Lily's POV

As I walked into the courtroom, my hands started to sweat. The people sitting in their respective seats were all staring at me as I walked towards the witness stand. I could hear the voices in my head whispering negative comments to me. They told me that I would never be able to get free. That the chains were made of a metal too strong to be broken. However, I looked towards a smiling Asher and Laura, clenched my fists and continued to walk towards the stand. On the way there, I saw Cole, Jason and Ryan all giving me a thumbs up. If the chains couldn't be broken, they could still be taken off if the right key was twisted into the lock. I had already found the key, Asher, and just needed to take the lock off. I would only be able to do that if we won the case.

As my determination skyrocketed, I walked towards my destination, not paying heed to the stares of the people. As the trial progressed, I stood in the witness stand, awaiting the time for me to speak. The judge announced the presence of my worst enemy. Also known as, Carter. He walked into the court room, glaring at me. As we pledged to speak only the truth, I could already tell that Carter was going to make up some ridiculous lies. I couldn't have been more right. Once the judge's asked me to present my story, and I told them every single detail of what had happened in the past two years, Carter looked at me with wide eyes, faking disbelief at what I had just said. What he said next made my blood boil.

"Your honor, those are all lies. You see, when I first met Lily I was extremely happy. She was nice, funny, kind and everything that I had dreamed about in a girlfriend. I should have known that I wasn't to trust anyone. Not even a few months later, she began sleeping with other guys, snapping at me and just being a horrible person. One night, I found that she had stolen money from me. On impulse, I hit her. It was just a tiny little slap, and look at how she's accusing me right now."

The absolutely outrageous story left even the judge's in shock. We had already given all the evidence to the judges, so they had seen everything that happened with Carter. They looked at him with their eyes wide open and they immediately consulted each other. Carter seemed confident and kept a smirk on his face. However, when the judges asked if he had any proof, and he shook his sorry head, it was my turn to smirk. It looked like the drugs had finally affected his brain. Even his lawyer seemed to be in shock. After the evidence was shown and as Laura presented the rest of the case, the judges announced Carter to have ten years in prison with community service for physical abuse and drug dealing. He was also going to be getting rehabilitation. I was glad to know that he would be out of my life for the next ten years and would most probably not be a psycho when he got out, almost exactly as the police officer had said.

I walked out of that court room with my head held high. As soon as I reached the front yard, I was crushed into a tight hold. My defensive systems kicked in and I grabbed the guys arm, throwing it away from me and punching him in the face. Once I looked up, I saw a bleeding Asher looking at me with shock evident in his eyes. Covering my mouth with both of my hands, I apologized.

"Oh my god, Asher! I'm so sorry! I thought you were a rapist or something!"

He just chuckled, wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth. As I looked to my right, I saw Laura laughing like a maniac. She hugged me tightly and said,

"You have amazing self defense! Oh and by the way, congratulations for getting rid of that chimpanzee."

I smiled at her enthusiasm and hugged her back just as tightly. Once she let go of me, Asher pulled me into a hug, kissing me on the side of my head. He whispered,

"I'm so proud of you Lee. And I know that your parents are too. You did exactly what they asked you to and I couldn't be more happy."

I smiled, relieved that he wasn't mad at me for what had happened a few days ago. Once I found out that he was shifting to Michigan, I was on the verge of breaking down. For hours, we tried to think of a solution, suggesting ways in which we could still meet regularly. However, somehow, all of the options were not suitable for either one of us. The only solution was a long-distance relationship. When I mentioned it to Asher, he looked at me as if I was crazy and started to get angry. I believe his exact words were, "I know you don't want to be in a relationship but I want to be in one with you! How can you think of staying away from me?! I can't even imagine it! I can't let you go. Please, don't leave."

He started off with loud screaming and ended with a tone barely above a whisper. I didn't know whether to be angry or to let my heart melt from his confessions. I didn't get a chance to tell him that I liked him back just as much as he liked me, because he left the room, slamming the door. When I tried to talk to him again, he completely ignored me and hadn't talked to me until that moment outside the courtroom. He pulled back from the hug and said,

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have screamed like that the other day. It's just that I feel like I have separation anxiety when it comes to you."

I forgave him and apologized for not being able to suggest a suitable way for us to stay in touch. Of course, he forgave me. As I walked towards the car, Cole, Jason and Ryan tackled me into a hug, telling me how happy they were for me. Thanking them all, I realized that they were the only people that mattered. As long as I had Asher and my best friends, I would be completely fine.

Done! Last chapter coming up next. Then there's gonna be an epilogue and the book will officially be finished. Thank you SO much to anyone who read the book so far! I really appreciate all of you. I love you guys! Peace out! <3

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