Pampered by my Billionaire CEO Husband
Chapter 142: In Court

Chapter 142: Chapter 142: In Court

I found myself lying in the hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling as the sounds of the seemingly rhythmic beeping of the machines that surrounded me filled the air. I tried to sit up but a sharp pain shot through my body in an instant as my features were contorted into a pained expression as I plopped back down onto the bed.

"Aurelia, you are awake! How are you feeling?" Serena asked and my eyes scanned the ward, looking for Xavier.

As if on cue, the door to the room flew open and the sound of the back of the door hitting against the wall reverberated loudly in the room. I looked up to see that Xavier was rushing over to my side with a concerned and worried expression that masked his features.

He closed the distance between us in a few large strides and Serena quickly stepped out of the way without saying another word. He reached out to interlock our fingers together as we locked eyes and his dark eyes filled with worry held mine captive.

"Are you okay? Are you still in pain?" He asked, a string of questions left his lips in a hurry. "I heard that you were stabbed. I came here as soon as I could. Aurelia, who did this to you? Was it Blake? That stupid ex-husband of yours," he spat the words out like they were poison in his mouth as his eyes were narrowed into thin slits with a deadly look plastered across his face.

My eyes flickered over to glance at Serena who was standing at the back quietly. "I... I..." I stuttered as though there was a lump stuck in my throat and silence settled among us for a brief moment before Serena spoke up, her trembling voice breaking the silence.

"It was my husband, Aaron," Serena declared softly as she lowered her head and averted her eyes, refusing to look us in our eyes. Guilt was written all over her face as tears began to form at the brim of her eyes, threatening to fall at any second now.

"Your husband?" He repeated in disbelief as he gritted his teeth and his face darkened visibly. His fists were clenched tightly beside his body as anger swirled in the depths of his dark eyes. "Where is he? Is that bastard in jail right now?"

Serena nodded quietly as she inhaled a deep breath. "The police arrested him and I believe they are interrogating him and he will be charged with attempted murder," she explained.

"This is all my fault..." she muttered softly under her breath, her voice barely above a whisper. "If I wasn’t working at your office then he wouldn’t have come here to find Aurelia and attack her. If I just suck it up and not file for a divorce or drag you into my own personal matters then this wouldn’t have happened."

I looked at her with a soft gaze. "Serena, look at me." After a moment of hesitation, she finally lifted her head to meet my eyes, tears still swimming in her eyes as her heart was bursting with guilt. "This is not your fault, okay?" I said as my eyes were running wild with emotions.

"But –"

"No, don’t say it. It’s not your fault. It was his decision to attack me, it was his fragile ego that couldn’t take the hit and he simply couldn’t handle the divorce because he was blindsided by it. This has absolutely nothing to do with you, got it? I don’t want you to be blaming yourself."

She gulped inaudibly as she lowered her gaze and nodded. "I won’t."

"Promise me, you won’t."

Silence stretched between us for a brief moment before she spoke up.

"I promise."

***

Time flies.

Soon I was out of the hospital and I now found myself standing in court facing Aaron once again. The atmosphere was tense and heavy as the air crackled with unspoken tension.

Xavier was sitting at the back quietly as he glared at Aaron with narrowed eyes, his dark eyes burning with a fiery blaze.

Even up till now, Aaron still couldn’t wipe that smirk off his face as he continued to remain arrogant with a smug expression that masked his features which only infuriated Xavier even further. He had hired a lawyer to defend him in court, thinking that he could get away with it and walk free.

"Mrs Wilder, could you bring us through what happened the day Mr Cordell met you at your office lobby?" The voice of the lawyer snapped me back to reality, breaking me out of my reverie.

"He saw me and he came up to me and started blaming me for his divorce with his wife."

"Would you say that he was angry and rash? Perhaps, even impulsive?"

My eyes flickered to glance at Xavier who was sitting among the crowd watching me. I watched at the corners of his lips twitched upwards into a reassuring smile as he nodded his head in affirmation.

"Yes," I finally said.

"And why do you think so? Do you think that something could have triggered it?"

"I think he couldn’t take the sudden blow of his wife choosing to leave him and divorce him, so he put all the blame on me, accusing me of ruining their marriage."

His lawyer raised a brow at me. "Is that so?" He asked, the words that left his lips were dripping with accusation as his cold blue eyes gleamed with a knowing look. "Are you sure that you didn’t say or do anything that might have triggered him or provoked him?" He questioned, his deep voice carrying a sharp edge to it.

I paused, not saying a word as I was rendered speechless at that very moment while my mind buzzed with thoughts. "I... I..." I stammered, struggling to get the words out of my throat.

"Objection!"

"Overruled."

A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. The man walked closer towards me, standing right in front of me this time as he leaned in closer with an intimidating and arrogant look plastered across his face.

"Tell me, Mrs Wilder..." he began, his voice trailing off. "What did you say to my client, Mr Cordell, when you saw him that day at your office lobby?"

I lowered my gaze as I hesitated and the gears in my head shifted as I thought of what to say next. My heart was pounding loudly against my chest and I lifted my head up this time, my eyes darting around the courtroom anxiously.

"I...I..." I muttered softly under my breath, my voice barely above a whisper. I took in a deep breath before I spoke up. "When he blamed me for the divorce and ruining his marriage and tearing his family apart. I merely reminded him that if he hadn’t cheated, this wouldn’t have happened."

"No. You were taunting him about the divorce and in your own words, you told him that he was the one who destroyed the marriage so why on earth would his wife still stay with him, right?"

My eyes widened in a panic as a flustered expression masked my features within the next second. I was stuttering once again and I couldn’t find the right words to say, I was even starting to have a panic attack and I was starting to break down but he continued to drill me with questions, hurling them one after another.

Tears were starting to form at the brim of my eyes, glistening under the light that lit up the courtroom as I inhaled deeply, trying to stay calm.

"And you told him that he should be happy about the divorce because he could be with his mistress, is that so?!"

"Objection, your Honour!"

"Overruled." the Judge turned to look at me this time. "Mrs Wilder I’m going to need you to answer the question."

I drew in a deep breath. "Yes, your Honour. Yes, I did say that," I confirmed as I felt my heart sink to the pit of my stomach as the hope slowly drained from my eyes.

The smirk that was already etched onto the man’s face widened this time. "No further questions, your Honour," he said before spinning on his heels and went back to take a seat, the smirk still lingering on his lips.

I let out a shaky breath as a single tear rolled down my cheek but I quickly reached up to wipe it off my face. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed that Aaron remained arrogant with a smug look that was stretched across his face. He leaned back into the chair, rocking nonchalantly with a smirk that was spread across his face as we locked eyes from a distance.

A horrible and unsettling feeling washed over me in an instant. As I was about to step off the witness stand, I made eye contact with Xavier, seeing that his face had darkened visibly and anger was evident on his face.

Within the next second, a loud gasp erupted from the crowd and I watched as Xavier jumped over the barrier and dashed towards Aaron.