“And you believed him.”
“Yes, I did,” she said. “I have modeled before and I was not interested in any other kind of relationship with him what so ever. When he invited me to the hotel…I thought it was an audition.”
“I see…so you think that if a man invites you to a hotel it’s for a modeling audition?”
Victor jumped up to his feet. “Objection your honor!” He screamed.
“On what grounds!?” Michael asked with fire in his light blue eyes.
The Judge grabbed her gavel and slammed it firmly. “Order!” She said with authority and there was immediate silence in the courtroom. “Do not lead the witness.”
“Let me rephrase that,” Michael said with a sly, smirk on his face. “Why would you think a man would want to have an audition at a hotel? Wouldn’t that have otherwise raised a red flag?” He asked.
“I have been to auditions before in hotel ballrooms. I didn’t know that he was going to lure me to a suite and force me to have sex with him. If I had known that I wouldn’t have gone. I admit that I was being ambitious. Usually my mom would go with me, but I knew that she wouldn’t want me to model for Dean Monross. I knew that because she thought that his designs were too grown up for me. I found out later that he was the one who brought my father down. I found that out after…after he raped me,” she said with tears cascading down her face like water falls. “He told me after he raped that he fucked me because my father had fucked his brother. Those were his exact words. His brother had been accused of rape and my father had prosecuted the case. He told me that he wasn’t done bringing my father down.” She broke into sobs and the courtroom was riveted. Everyone was holding on to her every word.
She wiped her eyes, sighed heavily and continued. “I didn’t know what happened on the day that my father was set up by Dean, but I do know one thing. He is hell bent on destroying any and everything that my father loved. He not only raped me that day, but he took a part of my soul. I will never be the same and I can only blame myself for trusting him. After he told me that he despised my father and had set him up for ruin, he said that he would kill my entire family if I told anyone. I immediately told my mother when I got home and she called the police.” Her tears hadn’t stopped falling.
Michael cleared his throat and looked around the courtroom. He knew that Elisa had pulled at everyone’s heart strings. It made sense that he would go after her. Dean’s lame ass was finally going down and he deserved it. Served his ass right.
Part of me was hoping that he would testify in his own defense, but I had a feeling that he would chicken out. His attorneys had advised him not to testify and he was probably more than likely going to take their advice. His plea was innocent, but he sure looked guilty as hell. It was an open and shut case and being that Elisa was a minor, the attorneys for the defense couldn’t badger her like they really wanted to. The evidence was stacked against Dean and add the fact that he was really out for her father, and a guilty verdict was inevitable. There was a slight grin on my face when I realized that the case was almost over. The defense and the prosecution would both deliver their closing arguments the next day. After that the case would go to the jury.
When I left the courtroom it was pandemonium. I had to get out of there before the deputies walked Dean past me. Nobody else recognized me, but something told me that he would. The radio came on when I started my car and of course they were talking about Dean’s trial.
The reporter’s soft, feminine voice made the situation not seem as serious as it really was. “Dean Monross, fashion mogul and self-made millionaire is facing charges of first degree rape, performing lewd and lascivious acts against a minor, aggravated assault and a rack of other sexually related charges. The motivation behind the crime seems to be a personal vendetta that the defendant has against Elisa Williams, the accuser’s father, former DA Franklin Williams. Dean did not testify and has been quiet at the advice of his attorney since the charges were filed against him. During the two week long trial Dean has remained stone faced and showed no emotion. The star witnesses for the prosecution both gave very emotional testimonies today. His former girlfriend LaTisha, of the R&B group Divalicious, stated that he allegedly abused her numerous times and forced her to have sex with him. That may have not worked in Dean Monross’s favor. Elisa Williams testified that he lured her to a hotel with the promise of a modeling audition and contract. When she got there she found out that the room number that he gave her was a suite and he had planned to sexually assault her. They had only communicated via the internet and computer forensics specialists have testified that the messages were sent from his computer and his own Facebook and email account. Although the suite was reserved in a bogus name of a so called employee of Dean Monross’s, it was paid for with his personal credit card. There are no witnesses who can put Dean at the scene of the crime, but his DNA was found on the hotel’s sheets. Bodily fluids on the sheets were those consistent with sexual intercourse. Some of those fluids also matched the DNA of the accuser. There is also evidence from a security camera that shows Elisa entering and leaving the hotel. This case has no eye witnesses other than the accuser and the accused. Final arguments will begin tomorrow and then jury deliberations will begin. Will Dean Monross be found guilty or not guilty?”
