A/N: Hey guys, I'm really, really sorry for ghosting on you guys. I have been tremendously slacking, I know. These past few days, I'd been finding it hard to write anything coupled up with profound laziness. I had to force myself to complete this chapter just so that I don't leave you guys hanging for too long. I'll try to do better from now on.

Without further ado,

Enjoy

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Ijeoma's POV

I walked into the room, a towel wrapped around my head and a light blue robe fastened around me.

I had just taken out the sew-ins on my head. I was going to take them out days ago but the custody thing came up and occupied my time and mind. Today, I needed to get my mind occupied by something, anything. Constantly thinking about the impending court session on Monday was both emotionally and mentally draining so I decided to get busy with my hair.

Noah was laid on his side on the bed, his eyes were closed but I knew he wasn't asleep. Noah preferred to sleep with the lights turned off because, with the lights on, it takes him a long time to eventually fall asleep.

I loosed the towel around my head and vigorously rubbed it against my scalp, drying out the excess water. I didn't want to use a hand dryer, so I just left my hair open to air dry. I had a brown silk nightgown beneath my robe so I just took off the robe and neatly hung it on a wall fixed railing.

My hair was still a little bit damp so I folded the towel in half and placed it on the pillow. I didn't want my damp hair to wet the pillowcase over the night. As I got into the bed, I released a tired sigh before turning over to my side.

Five minutes later, I found myself fixated on the ceiling. I had been tossing and turning around in the bed and sleep seemed to be far away from me. I released a frustrated sigh as I caught my mind wandering and turned over to my side for the umpteenth time.

"You're restless" Noah pointed out in a groggy voice

I replied after a while. "Yeah"

"Can't sleep?" he said again

"Yup" I breathed out, turning back to the ceiling.

"What's on your mind?"

"A-" I made to speak but decided against it. "Never mind. It's nothing"

The sheets shuffled beneath him as he turned over to face me. "Don't do that. Let me know what's bothering you"

I turned to my side so that we were facing each other. Although the lights were turned out, I could still see his face due to the lights that shone through the blinds. His eyes searched mine as he waited for me to speak up on what was weighing on me.

"It's probably nothing" I started out. "But I just have this terrible feeling that tomorrow's verdict might not go according to our favour"

"I don't know why I have this feeling but whenever I think about tomorrow, my heart clenches inside my chest and it feels like something heavy is being placed on me" I explained

He placed his palm gently on my face, cupping my cheek. "It's all in your head. Everything is going to be fine, okay. Don't worry about it"

"I'm really trying not to but it's almost impossible" I whispered out

"Okay. Whenever you get that feeling, I want you to repeatedly say that everything's going to be fine" he said gently stroking my cheek.

I exhaled deeply, closing my eyes for a second.

"Come here" he said

I scooted closer to him such that I was basically resting on him. I placed an arm over his bare torso and rested my head on his chest. I felt him take in a sharp breath.

I chuckled lightly. "Sorry, my hair is still a little damp"

"It's fine" he said as he began to run his fingers along my back.

The electric feeling that emanated from his fingers running down my spine and the soft thumping of his heart against his chest lulled me to sleep.

"Good night, my love" I heard him say but I was too far gone to reply.

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"All rise"

Synchronically, the entire courtroom rose to their feet as the judge walked into the room. He took his seat, brought his pair of spectacles to the bridge of his nose before giving us the permission to take our seats.

The judge cleared his throat. "Good morning, everyone. As we all know, today will be the last day of this custody court hearing. The attorneys of the plaintiff and defendant would be given an hour to present their closing statements and thirty minutes would also be allocated for rebuttals if there be any. After which a verdict would be decided upon and announced"

"Before we begin this session, I would like everyone to make sure their phones are turned off or at least placed on vibrate to avoid distractions. Any form of recording, be it a video or audio recording would not be tolerated in this hearing. Please maintain decorum throughout the session, any form of disturbances would lead to you being escorted out of the room. Any questions?" he continued

There was complete silence throughout the room, the judge nodded his head in finality.

"Let's begin" he said before looking expectantly at Kunle's attorney.

Kunle's attorney rose to his feet, made a quick adjustment of his tie and walked to the front of the courtroom.

"As I said in my opening statement, this case has always been about my client's want to have a relationship with his daughter. Miss Ijeoma didn't only take away my client's daughter when she left, but she also took away two significant years of his daughter's life from him. My client missed a lot of his daughter's firsts, her first solid food, her first real words and so on."

"We have all seen first-hand how irrational Miss Ijeoma could be, her ability to respond to harsh or uncomfortable situations is to be questioned. She either lashes out and acts wildly like she did in the courtroom or she reclines into a shell within herself as was testified by Miss Angela. Leaving a child in the hands of someone who cannot act accordingly when faced with tough conditions or situations is worrisome"

"Speaking of tough conditions, Miss Ijeoma's bank statements and statements of job payments show that she's not financially stable to raise a child by herself. Though she might be living with her financially capable boyfriend, we cannot bank on the profits of her relationship when planning the welfare of her child. Looking into the future, can we ascertain that the needs of the child would be well taken care of if her now partner is no longer in the picture? "

"In this case, we need to take into consideration the well-being of the child in question. The child is at the tender age of three and her mental health needs to be preserved. The child has already established the fact that Miss Ijeoma's partner is her father. Yes, introducing my client as her biological father would cause some confusion for the child but it would be nowhere near the damage that would take place if Miss Ijeoma's partner walks out of their life. The feeling of being unwanted by a father figure weighs deeply on a child's mind which is why having my client in the child's life permanently would serve a great cause"

"My lord, it would be in the best interest of the child to give custody to my client. My client is more than capable of taking care of his child's needs, personally and educationally as you would see through his bank statements that his current job's pay is sufficient. My client has a big family surrounding him and the child would always be in the care of family members when he is not presently available." Kunle's lawyer concluded with a slight bow.

