"Let me do the talking," my lawyer was telling me as we strode into the Hall of Justice in San Jose the morning of May 28th. "Just sit there and don't say a word."

I nodded and followed him as he opened the door to courtroom 10 and strode inside.

"Cassandra," my attorney said in greeting to the opposing council on the opposite side of the courtroom. I took a seat at the table in front while he stood, unpacking his briefcase.

"Bill," she replied. "Good to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same to you, Cass. But there's just something that sticks in my craw about someone who tries to deport hard-working legal citizens."

"We'll see about that," she said with a scoff, leaning back to get a good look at me where I sat. "Let's just hope this one doesn't have an accent so thick we can't understand him."

My blood was boiling but I remained calm, clenching my fist at my side and keeping my jaw wired shut. The doors to the Judge's chambers opened then and Honorable Judge Howard stepped into the courtroom, taking his seat high above us.

"Morning, council," he said, indifferently, with a nod. "Mr. Vega."

"Good morning, Your Honor," Bill and Cassandra spoke at the same time.

"I see we've got an attempted removal proceeding," the Judge said, looking over his glasses at the papers in front of him. "On what grounds does the prosecution move to remove Mr. Vega from the country?"

"Illegitimate marriage, Your Honor," Cassandra answered.

"Illegitimate?" The judge asked, peering over to her. "Six years it's been in place, Miss Nickles, what's illegitimate about it?"

"We believe we have proof which counters its legitimacy, Your Honor."

"I suppose we'll see, won't we counsel? Who is your law enforcement representative on this case, then?"

"Agent Janine Ashley with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, sir."

He looked up from his papers.

"Where do I know that name from?" He mused aloud.

"Sir?" Cassandra asked, brows furrowing in confusion.

"Is she here?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Cassandra replied, stepping to the side and gesturing to where Agent Ashley sat behind her. I hadn't even see her there before.

"Stand up, Agent," the Judge ordered and she complied, standing from her seat. "You were formally FBI, were you not?"

"I was, Your Honor," Agent Ashley answered but her cheeks colored at the admission.

"Removed from your role because of an incident regarding the mishandling of evidence in a big name murder investigation, were you not?" The judge asked her and Bill turned to me, raising a brow in pleasant surprise.

"I was, Your Honor."

"That young man, that athlete, he got off on a technicality, didn't he?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"Well, Agent Ashley," the judge said then, removing his glasses and shaking his head. "I hope this isn't your latest attempt at waging war with the upper class to atone for your mistakes."

"Your Honor, Agent Ashley has an exemplary record and an arrest percentage of—" Cassandra began but the judge raised his hand.

"I've made no judgement on Agent Ashley's character, Miss Nickles, don't worry. I'm only warning her, and you, that you both better have a very convincing case for me today. I don't enjoy having my time wasted with personal vendettas."

Bill turned to me and we both smiled. This was, at least, starting out better than I could have hoped.

"Mr. Vega," the judge said then, turning to me. "I have reviewed your record. Accepted into UCLA's advanced coding program with honors, multiple time Dean's List recipient, Magna Cum Laude graduate. A successful entrepreneur, a model citizen, and a private philanthroper. Does this adequately define your character?"

Cassandra frowned. Agent Ashley actually rolled her eyes. But I only looked to Bill who nodded his head, encouraging me to answer for myself. Remembering what he said about standing when addressing the judge, I stood from my seat, buttoning my jacket and nodding respectfully.

"Yes, sir," I answered him. "At least, I hope so."

A few reporters in the courtroom chuckled. The judge himself smiled.

"Miss Nickles, please begin making your case that this extraordinary young gentleman should be shipped back to Argentina on the first available plane," the judge said then, turning his attention to the prosecutor. I sat back down and Bill patted my arm with a nod that told me I'd done well.

"No one is arguing that Mr. Vega has been successful while in this country, Your Honor," the prosecutor began, stepping out from behind her desk and into the open middle area of the courtroom to make her case. "But he came here on a student visa to attend college at UCLA before returning to his home country of Argentina. That visa is now expired by six years. In this country, we have laws which determine who may extend their stay and how. The Who is not the issue with Mr. Vega. He is, as you said, an extraordinary young gentleman. But the how, that is what Homeland Security is calling into question. Your Honor, we have witnesses that will attest to a lack of any romantic relationship between Mr. Vega and Ms. Clark. We have documentation of their spending the last six years apart, only to come together once Agent Ashley here informed them they were under investigation. We have the Agent's own observations during the standard home visit she performed just a week ago and the state of the relationship at that point. Your Honor, the Department of Homeland Security has alleged that Mr. Vega has entered into a marriage for the sole purpose of circumscribing immigration law with Ms. Clark and that is what we will prove."

