walking to the stand and to Michael. I didn't even know that Flynn was done. I swiftly glance at Franklin with panic, not sure if I want Christian to ask Michael questions. I mean, Christian knows many things about my past, and … I know he promised that he would keep what is not in the deposition to himself, but … Lawyers can be sneaky. I don't know, I am very anxious all of a sudden.

Franklin gently presses my hand with reassurance, making me realise that I did not let go of his hand all along.

"I will be very brief, Mister Roberts," Christian declares and making the chubby jury tilt his head to the side. Then, he swiftly glances at me, and I blush with embarrassment, looking down as Christian continues: "Do you know, Mister Roberts that the legal age of consent is not before seventeen in this State?"

"I never claimed that what we did was right."

Christian looks at Michael; his jaw locked in a funny way that I've never seen before. For a second, he is all tense, before walking away from Michael and asking as he gets closer to the jury box: "There is something that I can't understand in your version, Mister Roberts. If you and Miss Wilks really did engage in a 'romantic relationship', why didn't you break up with her mother?"

Michael seems surprised for a second by the question, but then quickly gets back on his feet and states: "So I could still have Anastasia by my side. If I had broken my relationship with Carla, I was not sure if I would have still been able to stay in touch with Anastasia."

I think I'm going to be sick. Michael really makes it sound like we had this loving, romantic relationship. This is awful. I know those are all lies, but those are vicious lies to hear, and I can't bear to hear them. They are twisting my stomach in unnatural ways, and once again, Franklin's presence next to me reassures me and keeps me calm.

"So you would say that you had romantic feelings for Miss Wilks," Christian asks, making me feel uneasy to hear those words from him. Maybe it was a bad idea from my part to break up with Christian during the trial, but it's not like I had a choice, anyway.

"Just like you, I am sure, Mr Grey," Michael retorts, and though I am not looking directly at him, I can hear in his voice that he is smirking. Franklin gently soothes me by pressing my hand, and when I look at Christian, I see him smirking as well. I guess he was expecting this comeback. Well, I wasn't. How can Christian appear so calm about this?

"Do you consider yourself a violent man, Mister Roberts?"

"No. I am one peaceful man. I do admit that I am haunted at times by the horrors I've seen at war, but that doesn't make me a violent man," Michael asserts, and I can't help the disbelieving scoff coming out of my mouth. Franklin turns his head to me, curious; but I keep my eyes on Christian and the jury. I didn't tell anything on my deposition about how violent Michael could get, and so Franklin doesn't know about that. But now, hearing him saying that he is that kind of angel bruised by war is just … unbelievable.

Christian comes back to our table, not looking at me, and takes a paper from the table before walking back to Michael and saying: "This is the deposition that Miss Wilks did to the Officer Garroway a few days ago. Could you read the highlighted part out loud?"

Michael takes the paper in his hands, while Christian turns his back on him and walks once again to the jury, though it is clear in his posture that is paying attention to everything Michael is reading. He is reading about the moment when I mention his first assault on me, and since I know I won't see his eyes looking at me, I look at him closely.

He has not changed much since the last time I saw him. He still has this terrifying aura around him, making me think of him like a demon from Supernatural. But, as I try to find some difference between here and then on his face, he reads the date I gave; and I can see that he has some trouble swallowing. I vividly turn my head to Franklin, hoping that this little something is telltale of Michael knowing that he is losing the case? But Franklin doesn't do anything to reassure me, actually frowning as if he's trying to see where Christian is going with this.

But I know where he is going with this. I know what that date means, now. I know how that night wasn't terrible only for me. Because I have seen a report that I wasn't supposed to see on what else happened that night, thanks to Officer Banner. And it is actually this report that made me press charges in the end.

Clearly, Christian also knows of the report as he asks with the same tone Flynn used when he asked about my relationship with Christian: "Did anything else happened on that precise date?"

"If you are referring to Carla's hospitalisation, I had nothing to do with that! She fell off the stairs, as cliché as it sounds," Michael says with precipitation, and I turn my head to his lawyer because I know that the way Michael answered wasn't how he was supposed to do. He sounded defensive, even though he tried to have a light tone about it.

Apparently Flynn is not even bothering scowling at his client, his eyes all focused on Christian and looking at him strangely. And I have that weird feeling that suddenly, Christian is the one on trial, with John Flynn as his only Judge and Jury.

"I have no more questions," Christian says with a smirk indicating that he had what he wanted to take Michael to that predicament. To make him lose his cool and calculated demeanour and reveal his nervousness.

The Judge nods and knocks his hammer down, declaring with a tired voice: "The audience is adjourned until tomorrow when we will hear the final witness on the list."

He knocks once again, and Franklin rises next to me, and I do the same. I hear Lily saying something to Franklin, but as we turn to leave, I see my mother. I don't actually see her, I just feel her presence, and see her hands, but I don't dare look up at her. I should, tomorrow is her time to testify, but … I just don't dare. I am scared of what I could see in her eyes. I am so scared of how she could look at me.

And so I walk out of the courtroom with Franklin and Lily by my side, wishing that tomorrow will never come.

.

.~°~. .~°~. .~°~.

💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚

.

~ So, I hope you liked this chapter. I did. Somehow. Haha.

~ Anyway, question times:

1. What do you think of Michael's testimony and Ana's reaction to it?

2. And see, Franklin and Ana finally start to bond, slowly over a very awful topic, but still ...

3. What about the lawyers here? What did you think of Christian and Flynn? Especially Flynn

4. What was your favourite part?

💚‼️💚 The updates of the week are 💚‼️💚

- Road Trippin, FSOG version (daily)

- The Nanny, FSOG story (chap 4)

- Second Chances, TMI story (chap 10)

- Tainted Love, TMI story (chap 9)

- The Daddy story, TMI & FSOG version (chap 11)

- The Consequences of a One-Nightstand, TMI story (chap)

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

Love, Mina 💚💚💚