All Chapters of Attorney for My Own Heart: Chapter 11 - Chapter 19

19 Chapters

Chapter 11

The plane landed in Antova City just as the afternoon sun softened. I lifted my cast-bound arm and gave my parents an awkward wave from a distance.My father took my suitcase while my mother cupped my hand between both of hers and turned it over and over."How did you end up hurt this badly?"I smiled but said nothing. Instead, I leaned against her shoulder and let out a long breath. "Mom, I've been craving your cooking."My mother's eyes reddened slightly. "It's all ready. I know what my boy likes."My mother fussed over me for the entire ride home. Her constant chatter filled my ears until it became almost too much.Still, it beat Cloudance City by a long shot, especially the loneliness that had followed Jessica's betrayal.I kept smiling and answering her as I watched the scenery blur past the window. Fall had painted Antova City gold. Red maples and golden ginkgo trees filled the streets, and sunlight filtered through their leaves, casting a warm glow over everything.My mo

Chapter 12

Sure enough, a message from Lyanna was waiting for me the next morning.Lyanna: [Cal, we're about to go in.]I sent back a thumbs-up sticker. After that, nothing.Half an hour later, my phone buzzed twice. I grabbed it immediately.But it was Jessica. Message after message. Call after call.I got so sick of being hounded that I finally blocked every way she had of reaching me across every platform.The phone finally went quiet. I looked out at the greenery beyond the window and took a deep breath.The case was not a difficult one, but it had gone through enough setbacks that I could not help feeling tense.I was not sure how much time had passed before my phone finally buzzed again.Lyanna sent a sticker of a cat throwing both paws in the air, followed by a single word.Lyanna: [Victory.]The tension that had been lodged in my chest finally eased. I let out a long breath and called her to thank her.The call would not go through.I figured she was busy, so I started typing

Chapter 13

I sat there stunned. Whatever clarity I had left grew hazier still.Lyanna smiled, then hesitated for a second, as if she were choosing her words carefully. "Honestly... the reason I come off as so closed-off is because I was raised by a single parent. I got picked on constantly as a kid."My mom told me that if I didn't want people picking on me, I had to learn to put up a front. After that, nobody picked on me anymore. But nobody wanted to be my friend either."You were... the first person who ever helped me, Cal. Back in our advisor's group, I didn't have a single person I could talk to. When I was getting chewed out that badly, I really needed someone like you. Someone I could actually talk to."Her eyes curved with her smile, though she looked halfway to tears. "Thank you, Callum."Something in my head finally started working again. I stared at her, my mouth slightly open. "So..."She nodded. "So I went to Cloudance City because of you. And I came back to Antova City because

Chapter 14

Jessica didn't wait for me to come to her. She walked over first.Beside me, Lyanna went rigid, instantly on guard. She started to step in front of me, but I caught her arm.I shook my head slightly and kept my eyes on Jessica as she approached. "It's fine."Lyanna stopped, though she continued to watch Jessica warily.Jessica came closer and glanced at her before her gaze settled on my face. She had changed a lot, and it showed.Lawyers cared more than most people about keeping up appearances, but dark circles ringed her eyes now, and her face had grown thin. She looked like a kite with no one holding the string, one gust away from blowing off completely.I looked her over and said nothing.Sure enough, she was the one who couldn't hold out. "Cal... υou remembered the anniversary plan."She had always been like that: indirect. She never said what she meant outright, whether it was kindness or cruelty. And yet, somehow, when it came to Daniel, she had always known exactly how t

