บททั้งหมดของ The Defense She Chose: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

The words "defense counsel" stabbed my eyes until they hurt.Celia Drake mouthed two words at me."I'm sorry."I almost laughed.But under my suit jacket, my hands wouldn't stop shaking.Could one sorry smooth over everything?Two months ago, my mother had been working her late-night food truck when she got into an argument with someone. She was beaten until her whole body was covered in injuries and her organs bled internally.She already had high blood pressure, diabetes, and a handful of other conditions.The night she was in the ICU, I signed six critical-condition notices.I sat in that empty hallway, under the harsh white lights, on tiles so cold and hard the whole corridor felt like a place built for death.I was so cold my teeth wouldn't stop chattering.That was the most desperate night of my life.My girlfriend, Celia Drake, was nowhere to be found.No calls. No texts.When I needed her most, she'd vanished from the face of the earth."Julian..."My colleague

I went to the cemetery and placed a bouquet of pale pink and white roses before her grave.As I looked at the memorial photo on the tombstone, at the gray-haired woman smiling so gently, my eyes stung uncontrollably.It felt as if countless knives were carving through my heart, leaving me unable to breathe.I forced out a smile. My little old lady had always loved seeing me smile."I told you it wasn't safe at night. I told you to close up early. You just wouldn't listen. Your son is already a well-known attorney at a top firm. Was I going to let you starve?"Now look what you've done. You left your precious son alone in this world. What am I supposed to do now?"My mother and I came from a poor rural town.My father died in an accident when I was five. My mother was still young then, and plenty of people tried to arrange marriages for her.But she said she was afraid I'd be mistreated by someone else's family, so she refused to remarry and raised me alone.The drunk widower w

There was still a month before the second trial when Celia came to see me.I held my coffee and took a small sip, watching her sit across from me with tears running down her face. Honestly, I wasn't surprised.Once enough time passed, she would come back to her senses and realize that going against me in court was beyond her abilities.Tears clung to Celia's cheeks. "Julian, do you still blame me?"Looking at her like that, the heart that had loved her for five years ached out of habit.Then came a wave of disgust so strong it nearly swallowed me.Betrayal itself wasn't terrifying. What was terrifying was sinking into the past and never climbing out.I'd always been someone who knew when to cut things off.The reason I came to meet her was simple. I wanted to hear an apology. I wanted an explanation.Five years of love deserved a formal ending."What else should I do?" I sneered. "What do I have to say to defense counsel?""I didn't have a choice."Celia grew a little agita

My mother didn't like Celia.Because of Celia's family.Her parents favored sons over daughters. After having her, they went on to have two boys and treated Celia like something to bleed dry.Since childhood, Celia had done all the chores at home and served as their emotional dumping ground. She worked hard and got into an excellent university, but her parents hid her admission letter, planning to marry her off to whoever would pay the most. In the end, she couldn't take it anymore and cut ties with them.That whole family was selfish, vulgar, greedy, and vicious.My mother said marriage wasn't just between two people. It was the joining of two families. She worried a family like that would become my burden, that I'd live my whole life exhausted.She'd suffered enough in her own life and didn't want her son to suffer too.But in the end, for the son she loved most, she still compromised.The day before she died, she texted me:"Son, when you have time, ask Celia's parents to m

When I got back, I fired the intern.He sobbed and begged, saying his family was poor and Celia had offered him money, so he couldn't refuse.I felt no pity and had security drag him out.Someone like that didn't deserve to stay at Sterling & Howe.Celia lost this case miserably.But it didn't damage her reputation much. After all, everyone loses sometimes.Especially attorneys. You win some, you lose some.With the reputation she'd built under my help, many people still came to her for cases.But without me, how could she maintain her old glory?Within less than a month, Celia's real ability was exposed, and her reputation in the legal world began to slide.I took half a month off and traveled for a while.I went to the places I'd once promised my mother I'd take her, the places we never got to visit.The day I returned, the weather was bright and clear.Evelyn handed me a cup of coffee and patted my arm."Court tomorrow. Confident?"Even while traveling, I hadn't forgo