Chapter 138 The New Independent Woman
So, this was what Anne meant by a "gift." I knew her growing boldness was all thanks to Edward backing her up. I used to think I had an ace up my sleeve as Edward attempted to use surrogacy to produce an heir for the Howard family. But after Hayden told me that wasn't Edward's idea, and he only did it because Hayden was seriously ill, I realized my ace was useless.
I stared at the screen, filled with nasty and insulting comments, feeling my mind go blank and my hands and feet turn cold. On the other side of the internet, a bunch of messed-up, morally bankrupt people were getting their kicks by trashing others. Any comments defending me got attacked and insulted too.
I saw myself as a hardworking lawyer, always trying to uphold justice and fairness, but these internet trolls were using the dirtiest tricks to smear me. I couldn't figure out what I did to deserve this. I believed in what I was doing and wasn't scared of their nasty slander.
Since rumors were inevitable, I decided to let them be for a while and just focus on my work. I needed to prove myself with my achievements. For the next few days, I threw myself into work. Besides a domestic violence divorce case, I was also handling a labor dispute for a small business. Even though the cases were different, neither was too tough for me.
When I got to Stellar Legal Advisors, the usually busy office was oddly quiet. Only a couple of lawyers were chatting softly at their desks, and when they saw me, they quickly pretended to be busy. I figured they were probably talking about me, but I had no reason to confront them.
As I passed Lila's office, I saw her pacing by the window, talking on the phone. She was gripping her phone tightly, her lips trembling slightly, and her face tense as she listened. Suddenly, she interrupted the other person, saying something loudly, but I couldn't hear her through the door.
Back at my desk, I found a small bouquet of daisies. The white petals were delicate and dewy, and the golden centers glowed softly in the sunlight. The flowers weren't stunning, but they were enough to warm my wounded heart. I assumed they were from Lila and felt a surge of gratitude.
"Okay, I'll wait for your update as soon as possible," Lila said as she walked out of her office, then hung up the phone and sighed deeply. She looked at me, her eyes showing both concern and uncertainty about the future. But she didn't say anything and went back to her office, closing the door behind her.
I opened my laptop to get to work but couldn't resist checking out the latest online rumors first. By now, I'd gotten over the emotional hit from all the false stories and even started using them as fuel to keep pushing forward. I wasn't upset anymore; I scrolled through them like it was no big deal.
One new post with a ton of likes caught my eye, titled "The New Independent Woman's Manifesto." Curious, I clicked on it, and after reading it, I couldn't calm down for a while. Turned out, the author was a woman who had consulted Stellar Legal Advisors after I released my statement refuting the rumors.
She was a somewhat famous online writer, but her works were so raw and deep that they got boycotted by netizens. There were even rumors that she was writing her own story, and some people had photoshopped indecent photos of her to humiliate her.
Thoughtfully, she included a link to a support group chat at the end of her post, inviting women who had been hurt to come together. It read, "Women of the new era should join hands and create their own new world, with Stellar Legal Advisors supporting them every step of the way."
Even though she wasn't my client, and I didn't know if she had filed a specific lawsuit, her post definitely made waves in the sea of online hate. I wanted to share this news with Lila, but she was busy in her office. I wanted to share it with Daisy, but she was far away in Veridian, with nearly a 10-hour time difference, and it was still the middle of the night there.
As for others, I didn't know who else to share it with, but even if there was no one to share it with, I knew I wasn't alone because more and more people were standing up to support me. Thinking of this, I turned my joy into motivation and dove into my work.
Soon, it was the day of the divorce case hearing. Since the case was straightforward and neither party was a public figure, it wasn't known to the public. Only the essential staff, the lawyers from both sides, and a few relatives and friends attended the hearing.
When I saw Tessa, the client, outside the courtroom, I was quite shocked. I quickly approached her, looking her up and down with concern, and asked, "How did you end up like this?"
Her hair was a mess, with a few strands sticking to her cheeks. Her face was pale and bloodless, her eyes filled with fear and helplessness, and still a bit wet, like she'd just been crying.
I noticed several fresh injuries on her face, and her arm was in a sling across her chest. She didn't respond, just sniffling. A middle-aged woman supporting her said to me with a worried face, "Ms. Cooper, I'm Tessa's sister. Please take care of her today."
I nodded, but Tessa's condition still made me feel uneasy.
Just before entering the courtroom, Tessa suddenly said to me, "Ms. Cooper, I've let you down."
At the time, I was too confident in the case and didn't pay much attention to her words, thinking she was just feeling sad about being abused by her husband again.
As I walked into the courtroom, I saw that the defendant, Lyle Warner, and his lawyer had already arrived. I immediately noticed Lyle's arrogant demeanor, and a surge of anger rose in my heart.
Lyle was Tessa's husband. He was tall and slightly overweight, with a belly barely fitting into an expensive-looking but totally inappropriate suit for the occasion. His tie was crooked, like it couldn't contain his overly inflated ego. His ugly face, with small eyes that occasionally squinted, revealed a cunning and arrogant look.
He sat in the defendant's seat, his legs shaking rapidly and irregularly, as if playing a "victory symphony" he believed in. He occasionally glanced at Tessa and me with a provocative look; other times, he stared at the ceiling, as if imagining he could transcend this trial.
His overbearing attitude seemed to declare to everyone that he didn't care about the upcoming verdict at all, showing no sign of the tension and guilt he should have felt, which made me extremely angry. If it weren't for being in the courtroom, and if I weren't Tessa's lawyer, I would have rushed up and slapped him without hesitation.
Soon enough, everyone was in place—the judge, prosecutor, jurors, and jury—and the trial kicked off. I started things off by presenting Tessa's case. After I read the complaint with all the passion I could muster, Lyle, Tessa's husband, suddenly laughed and said, "Our relationship is great, we don't need a divorce."
The judge immediately turned to Tessa for her take. Tessa shrank behind me and whispered, "I don't want to divorce him."
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