Courtroom

"Your honor, I must bring to the court's attention that this is the fifth time Mr. Voktor Sterling has failed to appear for the divorce hearing. He is deliberately harassing my client, Mrs. Kaelen Thorne, by continuously delaying these legal proceedings."

Harrison stood tall behind the plaintiff's table, his authoritative voice ringing out loudly and bouncing off the dark wooden paneled walls of the courtroom. The expansive room felt suffocating despite its high ceilings. Row upon row of wooden benches were packed with eager law interns and junior attorneys, all whispering among themselves as they observed the tense, heavy atmosphere. The scent of old paper, floor wax, and stale coffee hung thick in the air.

"I object, Your Honor. Mr. Sterling is dealing with severe health issues that require frequent visits to the Sanctuary-Wing for ongoing medical treatment."

The opposing counsel, Mr. Garrett, adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses and offered a flimsy defense, shifting his weight uncomfortably under the judge's piercing stare.

"So my esteemed colleague is claiming that since the very day he filed for divorce from my client, he has been perpetually ill or conveniently out of the city. For two whole years, Mr. Sterling has not attended a single court hearing. He has not responded to a single phone call or legal summons. In stark contrast, my client has never missed a scheduled appointment despite managing a demanding corporate career of her own. Mr. Sterling is stalling because he lacks a valid reason to dissolve this marriage, and my client has every right to sue him for mental harassment."

Harrison did not miss a single beat, his tone dripping with professional frustration. The judge sighed heavily, rubbing his temples before leaning forward over the massive oak bench. He glared down at the defense table, his patience visibly wearing thin.

"Mr. Garrett, this is the last time I am postponing this hearing. At the next session, I expect your client to be physically present in this room unless he is confined to a hospital bed on a ventilator."

A ripple of low chuckles and snickers spread through the gallery at the judge's sharp, biting sarcasm. The interns hastily scribbled notes, clearly entertained by the brutal dressing-down.

"On behalf of my client, I request the next hearing be scheduled in two months. He will recover and attend without fail."

Mr. Garrett wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, looking thoroughly defeated.

"Request granted. Voktor Sterling has exactly two months to physically appear in court, or the divorce proceedings will automatically move forward in Mrs. Thorne's favor. The next case will commence after the recess."

The judge struck his wooden gavel against the sounding block, the sharp crack signaling the end of the session.

Stepping out through the imposing double doors of the courthouse, the bright morning daylight felt harsh and unforgiving against Kaelen's tired eyes. She kept her head down, matching her lawyer's brisk pace down the wide concrete steps. The bustling noise of the city traffic washed over them, but Kaelen felt numb to the world.

"Did you try contacting your husband again this morning?"

Harrison maintained his cold, professional demeanor, not bothering to look up as his eyes scanned the thick case file his assistant had just handed him.

"Yes, but the automated network message said the number is invalid. He is not using that line anymore."

The lawyer did not react, but the news felt like a fresh, suffocating physical blow straight to Kaelen's chest. She swallowed hard, fighting the thick, painful lump forming in her throat. Her lungs tightened as if invisible bands were wrapped around her ribs. Heartbroken did not even begin to cover the sheer magnitude of her despair. There was no way left to reach Voktor. Every bridge was burned, every line of communication severed.

"Do not worry about that minor detail. The judge has given the final, binding ultimatum today. The proceedings will move forward in our favor, especially since he lacks proper legal grounds for a divorce."

Harrison stated in his detached tone. He raised his eyes briefly from the paperwork but offered no comforting smile to ease her visible distress.

"Thank you for your time and effort. I need to head to the office now."

Kaelen forced her lips into a heavily practiced, polite smile, masking the storm raging inside her head. Harrison gave a curt nod and walked away to discuss his next appointment, indifferent to the severe emotional toll the morning's failure had taken on his client.

Left alone on the crowded sidewalk, Kaelen felt her lower lip tremble. Hot tears pricked the corners of her eyes, blurring her vision. She took several ragged breaths, forcing the crisp morning air into her tight lungs until her erratic heart rate finally leveled out. Straightening her spine, she marched toward the line of waiting yellow cabs.

She kept her stoic mask firmly in place while dealing with the driver, but the moment she slid into the secluded back seat of the taxi and the heavy door slammed shut, the facade shattered into a million jagged pieces. Kaelen slumped against the cool glass of the window, letting the sights of the busy commercial district blur into meaningless streaks of color. A single tear escaped, charting a hot path down her pale cheek, followed quickly by another.

*Why Voktor? What did I ever do to you?*

Her mind screamed in agony. She wept silently, her slender shoulders shaking under the sensible fabric of her work blazer. He had abandoned her without a single word, walking out of her life precisely when she was at her most vulnerable. She deeply mourned the man who had promised to cherish her, the husband who had inexplicably turned into a cruel, unreachable phantom.

