"No, no I did not" I answered

"Would you consider the police detectives assigned to your case to be professional?" He continued, standing directly beside the jury box

I nodded "Yes"

"Would you say that their personal opinions, their personal emotions are kept separate from your case, from Tony's case?"

Again, I nodded "Yes"

He gave a small scoff in response, returning to his desk beside a smug smiling Wyatt "Exhibit Number 3 your honor" Lawrence pulled an a4 photo print from a folder on his desk, hastily flashing it to the judge as he nodded, the picture now held in front of me by Lawrence who smirked proudly "Would you tell me what this picture shows Jasmine?"

Instinctively, I shifted. I knew it was coming, sooner or later, but when it was held in front of me, the clear black and white photo of Dawson and I in his vacation home, a screen grab blown up, I couldn't help but squirm.

I cleared my throat "Two people sharing a very private moment with one another, clearly time stamped to only a few days ago"

Lawrence gave a small chuckle, moving to show the photograph to the jurors, allowing them access to my very intimate moment with Dawson. Their eyes glancing over the photo with confusion "This photograph is of Jasmine Wright, the prosecutions star eye-witness and Newbury homicide detective Dawson James" He revealed to the world "Does this look professional to you Jasmine?" He turned slightly towards me

My eyes briefly moved to Dawson, his jaw tightened, his arms over his chest.

I then looked to Bryce who seemed to be tapping his foot beneath the table irritably.

"Are the police not able to live lives outside of their workplaces?" I questioned back a little too sassy, Lawrence eyeing the judge who looked to me

"Answer the question please Miss Wright"

"No, to an outsider who doesn't understand the context, no, it doesn't" I strategically answered

"Has Detective James ever shared details of a confidential case with you Miss Wright?"

"In Tony's case, no, he made it clear that it needed to be kept separate from our relationship"

I was suddenly curious if Lawrence had taken any notice that I had been looking through cases with Dawson at the dining table through the cameras. I was almost certain that if he'd known, he'd bring it up and it would damage Dawson's career irreversibly.

"You're trying to tell me that not once, did he ever help you to make an ID, that he didn't give you a little encouragement in picking my client as the culprit of the grocery store robbery and Tony's murder?" He suggestively threw at me again

I shook my head, firm "Not once, Detective James was not with me when I picked Wyatt and Trey from the photographs I was provided with"

"That doesn't mean he hadn't given you a little descriptive help beforehand.." He argued

"Objection, is there a question there?" Bryce defended

"Withdrawn, we're done here" Lawrence smiled longingly towards the jurors before striding back to his client as though he had already won the case

I wanted to shout obscenities at him, at Wyatt. I bit into my bottom lip as I was dismissed, fighting the urge to outburst that the jurors would be absolutely insane to believe anything that came from the defences mouth, but I couldn't.

Silently I stepped down from the witness box and returned to my seat beside Dawson and Isaia. And that was it, my moment, the moment I had been so terrified of, so determined to conquer for Tony, was over. So why did I still feel so empty? I had been hoping for some kind of closure for telling my side of the story, but I didn't. I felt irritated, angry, and when I moved my eyes to look to the defence, my emotions were only aggravated. Sitting with a tall spine, his hands together neatly in front of himself, he had his body facing forward, unsuspecting, but his face angled towards me. Cold blue eyes met mine, staring, holding me to his attention. They were exactly as I remembered them, if not, worse, they were empty, soulless and it made me shiver unintentionally. His hair had been trimmed and gelled for court, my memory of it messy and unbrushed. His suit was polite and formal, navy blue with a red tie. Had I not of known this man to be so evil, he could have passed for a lawyer himself.

I wanted to throw a rock at his face, a book, anything I could reach, and if not within reach, my fist would do.

I hadn't ever been an angry person, more so passive aggressive than an obvious violence preferred, but with this man staring at me, a small smirk on his face, new emotions withdrew from me in a concerning fashion.

Everyone else around us, blurred, the voices speaking were inaudible, Wyatt holding our moment with pride. I narrowed my eyes on him, eager to show him I wasn't afraid, but I was slowly starting to realise that he had known that, he could see that I was angry, he knew exactly what he was doing.

Brazen, he dared give me a wink, lifting a hand subtly as though he was scratching an itch on his chin, only to blow me a quick and quiet kiss, his crooked teeth smiling before he tore his gaze from me.

Anger boiled over, he was completely without remorse, he didn't care for what he had done, in fact, it was obvious to those who could see past the suit that he was proud of it. I wanted to throw myself over the bench and lay into him with whatever strength I could find, but something forced me backwards, told me to stop. Unable to control my emotions, I abruptly stood, the judge cut off mid sentence when I began to storm from the courtroom. I was aware that my sudden outburst and exit would probably have given in to what Wyatt had wanted, but if I had stayed any longer, I would have reacted worse, much worse. I couldn't give him that satisfaction, so I removed myself from the space, into the wide hall where I began to pace.

My mind was racing, my hands shaking. I was angry, extremely angry, and as my brain churned, I began to freak out, what if this man got away with it? What if he was released back out onto the streets to continue to torment others the way he had for Tony, Tony's family and I? I replayed over and over my testimony, picking it to pieces, what I had said, what I shouldn't have said, did I do it right? What if I looked to be a complete liar to the jury?

"Jasmine.." Dawson stepped in front of me, in front of my pacing "Hey, it's okay.." he placed his hands on my shoulders

I shook my head, looking down at the ground, my mind overloaded

"Just breathe" He tried to calm me "You did fine.."

Had I? Was he just telling me what I wanted to hear?

I tried to breathe my way through the panic attack. My emotions were mixed, my body unsure of how to react. My head was pounding, I couldn't think straight, I couldn't manage my own thoughts.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I held my head down, my forehead leaned against Dawson's chest. I held the bridge of my nose with my fingertips, pinching to ignite a pain in replacement of any other feeling. Dawson rubbed slow circles around my back, silently holding me as I had my moment.

I had bottled myself up for so long, learning to ignore how I really felt inside, after my dad had died, it was the only way I knew how to cope, and suddenly I realised why. The anger, the sadness, the raw emotions that I felt, were horrible, untamed and weak, I hated feeling that way.

With a deep inhale and slow exhale, I lifted my face up, pushing back any moisture left surrounding my eyelids.

"You okay?"

Dawson was looking down at me, his sweet hazel eyes gentle and calm. How he could deal with these things on a daily, blew my mind. The things he saw, the things he had experienced, it made me admire him even more than I already did.

I nodded "Yeah, I'm okay"

"Almost over" He slightly smiled, his thumb brushing over my cheek before we re-entered the courtroom, my mind steady so long as Dawson was there with me.

•

The remainder of the trial lasted a further 2 days, which to even Dawson and Isaia was lengthy considering the lack of defensive evidence and witnesses. It was a long and gruelling process, but I had been glad that my moment on the stand was over. I sat each day beside the two detectives who made me feel safest, comforted by their presence even when Wyatt continued to take the trial as a joke, occasionally making eye contact with me, winking or smirking just to stir for my reaction.

On the final day, closing arguments were made, which was pretty much a summary of how the defence had proved their case vs how the prosecution had proved their case. My name and testimony had of course been brought up, Lawrence attempting to tear me down via the relationship I had developed with Detective James. Bryce was a godsend, his velvet soft yet confident tone as he gave the jury his statement, convincing even me that there was no way Wyatt was an innocent man. By the end of court, I was confident, there was no way any normal unbiased human could believe Wyatt hadn't committed the crimes he had against Tony and I. But that didn't make me any less nervous for the actual verdict itself.

I was chewing my nails as I looked out through the wide window in an office within the court building. The city was bustling below, the sky hovering above overcast and gloomy. Everything outside appeared so casual, so mundane.

"How long is this going to take?" I turned to look at Isaia who sat at the round table

"Could be a while.." He responded, not lifting his eyes from a laptop in front of himself

"What are you doing?" I shot, attempting to keep my mind busy elsewhere

"Working" He finally glanced up to me "Sit, relax, there is no purpose to you stressing yourself out this way"

I gave a sigh, doing as he had suggested, sitting opposite him.

It was quiet, and then his phone began to vibrate on the table, causing me to jump.

My eyes instantly went to the screen, a photo ID of the caller flashing.

"You going to get that?" I pointed as Isaia groaned, silencing the vibration yet the call continuing

"Is that your wife?" I snooped, leaning slightly forward to get a better look at the photo on the phone

Isaia shut his laptop and picked the phone up. The call had rung out, but he clicked across the screen a few times before turning it to me

"Yes, this is my wife, we've been married going on 35 years now.." He held the phone towards me, giving me a clear view

She was stunning, curly dark hair, big brown eyes, gorgeous chocolate skin and a smile that mirrored those of Hollywood actresses. She wore a red dress, silver hoop earrings, she hadn't looked a day over 25. They were a power couple to be admired.

"She's.. wow.." I genuinely stumbled

"Yeah, exactly.." He smiled, turning the phone as he swiped some more

"And these.. are my two daughters.. Aaliyah is 15 and Kya, she's 22"

The photo was of two tall gorgeous women standing beside one another during what appeared to be Kya's graduation. They were the perfect mix of their parents. I could see Isaia in Aaliyah's eyes, and their mother in their smiles. They looked so happy, and I was suddenly jealous that I hadn't been fortunate enough to have life with a sibling.

"Kya is strong, stubborn, she wants to be a lawyer, and girl got the attitude for it" He half laughed, half scoffed

"And Aaliyah?"

"She's the opposite, she's quiet and shy, she's more of a homebody, she wants to do something with animals.. already volunteers for the shelter every weekend.." I could see the pride in his eyes, the natural curve his lips lifted into when he spoke of them

"That's amazing Isaia, really, you're very lucky to have them.." I told him, my face falling a little when I realised how jealous I was of his perfect little family.