The judge responded with a nod before turning to the direction of aunt Chisom. She rose to her feet immediately, placed her hand on mine briefly as a form of encouragement before taking her position in front of the courtroom.

"My client has been through so much in the past three years, from being put out of her house by her parents to abandoned and later abused by her boyfriend. We have already been through all the gory details of my client's past with the court. Though, there might not be evidential proof doesn't mean that it didn't occur or should be overlooked. Abuse is not an issue to be taken lightly and people respond to it differently, some cry out for help while others are subdued by it. It is not a show or movie where cameras are set up just to gather evidence."

"The child in question is very stable and happy where she is with her mother and partner like my witnesses testified. Moving her to a completely different setting than she's used to without her mother or a familiar face would be really traumatizing as the child has no recollection of Mr Kunle."

"Mr Kunle abandoned my client during the entire course of her pregnancy, and even after he returned to their lives and things went south, he displayed gross unreliability. How do we know for sure that Mr Kunle wouldn't exhibit the same attitude when he realizes taking care of a child is not an easy job?"

"Despite all the curves that were thrown in my client's way, she still managed to be a good mother to her child and tried her best to provide for her child's needs the best she could. Her reactions to being betrayed and deeply hurt should not be used as a criterion in the judge of her character." Aunt Chisom turned to address the audience. "I don't think anyone in this courtroom including myself can go through half of what she has been through as a young lady and still remain sane."

"My lord, a lot of mental, emotional and physical harm has been inflicted on my client and even the child in question by the plaintiff. Giving custody to him would be sending a message to the Nigerian public at large and mothers who are suffering abuse that what they are going through is justified and if they try to leave that situation, it would end badly for them." She said in conclusion.

"Would there be any rebuttals from the plaintiff's side?" the judge asked as soon as aunt Chisom took her seat.

"No, my lord" Kunle's lawyer replied

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"Hey... It's going to be fine" Noah assured me as he placing a hand on my knee.

I was nervously tapping my foot against the marbled floor. My dad, Noah and I were seated in the hallway just outside the courtroom, the Judge had called for an hour recess before the verdict would be announced. My level of anxiousness was skyrocketing by the minute, knowing that in less than sixty minutes from now, my fate would be decided. My body felt sticky from the amount of sweat I was producing, the hallway felt stuffy and I was completely restless. I was literally on the verge of rising from my seat and pacing along the corridor.

I shakily nodded my head but in less than a minute, I unconsciously resumed the nervous tapping.

"Here" aunt Chisom approached us holding out a bottle of cold water to me.

"Thank you" I said as I collected the bottle.

Without wasting time, I downed the entire bottle of water and it still felt like the Sahara desert in my throat.

"Don't worry. We've got this" aunt Chisom said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I released a deep breath before nodding.

My dad's phone rang and from my seat I could see my mom's caller ID on the screen. Everyone who knew about this court case was calling to get updates. I had received a couple of calls from Nkechi and the rest but my mind was too scrambled to even talk to them so Noah ended up doing it on my behalf.

"We'll know in an hour's time" my father replied into the phone.

He raised a finger as if to say 'I'll be right back' before rising from his seat and heading outside the courthouse.

Waiting to be called back into the courtroom was horrible but it was nothing compared to how I felt when we actually called back in. My heart was beating rapidly against my chest, I felt like I was about to explode.

"All rise"

Jesus Christ. I'm so scared.

The judge walked fast-paced towards his chair before giving us a hand signal to take our seats. I searched the judge face for any signs that the verdict would be ruling in our favour but he bore a blank look.

The judge cleared his throat. "Can the plaintiffs and defendants rise, please?"

Oh, God.

Aunt Chisom and I rose to our feet as did Kunle and his attorney.

The Judge briefly looked down at the book before him then back at us.

"I have thoroughly gone through the written testimonies and evidence submitted by both parties and I have reached a conclusion that I think would the best interest of the child." He paused for a while.

I could feel my legs vibrated behind the table and my heart thumping in my chest. The suspense was killing me, my head was literally pounding from how tension-filled I was at the moment.

"In the custody case between Mr Kunle Ayorinde and Miss. Ijeoma Ezenwa, case number C20567127, the custody of Chizolum Ezenwa is hereby entrusted to the plaintiff, Mr Kunle Ayorinde. The defendant, Miss Ijeoma would be allowed visitation rights, the specific dates would be decided by the court and forwarded to you in due time" the judge banged the gavel against the table.

I froze with my eyes widened in shock. I didn't hear past the visitation rights because it felt like I went deaf in both ears. My eyes were open but everything became blurry all of a sudden, I felt disconnected with my body. It was like I was physically present but I wasn't there.

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