"Nicole, after today, everything will be over. You will never have to see that piece of crap ever again. You won't have to deal with him, or just be around him ever again. Don't you worry about it," Elena tells me, with confidence slung around her voice. 

I adjust my clothes a little bit, as I take deep breaths, and fix my hair in the mirror. "Elena, I'm so scared. I can't face him in court today. I can't look him in the eye after everything that's happened today. I don't want to look him in the eye anymore. Please," I say, as Elena runs her fingers through her hair. 

"Sis, don't worry. After this, you're done. And Ash, Dom, Emily, Roy, Lara, Dad, Mark, Elise, and I are going to be there. Hell, Elise is your lawyer. We won't ever let you hang out to dry. Not in his hands," Elena assures. 

Even then, her claims are anything but calming to me. As a matter of fact, the claims are just an enzyme to speed up the reaction of something that I don't want to happen. "Elena, just, no. I can't. I can't stop thinking about it. Everything he's done to me is still fresh in my mind. I just can't stop thinking about it. Oh goodness, is it getting hot in here? I'm so sweaty," I say, as my heart rate starts to accelerate. 

The iron fist presses down on my chest, crushing my lungs and restricting my ability to breathe. I push my hair back with my hands, and I run into the living room. My heart feels like it's going to explode out of my chest with all of the beating. 

My breath feels like someone is controlling it by pushing it with a finger. "Oh gosh, it's so hot. I can't take this," I say, as I pace around the dining room table. 

"Nicole?" Roy asks, as he hurries out of the room. Elena comes following him, as I continue to have a panic attack. I sit down on the couch, to ease myself from the trembling, sweatiness, and just lack of breath, while Roy sits down as well. 

"Nicole, breathe with me. Count. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10," he instructs, slowly, to which I try to obey. I try to follow Roy, and yet, I can't follow his breathing orders. 

"Nicole, you're going to get through this. You're not in danger. You're safe," Elena says, and slowly, the iron fist relieves some of its pressure. "I need you to tell me what you need," Elena demands, and with that, the only thing that I choke out is "Water." 

Elena gets up and hurries to the kitchen to get a glass. Roy scoots closer, and says, "Breathe with me. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10," he says, in a slow, calm voice. I go along with him, and take it one breath at a time. 

Slowly, the iron fist starts to disappear, lifting off of my chest for a short time. Elena comes back with the glass of water, and Roy says, "I'm so proud of you. Great job." I smile, while Elena hands me the glass. 

With my hands still trembling, I take it and let the cold liquid run down my throat. My breathing is still jagged from the stress of everything, while Roy and Elena rub my shoulders. I take a deep breath once more, and say, "Thanks, guys. I needed that." Elena smiles, and says, "We're here for you. Always."

********

"You're going to be okay. I promise," Dom says, with his arms wrapped around me. I hug him tightly, as everyone is waiting outside of the courtroom. At this moment, I need my big brother's comfort. I'm scared shitless right now. I don't want to imagine how facing Colin in court will be, nor do I want to imagine how he will react when he sees me again. 

I nod, and say, "Thanks, Dom. I'm so scared. I don't know if I can do this." 

Emily looks at me, and says, "You're going to be okay. I promise you." 

Dom lets go of me, and I say, "Em, this must be so awkward. You're seeing your brother for the first time in years. And it's in a courthouse. Isn't this going to be kind of awkward?" 

Emily shrugs, and says, "I mean, it's not like I'm talking to him. He's just kind of going to look at me. I'm not worried though. I'm just kinda jittery about my dad." 

I gulp a little bit of the thought of Isaac's strangling self sitting so close to me, with a look that can melt glaciers. I look at Ash, who only has a straight face, and says, "He's going to have a lot of broken bones if he touches you again. Trust me." 

Emily shoots him a look of horror. "Ash, you're going to beat up your dad?" Even Emily is shocked, despite the fact that their dad is a total prick. 