The elderly cab driver glanced into the rearview mirror, his wrinkled eyes softening with deep sympathy as he witnessed her silent, shaking breakdown in the back seat. Her intense grief was suddenly interrupted by the sharp, demanding ringtone of her mobile phone echoing in the confined space. Kaelen flinched, hastily digging the device from her leather tote bag. Seeing her mother's name flashing brightly across the screen, she squeezed her eyes shut. She did not need to guess the purpose of this call. Taking a massive, ragged breath, she hastily wiped the wetness from her cheeks and cleared her throat, forcing her vocal cords to steady.

"No, Mamma, he didn't show up again."

Kaelen spoke nonchalantly, injecting a false, casual lightness into her tone.

"God only knows what that boy is plotting. He refuses to speak to you directly and refuses to face the judge. It feels like he is punishing you for no reason at all."

Her mother's worried, complaining voice filtered through the small speaker, thick with maternal indignation. The words twisted the rusty knife already lodged in Kaelen's heart. It had been two full years since that terrifying, fateful night when Voktor had looked at her with such blinding, unexplainable rage before vanishing into thin air. She had tried everything to find him. She had called her mother-in-law countless times, only to be met with dead air, and eventually, a disconnected line. In a final act of desperation, she had driven out to his parents' estate, only for her mother-in-law to slam the heavy front door directly in her face. Kaelen truly felt she was being punished, but she had zero clue what her crime was.

"Harrison assured me the case is swinging in our favor due to his constant absenteeism. Everything is fine, Mamma."

Kaelen wove the desperate, calculated lie with practiced ease, staring blankly at the passing traffic. She did this solely to shield her loving parents from the profound, crushing heartbreak that was slowly destroying her from the inside out. They had sacrificed too much to support her during her lowest points, and she refused to burden their old age with her unending tears.

"I keep telling you to let us come to the court with you. Why do you always insist on going alone?"

Her mother sighed heavily.

"Mamma, you know how slow the legal system is. I cannot let you and Dadda sit on those hard wooden benches for hours while I rush straight to the office afterward. I am already running significantly late for a massive team meeting. I love you, I have to go now, bye."

Kaelen ended the call before her mother could formulate another argument. She dropped the phone back into her bag, letting out a long, exhausted breath. A sudden movement caught her peripheral vision. The elderly cab driver reached over the center console, wordlessly offering her a soft white tissue while keeping his other hand steady on the steering wheel.

"Thank you."

Kaelen murmured, accepting the tissue and dabbing carefully at her swollen eyes.

"God will not burden a soul with more hardship than it can handle, child."

The driver spoke in a gentle, rumbling voice, his eyes meeting hers briefly in the mirror. Kaelen chose to remain silent. She offered a tight nod, turning her gaze back out the window. A kind stranger could not possibly understand the weight of the invisible chains dragging her down. The long drive from the civil courts on the outskirts of the city to the bustling commercial hub took nearly an hour, giving her ample time to bury her sorrow back into its dark, hidden box.

After paying the fare, Kaelen adjusted the strap of her heavy bag over her shoulder and jogged through the revolving glass doors of the massive corporate tower. By the time she squeezed into the closing elevator doors, she was panting lightly. She checked her silver wristwatch and grimaced. She was significantly late for her shift. As the elevator shot upward, Kaelen closed her eyes and took several deep, centering breaths. She smoothed down her conservative blouse, patted her cheeks to bring some normal color back into them, and plastered on her usual cheerful, accommodating mask. The doors dinged open on her floor, and she stepped out into the maze of sleek cubicles and blinding fluorescent lights. She kept her head down, hoping to reach her desk without making small talk, but a sudden shriek from behind made her jump out of her skin.

"You are late! Let me guess, that coward didn't turn up again."

Kaelen spun around, placing a hand flat over her racing heart. "Tessa, you scared half my life away."

Tessa, her best friend and perceptive colleague, crossed her arms over her stylish silk blouse. Her sharp eyes instantly locked onto Kaelen's face. Tessa saw right through the heavy layer of fresh face powder, noting the distinct reddened tip of Kaelen's nose and her misted, swollen eyelashes.

"So, am I right, or am I right?"

Tessa asked, her tone smug but laced with underlying concern.

"We must always look for the silver lining. The case is moving in my favor because of his absence."

Kaelen flashed her signature smile, the slight crookedness of her teeth adding to her practiced charm.

"There is a reason I call you Mother Teresa. You live for others, you suffer in silence, and look exactly where it landed you?"

Tessa scolded sharply. Seeing the brief flash of hurt cross Kaelen's eyes, her harsh tone immediately softened.

"I am sorry, babe. I don't mean to be mean, but you have to start living for yourself. I am genuinely worried about your well-being."

"I know you are worried, but I am fine. Really. I just cannot lie to my family about where I am going or what I am doing."

"You are not fine. And because you are not fine, we are going out to a wild party tonight to get you out of this spiraling depression. I am not taking no for an answer. Either you come willingly, or I am tossing you in the trunk of a car."

Tessa declared firmly, leaving zero room for negotiation.

"Tessa, you know I don't do clubs. My family values modesty. Plus, omission of words is still a lie."

"I already called your mother. I told her you are staying over at my apartment tonight so we can work on a massive project. She agreed. Now, move your ass before Xandros bites our heads off. We have a weekly meeting starting right now."

Tessa grabbed Kaelen's arm, ignoring her conservative protests, and dragged her toward the large glass conference room.

The two women worked as business analysts for a global financial firm, handling immense volumes of data and forecasting market trends for third-party clients. The pressure was always high, but today, the atmosphere in the meeting room felt unusually heavy and fraught with anxiety. Their stern manager, Xandros, stood at the head of the long mahogany table. He swept a severe, threatening glare over the assembled team, his posture rigid.

"Listen up. Today's primary agenda involves an upcoming high-stakes client visit. The board is sending representatives from our top accounts to evaluate a massive revamping of our entire technology infrastructure. Furthermore, a brand new Assistant Vice President is transferring directly from the US branch to oversee these new operations. He will be taking over John's previous territory."

Xandros paused, ensuring every person in the room grasped the gravity of his words. The room fell dead silent. Xandros slammed his palms flat against the table.

"I want zero mistakes. As a multinational company, their agenda is to push our limits with new technology. This client visit is critical for the survival of this division. One mistake and it will cost the company millions. Pull up your socks, clear your schedules, and give me perfection starting today."

The grueling shift felt endless, filled with complicated spreadsheets and the looming anxiety of the new AVP's impending arrival. The second the clock struck the end of their shift, Tessa slammed her laptop shut. Before Kaelen could even grab her coat, Tessa literally dragged her reluctant, complaining friend out of the towering office building and shoved her into a taxi heading straight for the massive upscale shopping mall downtown.

The bright neon signs and thumping pop music of the mall did nothing to improve Kaelen's sour mood. Tessa marched them with military precision past the modest department stores, heading directly into a high-end, glaringly expensive boutique. Flipping rapidly through a rack of tiny garments, Tessa's eyes lit up. She yanked a hanger off the rack and thrust a scandalous, beige, lace-sleeved bodycon dress directly into Kaelen's hesitant hands.

Kaelen stared at the minimal scrap of fabric as if it were a toxic hazard. "Are you crazy? I am not wearing this. You know short dresses and body-hugging materials are a massive no for me."

"Oh, please. You always dress in these massive, modest clothes that hide your figure. You look like you are draped in an old, discarded rag. The elite club venue we are hitting tonight wouldn't even let you linger in their dirty parking lot if you showed up dressed like a substitute teacher."

Tessa rolled her eyes dramatically, pointing an accusing manicured finger at Kaelen's sensible, loose-fitting slacks.

"Tessa! I cannot wear something this revealing. It shows way too much skin."

Kaelen gritted her teeth, her pale cheeks flushing a deep crimson as a passing sales associate glanced their way.

"It shows exactly what needs to be shown."

Tessa snatched a matching pair of towering strappy sandals from a nearby display. Before Kaelen could formulate another argument or attempt to hang the offending garment back on the metal rack, Tessa grabbed her by the shoulders and aggressively shoved her into a cramped fitting room.

"We do not have all night! Put it on, or I will come in there and dress you myself!"

"You are a menace!"

Kaelen shouted in sheer embarrassment and utter frustration. She slammed the heavy wooden louvered door shut with excessive force, the loud crack echoing through the quiet boutique. Standing in front of the full-length mirror, Kaelen glared at her reflection. She gripped the delicate beige lace in her fists, her chest heaving with a mix of anxiety and annoyance.

Outside the locked door, Tessa merely chuckled knowingly. She leaned against the wall, her smile slowly fading into an expression of deep, solemn concern. Going out to drink and dance was just a convenient excuse. Tessa harbored a singular, dedicated desire: she just wanted her deeply wounded best friend to forget her miserable, absent husband for one single night. Kaelen had spent two years drowning in a sea of unanswered questions, and Tessa refused to watch her sink any further.

Yet, as Tessa stared at the slats of the wooden door, a strange shiver ran down her spine. She rubbed her arms, unable to shake the strong, unexplainable, ominous intuition creeping into her bones. It was a heavy, suffocating feeling. A sudden dread whispering that Kaelen desperately needed these fleeting, manufactured moments of happiness right now, because an even darker, more all-consuming torment was waiting just around the corner, ready to swallow her whole.