The more Cassandra spoke, the less certain I began to feel about my own case. I had been in courtrooms before, almost always on matters of business but still, even I could tell that she was a damn good prosecutor. For the first time, I actually started to get nervous.

"Mr. Rockford? Your rebuttal?" The judge asked as the prosecutor returned to her seat, a smile on her face.

"Your Honor, you said it best yourself. We are wasting the court's time with this personal vendetta that Agent Ashley has against my client and other wealthy individuals like him. Mr. Vega is an exemplary citizen without a scratch on his record. He has produced more revenue for the local economy than a third of Palo Alto's residents. And he has been faithfully married to Piper Clark for six years now. The prosecution claims they have witnesses that will testify the relationship is false. We have three for every one of theirs that will testify it is legitimate. They have the observations of an Agent, whose record is far more questionable than my client's, hellbent on my client's removal. As for their separation for the last six years, I will be the first to confess that Mr. Vega and Ms. Clark's arrangement is untraditional but that does not mean they are not in love. And make no mistake, love is what is on trial today."

With that, Bill returned to my side. He looked over to me and I gave him a nod.

"Alright," the judge sighed. "I can see this isn't going to be an easily resolved matter. Let's begin with the witnesses."

Bill was right. For every one witness Cassandra called, he had three more to dispute their claims. Cassandra called mostly people that I interacted with on a near daily basis but didn't know that well. The barista at my local coffee shop, my neighbor who ran with his dog every morning, trainers at my gym. All of them testified that they'd never heard me talk about my wife before or had ever seen her coming and going from my house, which Bill dismissed with the reminder that we had been living separately for six years and an additional bit of info that I had said myself on more than one occasion which was that I preferred to keep my private life private. Cassandra called that "convenient" and the judge had to remind her to speak only when it was her turn.

The tide seemed to be turning back in our favor and I was finally starting to feel good about our chances again as Nate finished his recounting of the night we went clubbing as well as the first time he met Piper at the launch party. He said he had never seen a couple that looked as in love as we did and then winked at me on the way out once the prosecution had dismissed him without further question.

"For our next witness," Cassandra started, peering down at her list, "prosecution calls Danny Abadìa."

I frowned. Bill noticed and leaned in close as I watched Danny enter from the back of the room, glaring at me as he passed.

"Anything I should know?" Bill asked.

"He doesn't like me very much," I told him. "Or at all."

Bill nodded slowly as Danny took the stand and Cassandra walked around to stand in front of him. She waited patiently while he took his oath and then began her questioning.

"Mr. Abadìa, what is your relationship with the defendant?"

"I'm an investor in his company," Danny explained, glancing at me with a frown. "I've known him for five years."

"In those five years, did Mr. Vega ever mention a wife to you before her arrival in California mere weeks ago?"

"Once."

I sat forward in my seat. Had I? I didn't remember that. Bill glanced at me, brow knitted.

"In what context?" Cassandra asked.

"When he first approached me with the investment opportunity," Danny replied. "We were going over the numbers, his big ideas and what he thought he could do in the industry. He needed a lot of capital so I had questions. I wanted to know he was a safe investment. At least, as safe of an investment as these things can be. While we were discussing his role in the arrangement, he told me he was married and asked if that would be a problem."

"A problem?"

"He said they hadn't signed a prenup. That it had been a rushed thing and he hadn't been in the position to negotiate at the time."

I closed my eyes. Shit. I remembered that now. I was young and determined to say anything I had to in order to secure capital to build my company. I'd gone to Danny for advice. I hadn't known any better.

"A rushed thing," Cassandra repeated, turning and looking directly at me while repeating Danny's words, as if I hadn't heard how bad they sounded the first time. "Not in a position to negotiate at the time. Sounds more like a business arrangement than a marriage to me."

"Objection, Your Honor," Bill cried out. "Does prosecution have a question or is she giving her closing arguments?"

"Sustained. Prosecution will refrain from commentary on the witness' answer," the judge replied with a frown.

Bill sat back in his seat but he leaned back far and placed his chin in his hands. The way he always did when he was thinking. The way he did when he was losing. Suddenly, I felt panic rising up within me. Cassandra dismissed Danny and checked her list again.

"The next witness prosecution calls is—" she started.

"Enough of this," the judge snapped. "You can both call people to this stand to say they didn't know about the marriage or they thought they knew about the marriage all day long. But I've been married for forty two years and I'll tell you from experience that the only two people who know what's really going on in a marriage are the two who are in it. Where's Ms. Clark?"

Cassandra blinked, surprised. Bill dropped his hand and sat up straighter.

"She's not here, Your Honor," Cassandra replied.

"Not here?" The judge bellowed. "Did she not respond to the summons?"

"We... we didn't summon her, Your Honor.

