LOGINShare
CHAPTER 96
publish date:
2026-07-19 17:48:46
Latest chapter
Anna and Jonathan: The Arranged Marriage CHAPTER 118
ANNA'S POV Harold's prediction proved accurate by the following morning. Patricia called us before we'd even finished breakfast, her voice carrying the particular brisk energy of someone who'd barely slept and didn't much mind. Grace fussed quietly in her bassinet nearby, still adjusting to the disrupted schedule these past weeks of trial preparation had forced on all of us, and I found myself grateful, listening to Patricia's news, that our daughter was still too young to understand any of what her parents were currently navigating on her behalf. "Isabela's taking a cooperation deal," she said. "Full plea to the highest charges, but in exchange for testimony against Whitmore, the recommendation to the judge will reflect meaningful leniency. Her attorney reached out to my office at nearly midnight. I suspect the journal entries, and yesterday's outburst in front of the jury, finally convinced her there was nothing left to salvage by continuing to fight." "What does her testimony a
Anna and Jonathan: The Arranged Marriage CHAPTER 117
JONATHAN'S POV The journal entries were admitted two days later, and Patricia Chen began reading selected passages into the record that afternoon, her voice steady and clinical despite the content, each sentence landing in the courtroom with the particular weight of words never meant to be heard by anyone beyond the woman who'd written them. The courtroom had filled to capacity that morning, word of the discovery apparently having spread through the press corps overnight, and I felt the added weight of all those watching eyes settle over the proceedings before Patricia had even opened the folder in front of her. "March, three years ago," Patricia read. "*I saw them at the Hartwell gala tonight, laughing together like the match was ever real. She has no idea what she took from me, or how patiently I intend to make her understand it eventually.*" I felt Anna's hand tighten around mine, both of us listening as Patricia continued through entry after entry, a chronicle spanning nearly
Anna and Jonathan: The Arranged Marriage CHAPTER 116
ANNA'S POV They called me to the stand on the third day of trial, and I walked to the witness box with my heart pounding so hard I was certain everyone in the courtroom could hear it, though I kept my expression as steady as I could manage, remembering everything I'd told Jonathan weeks earlier about facing this directly rather than flinching from it. I glanced once toward Jonathan as I settled into the chair, drawing whatever steadiness I could from his expression, and once toward the jury box, twelve strangers who would decide, in some measure, how the rest of this year's events finally resolved. Patricia Chen led me through the questions carefully, methodically, walking the jury through the timeline exactly as we'd rehearsed, the retainer agreement I'd found, the pattern I'd traced connecting Isabela to Diane, the gala confrontation, the bathroom conversation where Isabela had first threatened my father with a precision I still found chilling months later. "And what did the def
Anna and Jonathan: The Arranged Marriage CHAPTER 115
JONATHAN'S POV The courthouse steps were crowded with reporters by the time we arrived that first morning, more than I'd braced for despite Harold's repeated warnings, cameras flashing in a steady, disorienting rhythm as Anna and I made our way inside, her hand gripped tightly in mine. I felt her tense at the first shouted question, something about Grace, about whether we'd left her with family for the day, and I tightened my grip in response, grateful we'd made the decision weeks ago to keep our daughter as far from this particular circus as we possibly could. "Eyes forward," Harold murmured, walking just ahead of us. "No comments, no reactions, straight through to the courtroom." Inside, the room felt different from the smaller hearing weeks earlier, fuller now, a jury already seated, reporters filling most of the public gallery, the particular charged stillness of a trial about to properly begin. I spotted Whitmore first, seated at the defense table beside his attorney, thinne
Anna and Jonathan: The Arranged Marriage CHAPTER 114
ANNA'S POV The courtroom felt smaller than I'd expected, walking in that morning, wood paneled and quiet in a way that made the enormity of what waited inside it feel almost absurdly mismatched to the modest room itself. Harold had prepared us as best he could for the shape of the proceeding, but nothing quite matched the reality of actually sitting there, the reporters clustered near the back despite the hearing's limited public significance, the low murmur of conversation dying away as the judge finally took her seat. I spotted Lucas's mother the moment we entered, seated near the back on the defense's side, and felt my stomach tighten at the sight of her, older than I remembered from the funeral, her face carrying a grief that had clearly never fully released its grip in the year since her son's death. "You don't have to look at her," Jonathan murmured, his hand steady against my back as we took our seats. "I want to," I said. "I think I owe her that much, even if she's here t
Anna and Jonathan: The Arranged Marriage CHAPTER 113
JONATHAN'S POV Harold's warning proved accurate within forty eight hours. He called early on a Tuesday morning, his voice carrying the particular tightness I'd learned to associate with news that required careful delivery. I'd barely finished my first cup of coffee, Grace still asleep upstairs after a rare full stretch of unbroken rest, and I felt the fragile peace of the morning tighten the moment I saw his name on the screen. "Isabela's attorney filed a motion yesterday afternoon," he said. "They're arguing that Anna's credibility as a witness is compromised given her own history, specifically the affair with Lucas Bennett. They want to introduce it extensively during cross examination, not just as background, but as evidence that Anna has a documented pattern of concealment and dishonesty." I felt something cold settle into my stomach, the particular fury of watching a genuine mistake from Anna's past weaponized by people who had spent years manipulating far more than she ever
Anna and Jonathan: The Arranged Marriage CHAPTER 4
JONATHAN'S POVMy lips curved in a smile as I glanced at the pretty young lady before me. Hell, those hips were great. I wanted to tell her so, but I knew better than that. Women tend to take compliments into their heads. With a courtesy nod, I shrugged past her and walked into the house. I sat
Anna and Jonathan: The Arranged Marriage CHAPTER 3
"Anna, are you okay?" My mom asked carefully."Are you trying to force me to get married to someone?" I asked pained by their words. "Yes!" They both chorused.God, the shamelessness of my parents. "Mom, Dad, I just returned from school yesterday. Heck, I am supposed to be having some respite her
Anna and Jonathan: The Arranged Marriage CHAPTER 2
I woke up with a start as the alarm clock beside me blared out its harsh sound. With an annoyed grimace, I stabbed hard on the alarm clock and silenced it."How the fuck do you still work?" I asked confused as I stared at the old alarm clock I had used as a kid."God damnit." I cursed again when it
Anna and Jonathan: The Arranged Marriage CHAPTER 1
ANNA'S POV"Mom, Dad I am home!" I announced as I took the stairs two at a time. In no time, I arrived at the top of the stairs leading to my parent's room."Mom Dad!" I called out again feeling so excited to be meeting my parents after almost six months. There was so much excitement in me that I
You may also like
My Marriage Is A Contract
Marvy520.9K viewsThe Trap Of Ace
Eva Zahan1.0M viewsDivorced My Cheating Husband, Married A Billionaire
LiLhyz841.3K viewsPursuing My Ex-Wife Isn't Easy
Inked Snow3.3M viewsThe Professor’s Trap
ملك الرومانسية72 viewsMy Fake Boyfriend Is My Enemy Hockey Captain
EmberQuill Joyce117 viewsVows of Graphite and Guilt
EL141 viewsDesired By My StepDad and His Son
Roxannie220 views