A commercial came on and I turned the radio off with a satisfied smile on my face. Dean was facing over a decade in prison and I hoped that the jury made the right decision and locked his ass up. Finally I could live my life in peace with my man. Since Dean had been facing charges, I hadn’t received any more threats. He had made bail, but he had one of those monitors around his ankle. His money and assets had also been frozen to pay for his legal fees, so he couldn’t pay anyone to do his dirty work. Hmm, he was finally getting what his ass deserved. Just like Nafis, karma was a motherfucker when you fucked with a Beavois.
Chapter 23
Renell
When I left the doctor’s office I couldn’t help but feel ecstatic. My baby was fine and I had just found out that I was carrying a boy. At first I didn’t want to know, but I broke down. I was two weeks away from being six months and despite the fact that Ricky wasn’t around, I was still enjoying the prospect of being a mother. I still hadn’t admitted our break up to my parents or the public, but that was because it was my business.
Of course Ricky hadn’t given up on us being together. He wanted us to raise our son as a family, but I couldn’t be with him after what Nate had told me. I hadn’t heard from Nate and I did question his motive for telling me. Either way, I guess it was a good thing he had or I would have never known. Just the thought of my relationship with Ricky being built on some stupid ass wager between old foes made me angry. I wanted to think that it was real, but I didn’t know. How could a man seriously pursue, impregnate and marry someone he did not really love?
I drove out of the parking lot of my Ob/Gyn’s office and my phone immediately rang.
“What do you want Rick?” I asked angrily. “How many times do I have to tell you that I will contact you when our child is born.”
“I know that you had an appointment today Nell. I still have it in my calendar from when we were together. Don’t you think I wanted to be there? Even if you don’t want to be with me I want to be a part of your pregnancy. Despite what you think I do love you Nell. Our relationship was never built on a lie. I honestly fell in love with you and it was never about a bet. Please believe me. I don’t even know why Nate would ruin our relationship like that,” he said pitifully. “Please. Let me come over. I need to talk to you.”
I sighed in frustration. “If you want to raise this child together you better allow me the space I need Ricky.”
“Is it a boy or a girl? Can you at least tell me that?” He sounded so damn sad and I wanted to forgive him, but it wasn’t that easy.
“A boy.”
There was silence on the other line and I could’ve sworn that I had heard a sob. Finally he spoke and his voice was kind o
f shaky. “I am so sorry that I fucked our family up Nell. I admit that it was stupid and immature of me to have even gone there with Nate. It was a huge mistake, but our love wasn’t. We were meant to be and it doesn’t matter how we found each other. Shit, I love you and I love our son. I still want to marry you because you’re the love of my life. Not because of a fucking bet. That didn’t mean shit to me. You’re all that matters to me. You and our son. God this shit is tearing me up.” He broke down into tears and his pain was obvious.
“I’m sorry too Ricky. I am sorry that I ever fell for your ass. The only thing I’m not sorry about is the beautiful little boy that I am carrying. You better be glad that I can’t keep you out of his life. There’s no way I could ever do that. You’re his father, but we will never be together. Bye Ricky.”
“Wait Nell…please, before you hang up just hear me…”
“I’ve heard enough Ri…”
“Let me fucking talk!” He yelled. “Please,” he added calmly.