Ash looks at her with a weirded out look on his face. "What? You hate him too!" 

"Yeah, but I don't wanna get arrested for battery! Ash, sometimes you're nuts." 

Dom looks at both of them with a raised eyebrow, and says, "Psh, sometimes?" Ash just rolls his eyes and Emily chuckles, as Mark checks his watch. 

"Okay, the hearing should start soon. Let's get inside," he orders. Without another word spoken between the group, we get inside, so that we can finally get what we've been waiting for so long done.

We're at the reception desk, with a lady that looks extremely disinterested in being there. Even though it's not that far in the day, she looks like she wants to kick back and binge watch Grey's Anatomy. I step forward a little bit, and say, "Excuse me?" 

She looks up, and says, "How may I help you today?" 

I gulp, and say, "I have a court hearing at 10:00 this morning. I just wanted to check in." 

The receptionist looks through her notes, and says, "Last name?" 

I tilt my head to the side, and say, "I don't know if it's under my maiden name or married name. Maiden name is Nicole Wilson. Married name is Nicole Mitchell." 

The receptionist checks the computer a little bit, typing in what presumes to be my name. "Ah, yes, you're recorded here under 'Nicole Mitchell.' Yes, you're in room 4," she informs me. 

I nod, and say, "Great. Have a great day." 

She smiles, and says, "You as well." I walk towards the courtroom, with my family and friends following beside me. Elise is holding her little baby bump, with her briefcase and other materials needed for a successful trial. 

I hear her exhale a little bit, and I ask, "Elise, are you okay? Are you sure you're going to be okay covering my case while 6 months pregnant?" 

Elise shakes her head, and says, "This is probably one of the last cases I'll argue before going on maternity leave. I want to make this a good one. I'd do this when I'm in active labor, hun." 

I smile, and the next thing you know, we're at the waiting area for the courtroom. I look at the people standing outside of it, and say, "This is room 4, right?" 

The two people outside the courtroom nod, and say, "You're correct. I assume that you're the victim?" I nod, and the person just nods along with me. "Okay, just go wait over there in that little green area. We'll be with you every shortly." 

I nod, and then everyone goes with me to the little green area. Everyone sits down beside me, where they all decide to comfort me or help me in one way or another. "It's okay. You're going to be okay. We're here for you," Roy tells me, as I stare into space. 

Today is the day in which I am finally rid of that monster. The monster that has controlled my thoughts, my dreams, my actions. He swallowed me into the ocean of his mindset, the sands of his volatile tendencies, and the jungle of insecurities. 

Today is the day that help finally came to airlift me out of the environment. They would lock him away in a place where Satan dictates. Where only those who have committed the worst of crimes would go to learn about how they were wrong and screwed up. 

Nothing really mattered to me at that moment other than the idea that he was going to be out of my life for almost good. It's the day in which I never saw coming. And it's a day that I will appreciate for the rest of my life. 

"Come in, guys! We're ready for you!" a guy yells, as the doors swing open. I get up out of my chair, with Elise and Elena following, and we walk inside of the courtroom. Other people come in, most likely to serve jury duty, or to fill out the news articles for something that I have no interest in reading. 

The people start to fill the pew, with other people just staring at me or my family. I know that Elena is giving some of them death looks right now, because staring is something that is really rude, but I don't care. I'm too worried about how Colin is going to look at me or what his reaction will be seeing my reaction here. Because the person who screwed over my mental health is going to be feet away, this time, with no chance to hurt me or screw me up any more. 

While I am there, another person whom I don't want to see is coming in. Isaac. With his business suit fastened nicely around his face, and his wrinkled face and expensive watch, one would predict that he's the rich CEO to a successful company. But beneath that facade of a rich CEO lies an insecure man who is nothing other than his son's replica. 

One whose personality is layered upon insecurity and hate. One who I know is not happy to see me testifying against his precious son. But one who is someone who will not be rid of with this simple trial. I gulp a little bit, while Ash seems to look at his dad with nothing but pure disgust and anger. 

I look back at the defense side, and the fateful person is standing there with his lawyers. Colin is standing there, with an orange jumpsuit hugging his somewhat muscled figure. His hair is short, yet tousled, and the bags under his eyes look like they can carry dumbbells. 

I look back at Dom, and he just looks like he wants to gouge Colin's eyes out right now just by looking at him. The fire in his eyes is like an inferno, that has no chances of being extinguished. Lara is holding his arm, while whispering something comforting in his ear so that he doesn't explode and tackle Colin halfway across the room. 

Elena's eyes mask the quiet storm that's happening internally. Roy himself is also holding onto her arm to make sure that she doesn't jump halfway across the room and strangle Colin to death before he's sentenced. Elena seems to relax slowly with Roy whispering calmly in her ear, but the one person whom I'm focusing on the most is Ash. 

Above the obvious anger, there's something else that's like a blanket on his emotion filled eyes. Disappointment. This was the brother who would build Legos with him when they were kids. This was his other half. This was the person whom he thought he could call his brother. This was someone whom he thought he could call family. And now he's standing there, facing multiple charges against him. 

The look on his face is something that drives cracks into my healing heart. Just seeing Ash sad all together is something that nobody wants to witness. The chatter in the room is increasing, until someone slams the gavel down hard enough for everyone to jump in surprise, and for the chatter to go down. 

The judge looks at both of us, and says, "Welcome, everyone. Judges, I hope both of you have your statements ready, because we're going to start the case as soon as we can. We'll start with the defense attorney's opening statement." 

I turn to Elise, and she straightens out her papers and looks straight at the judge. "Three and a half years ago, Nicole Wilson stood at the altar, facing her husband, not knowing what she was about to get herself into. A month ago, she walked out of the marriage, with bruises, scars, and a negatively impacted mental health. What happened in those three years, and about the person who was the true monster throughout those three years, is what we're going to be talking about today. This right here is Nicole Wilson. She was a normal girl, living with her family, about to attend USC to get a shiny finance degree, before she was married off to Colin Mitchell. They lived in a big house, with many rooms, and shiny new furniture, with nobody knowing what was really happening in that house. The unspeakable was happening. She was being tortured, mentally, and beat down in so many ways. Over the course of three and a half years, she was beaten, assaulted, injured, tortured, and pimped out by her husband. Based on the pictures, the medical records, and her own testimony, we are aware of how much Nicole has suffered throughout those years. Because of Colin's unreasonable behavior, she now suffers from panic attacks and PTSD. She has to live with the past every day," Elise starts off. 

I take deep breaths so that my memories don't start come flooding back to me. I don't want to have a PTSD flashback right in the middle of a court case. Nobody wants that, and I certainly don't want that right now. "The bottom line is that Mr. Mitchell should get the maximum sentence for committing such heinous crimes against Ms. Wilson. He was obviously sexually motivated to cause harm toward her, for reasons none other than to cause her all the suffering that he has in his power. The people of this sate will there ask you at the close of the evidence to find him guilty of the many charges against him." Elise sits down, clearly out of breath, and with her hand on her baby bump. 

She turns to face Mark, who just gives her the look of approval, and she looks at me. I give her a smile, a nod, and we continue on with our case. Colin's attorney gives the opening statement, which is trash because they really don't have much to argue about when it comes to the case. Colin really doesn't have much to say against me. "Okay, thank you for those. I would like to direct my attention to Mr. Mitchell. Sir, you are facing the charges of assault, battery, rape, domestic violence, prostitution, and sexual assault. I would like to ask right now. Do you plead guilty to the charges against you?" 

Colin looks at the prosecutor, then at me, and then at the crowd. His gaze on me is fixated for three seconds, which makes me feel uncomfortable. My abuser is staring right at me, with those eyes that I feared for so long. I don't know whether to stand up proud or to cower in fear. 

Colin looks at the attorney, and says, "I plead guilty." My eyes widen at his somewhat change of heart. I didn't expect him to plead guilty at all. I would've expected him to not plead guilty and drag this out for as long as he can. His attorney looks at him, with a slight look of disbelief, as the judge just doesn't seem to care. 

"Very well. Since you have pleaded guilty to all the charges against you, we will be giving you the sentence of 40 years in prison. You will be eligible for parole in 10 years. Case dismissed," he says, and he slams his gavel on the desk. 

Everyone gets up, and moves out of the room, while I'm just sitting there in disbelief. It's finally over. He's officially out of my life. I don't have to risk seeing him again, or worry about the trial date. It's over. I get up, and look at the audience to see my family. They all smile, and then I walk out of the courtroom to embrace them outside. 

We go outside, and the first thing that they do is engulf me in a huge group hug. Everyone wraps their arms around me, while saying, "You did it, Nicole. You finally did it. He's gone."

 We're standing there for the longest time, finally glad that one thing was out of our way. At that point, we just want to stand there and embrace each other for the rest of our lives. Eventually, everyone lets go so that i can move. 

I go over to Elise, and say, "Thank you. So much. You freed me of that monster." 

Elise smiles, and says, "Anything for you. You're a pretty awesome girl, Nicole. I'm glad that we won today." 

Right when she says that, someone says, "Be glad we're in a courthouse, pretty girl." 

I freeze in my stance, afraid to turn around. I can recognize that voice anyday, and the tone painted on it is less than ideal. Slowly, I turn to face Isaac, who's standing there, looking like he wants to smack someone. 

"Oh gosh, not you again. I already told you to leave my friends and family out of this," Ash says, with his fists clenching to his sides. 

Isaac looks towards Ash, and says, "Who cares about your opinion? All I care about is this woman standing right in front of me. The one who sent my son to jail." 

Dominic gets in front of me, and says, "You're not touching her. Ever." 

I move Dom out of the way, with a slight smile, and say, "Thanks, Dom, but I got this. Seriously." I walk a little bit over to Isaac, where Ash is standing nearby so that nobody dares to make a move on me. "Listen up. I've got the best friends and family by my side. I assure you, the day you decide to make a move, is the day your bones are going to be broken. One bone at a time. And we won't have trouble doing it." 

Isaac actually looks kind of threatened at my somewhat assertiveness. I smile a little bit inside, and Isaac backs away slowly, and eventually breaks into a walk that leads to somewhere. Hopefully hell. Ash smiles back at me, and says, "That was pretty good. Threatening his authority is the way to go. Trust me." 

I smile, and Elena steps up. "Okay, it's early in the morning. I think everyone needs a nap. How about we all meet up for dinner afterwards?" 

Everyone looks at each other, and we all nod. "You know, that sounds perfect!" Emily says, and Elena smiles. "Great! 6 okay?" We nod again, and then go our separate ways so that we can go home and take a rest. 

While we're in the car, driving home, I say, "Dom?" 

Dom looks in the mirror a little bit, and says, "Yeah, what's up?" 

I gulp, and say, "Do you know where our mother's diaries are? I think it's time I read them."

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Side note: I'm not a lawyer, I don't study law, and I don't have much experience with the legal system. To those who are familiar with it, I hope it was as accurate as possible. So, was it a surprise that Colin plead guilty? Let me know in the comments. 

Hey everyone! How's it going? Also, it's Super Bowl Weekend! Which team are you guys rooting for? Let me know in the comments. 

Also, we're winding down on the end of the book. 9 chapters left! (counting the epilogue). By the way, after you guys read the epilogue, if you want me to write some bonus scenes (the ones I specify in the chapter) then I will be more than happy to do so! 

Well, that's all I got. Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all next Saturday with a new chapter of Phoenix! Have a great week!

Love you guys, 

Shree