"Didn't— approach the bench, counsel. Both of you. Now."

Bill stood, adjusting his tie, and approached the judge with Cassandra. They spoke in hushed tones for a while, gesturing with their hands and nodding emphatically. The judge looked pissed. Cassandra looked determined. Bill looked calm. With my future hanging in the balance and unable to hear what the people discussing it were saying, I turned my attention to scanning the room. Reporters were covering every inch of the courtroom now. A group of employees and friends who had testified were sitting behind me. They gave me broad smiles and thumbs up when they saw me. I tried to smile back through the nerves. Then there was Agent Ashley. She sat, frowning and staring at the judge so hard that I thought he might burst into flames at any moment. Thankful that her attention was, for once, not on me, I turned back around to face the front just as the attorneys were returning to their seats.

Cassandra reached hers first and began straightening out some papers. Bill reached me and leaned over.

"She's going to call you to the stand now," Bill told me.

"Now?" I asked, starting to panic again. "But our other witnesses—"

"The judge has decided he would rather hear from you yourself. You're in a good position. He likes you. You're charismatic. Play that up, be honest. You should be fine."

"But—"

"Prosecution calls Mr. Lucas Vega to the stand," Cassandra announced and all eyes fell on me.

I stood, clearing my throat and buttoning my jacket. I strode across the room and stepped up into the witness box. I made my oath and waited for Cassandra to begin her questioning. She took a long paused, pacing in front of me. Bill had warned me about this, said it was an old tactic meant to intimidate the witness. He had advised me not to fall for it but now, sitting in front of everyone, about to be asked any number of questions I wasn't prepared for, it was difficult not to be intimidated.

"Mr. Vega, do you recall the home visit that Agent Ashley conducted a week ago?" She asked.

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, respectfully as instructed.

"Why are there no photos of you and your wife in your home?"

I blinked at her, caught off guard by the question, and noticed Bill sit up straighter in his seat.

"For the same reason that there are no photos of myself, my mother and father, or my brother in my home," I explained, thankful that I had a believable answer for this, at least. Cassandra paused, cocking her head to the side in question. "As I've said before, I prefer to keep my personal life private. On occasion, I have hosted business events at my home. I've worked very hard to craft a specific, professional image. Family photos and trinkets detract from that. So they have been removed from any common spaces."

"I see," she replied, nodding. "Do you think that's a normal way to behave, Mr. Vega?"

"Normal is relative, Miss Nickles," I answered and saw Bill smile.

"What I mean is, most men, particularly men who have been happily married for years, have photos of their wives and family throughout their home."

"Perhaps, they do. Most men also don't build multi billion dollar companies, donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to charity, or go on trial for deportation."

Cassandra frowned. A few people in the crowd snickered and the judge had to bang his gavel to call the court to order and remind the viewers to stay quiet or be removed.

"They also don't live apart from their wives for six years," Cassandra said.

"Probably not," I agreed.

"But you have."

"Yes, I have."

"Has that been difficult?"

"Incredibly. I miss her every day."

"So why do you do it?"

"Her dreams are in New York. I have no wish to keep her from them."

"Some would say that you, and the life you began building together here, in California, that should be her dream. That should be worth sacrificing her profession."

"Some people from the 1950s, maybe," I answered, beginning to get irritated. "But now, in the twenty-first century, we believe that women are just as entitled to success as men, Miss Nickles."

Bill glowered at me in warning. I took a breath, reigning in my temper, and remembered the judge who had been married long enough to likely have that 1950s way of thinking that I was disparaging.

"Do you love Piper Clark?" She asked simply. I stared at her for a moment in shock. "Mr. Vega? It's a simple question. Do you love Piper Clark?"

At that moment, the doors to the courtroom burst open and there she was. I was on my feet before I could even think about it, standing in the witness box, peering over the crowd of faces, at my wife, red faced and breathing hard from her run here. She glanced around, realizing just how many people were around, and blushed.

"I— sorry to interrupt," she muttered.

"Young lady, who are you and why have you come bursting into my courtroom in this manner?" The judge demanded, leaning forward with a frown.

"Um, my name is Piper," she replied. "Piper Clark."

The judge raised his brows, collapsing back into his seat with interest.

"Yes," I said then and all eyes turned back to me, including the prosecutors who seemed to have forgotten her question. "To your question, Miss Nickles, the answer is yes. I do love Piper Clark. I always have."

Piper's lips parted slightly in surprise.

"Alright, that's enough," the judge grumbled, banging his gavel. "Counsel, in my chambers. Now."

He stood and exited. Cassandra and Bill filed through the door after him. I made my way out of the witness box as Cassandra pushed her way through the crowd. When she reached the little wooden door between the viewers and those involved in the case, I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her into the air, kissing her hard.