“Go ahead,” I said in shock. How dare he yell at me because he got caught up in a lie?
“Just think about what we had Nell. There is no way I could’ve lived a lie with you for so long. You would’ve seen right through it because one thing I know about you is that you’re not a stupid woman. If my love for you wasn’t genuine you would’ve known that. You wouldn’t have needed Nate to tell you shit because our relationship wouldn’t have made it that far. After you hang up really give that shit some thought. Remember what you felt when you were with me. Did it feel real baby? Tell the truth.”
“Yes,” I whispered with tears in my eyes. When I blinked they fell and burned my skin that had been cooled by the booming air conditioner.
“That should be all that matters,” he said hopefully.
“I wish it was that simple, but it’s not. Bye Rick.” I pressed the end button and hastily wiped the tears from my cheeks. “No more crying,” I said out loud. “It’s not good for the baby.” Just as I said that I felt him move. I laughed as I gently caressed my growing belly. The love that overwhelmed me made me forget about my lack thereof. There was a new man in my life and he had stolen my heart.
* * *
When I got home all I wanted to do was kick my shoes off, get undressed and get comfortable in something elastic. The thought of getting bigger made me laugh. I was going to have to get Randy to help me get back in shape. My belly wasn’t that big, but I was gaining weight all over. It didn’t look bad and actually gave me a fuller, softer look. I liked my pregnancy glow and thought that I was more beautiful than ever. My baby boy, despite everything we had gone through, had brought out the best in me.
After a long, relaxing bubble bath I decided to check the messages on my house phone’s answering machine. The light was blinking that I had six messages, so I pressed play. The first two were from Ricky, but I deleted them before they could play. Then I heard Nate’s voice. How the hell he had got my home phone number I didn’t know.
“Hey Nell. Uh, I know you haven’t heard from me, but I felt the need to do this. True, I told you what I told you, but I left something out. I was angry because my wife had left me a few months before I came to see you. After that I realized that if Rick married you he would win. I told you about the bet for all the wrong reasons. In my mind I convinced myself that I was helping you, but I was vindicating my actions. Rick really loves you. After he met you he told me that the bet was bogus. You two hadn’t even started dating yet. He told me that he had way too much respect for you to build a relationship on our rivalry. When I found out that the two of you were really together and planning to get married I was furious. Now that I know that you’re pregnant I feel awful. I won’t cause you any more pain. Ricky really loves you and I’m so sorry.” Beep!
“What?” I asked in confusion. My head started to literally spin as I grabbed my phone to call Ricky.
* * *
Seandra
Ahmad wasn’t giving up and I didn’t want him to, although I needed him to. I wanted to feel annoyed by all of the flowers and corny attempts at poetry writing. Over the past couple months my life had been filled with lots of emptiness. Fame was becoming too much and I wasn’t even pursuing the movie career that I had made such a big deal about. You could say that I was practically hiding from the media.
The production of the movie that my agent had me all excited about had been put off for a few more months. I had auditioned, but hadn’t heard anything yet. Truthfully, I wasn’t really that excited about it. Life had changed as far as I was concerned and all of the things that used to matter to me didn’t matter anymore. Material shit didn’t even have the same luster to me. All I could think about was Ahmad, but I was still telling him no.
I had even started seeing my therapist Mrs. Fletcher again. I had told my mother that she and father should go see her for marriage counseling. They were still not together and father wasn’t backing down. He was adamant about his anger against her.
“How dare she lie to me for so long?” He had asked angrily when I had brought it up a couple weeks ago.
“Maybe she was afraid of losing you. She loves you daddy and you know that she does. She made a mistake and you have to forgive her. Seantay does too,” I had advised him, although I couldn’t take my own advice and forgive Ahmad.
“Well, it’s easier said than done baby girl. Your mother wasn’t just unfaithful. The daughter that I raised in my own damn household, that I watched grow up may not be my biological child. If your mother would’ve told me this back then we would still be together.”
I couldn’t disagree with what he had said. When I asked my mother why she didn’t tell him she maintained that she really thought Tay was his. “I felt no need to tell him being that it only happened once. Tay looks just like Sean and he knows it, but I had to confess after the accident. Believe me honey, it haunted me all of those years to know that it was a chance that Sean wasn’t Tay’s father. They have the same personality, so there was no doubt in my mind. Your sister is so common.” She let out a soft chuckle. “I love your father and I never wanted to lose him. I guess that was also part of the reason why I didn’t tell him. Now that I think about it, he probably would have stayed with me if I had told him the truth and now it’s too late.”
I felt bad for the both of them. They loved each other, but sometimes a person’s actions were unforgiveable. Even love couldn’t over shadow that sometimes. That was how I felt about Ahmad. My love for him was still strong as hell, but I had to let him go once and for all.
I could still hear Seantay telling me how stupid I was. “Girl please. That man was just doing what he thought was the right thing to do. Why don’t you just forgive him and take him back. Don’t be stupid Seandra. Ahmad’s a good man. Even Nell’s back with Ricky after what he did.”
Well, I had heard Nate’s message and Ricky wasn’t guilty of love fraud. It had started as a joke, but Ricky had no intentions of keeping the bet when his relationship with Nell really started. That was a totally different situation. Ahmad had left me for his crazy, devil worshipping wife. The woman had almost killed me with black magic, but he had clearly chosen her over me.
Even Dr. Fletcher had tried to convince me that Ahmad had done what he thought was the moralistic thing and it didn’t mean that he didn’t love me. I wasn’t convinced that I should forgive him though. It was as if my feelings didn’t matter at all simply because she was still married to him.
Nell kept telling me that it was unfair to hold that over his head being that he didn’t know about what Kristie had done. “Once he found out the truth, it was grounds for him to see things differently. He loves you and you love him. Just forgive the man,” Nell had advised.
Of course I had a comeback. “Would you have forgiven Rick if Nate hadn’t told you the truth?”
“I don’t know,” she had stated honestly. “I am carrying his son, so I don’t know what the future would have brought to us. I just know that you’re miserable without Ahmad.
”
“I was his second pick though Nell. Damn, what the fuck is wrong with me. Why can’t I ever be number one?” I asked in a self-loathing way.
“Oh please. Get over yourself. The man was stuck with that bitch because she was legally his wife!” Nell had yelled at me angrily. “Get a grip and get your damn man back before some other woman snatches his ass up.” She had snapped on me good.
I knew that she and Tay were right, but I was so afraid of getting hurt over and over again. Confused was my middle name. I just kept pushing Ahmad away when I wanted to welcome him back into my life with open arms. Was I crazy or just plain stupid? Why couldn’t I just let go and let him in? His divorce was final and he was finally free of Kristie. Her condition was worsening and she would more than likely be confined to a mental institution for the rest of her life. I wasn’t happy with the revelation, but that was her own fault and I was sticking to that.
Chapter 24
Seantay
When I heard the guilty verdict I wanted to rejoice. I was chilling in my loft alone waiting for Raheen to come over. We had plans to go get some grub and then my work out was going to start the following week. Randy was ready to get me right before my fashion show next month. It was on and my fashions were debuting in April just as I had planned. Camille was the shit and I couldn’t deny that she was doing her thing. My father was also on it because he had hired my full staff for the office, the factory and the store. Nell was on point because the ad campaign was going to be off the hook. The pictures that we had taken at the fashion show were getting ready to hit Vogue a week before the fashion show. After my first showing the plan was to debut my line at Fashion Week in New York.
The guilty verdict had just come in thirty minutes before and Dean’s case would now be in the sentencing phase. His lawyers were already saying that they were going to appeal the guilty verdict and hoped that he would not be getting the maximum sentence for a crime that he didn’t commit.
Black Magic: Book 3 of The Black Butterfly Series Page 14