Chapter 15

The color drained further from Jessica's face. She lowered her gaze in humiliation and stood there like a sheet of paper left out in the rain, as if a single gust of wind could tear her apart.Her lips moved before she forced out one last card. "But... we've been together for 28 years. We've been through so much together. I was part of your life for the first half of it. And I had an abortion. The baby... is gone now. Can you really just walk away from that?"I turned to her, my expression blank. "You're right. We've been together for 28 years. And the two of you still did something like this to me, didn't you? An abortion doesn't erase the fact that the baby existed."There's nothing to weigh here, Jessica. I've still got my whole life ahead of me. I'm not going to risk any of it over a little nostalgia. I don't need to."Whether either of you stays in my life or not doesn't matter to me anymore."I turned to walk away.Then she spoke again. "Is it because of her? Is that why yo

Chapter 16

Once everyone had settled into the living room, silence hung over us for a long moment.Eventually, Jessica's mother's eyes reddened, and she smacked Jessica on the arm. "You ungrateful girl. Say something!"Jessica finally raised her head and looked at me. The bruises on her face were still untreated. Compared to Lyanna's, hers looked far worse.Her voice came out hoarse. "Cal, I... I know I wronged you. But what happened before... that was Daniel's doing."His mother was afraid she wouldn't live long enough to see him get married, so she had him put something in my herbal soup. I had no idea. I didn't find out until afterward."Cal, I was a victim too, just like you..."I stared at her without expression. "So I'm not a victim, then? Is that it? I'm supposed to be betrayed and still end up being the one expected to forgive you?"My father's expression hardened. "My son is right. He shouldn't have to bear the consequences of what you did."My mother's voice was equally firm. "E

Chapter 17

Nobody said a word at the dinner table. My parents were so focused on me that they barely had any attention left for Lyanna.They kept sneaking careful glances at my face, worried I might still be hurting over Jessica.I sighed. "I'm really fine. I let that go a long time ago."Lyanna attentively refilled my water. "So, about Daniel..."I paused and looked at her. "I need to go back to Cloudance City."She blinked, then smiled. "Okay. I'll come with you."Worry filled my parents' eyes."Be careful. Lawsuits aren't simple."I laughed, and Lyanna joined in. "Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Walton. I'm just as capable as Cal."…We returned to Cloudance City three days later. I went through every piece of evidence Jessica had sent me. There was plenty to prove what had been done to me, but the evidence linking Daniel to the rumor campaign was still nowhere near enough.I pulled out my phone and texted Hank.[Let's meet up, Mr. Sutton.]We met at a coffee shop and quickly worked out

Chapter 18

Calling her a witness turned out to be a formality. Jessica said nothing at all. She simply handed the bailiff a USB drive.The contents played almost immediately: recordings of coworkers talking among themselves."That intern, you mean Daniel? He's the one who said Mr. Walton spread rumors about him.""Yeah, that's what he told me too. Everyone in the break room heard it that day.""He said Mr. Walton smeared him just to make team lead. But thinking about it now, Daniel was never even a threat to that spot, was he?""Right, he's just an intern... and I actually watched him argue that divorce case. The evidence was all there, laid out cleanly, and he still lost.""Looked completely unprofessional too. He was reading straight from the file and still got the dates wrong.""Yeah... He kept saying Mr. Walton went after him out of spite, smeared him, spread rumors about him. Looking at it now, who's actually the one spreading rumors here?""He only felt safe saying any of that becau

Chapter 19

My steps faltered for a second, but I kept walking toward Jessica.Her eyes stayed fixed on my hand, which was still linked with Lyanna's, and her expression twisted somewhere between anger and genuine pain.I turned to Lyanna and released her hand first. "Wait for me in the car."Something in Lyanna's expression darkened, but she let me go without a fight. "Okay. Call me if you need me."I nodded and watched her head down the steps. Only then did I walk up to Jessica. "What is it?"She kept her head down, her mouth moving without producing any words. After a moment, she finally spoke. "Now that the hearing's over, do you have any..."She never finished the sentence.Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a figure closing in fast. The person was short and hunched, dressed head to toe in black, with a hat and mask hiding her face. Then sunlight caught something in her hand, and a flash of silver made my stomach drop.Every instinct in me screamed at once. She was already too clos

1 2

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP