He Gave Our Family Speech With His Ex, So I Took the Mic novel · Chapter 5 of 24
Chapter 5: Temporary Orders
The courtroom was smaller than I'd pictured, and colder.
Derek sat at the other table in his best navy suit.
He had a lawyer with a silver pen and a tan, and behind him, in the first row of the gallery, sat Gwen.
She wore gray and kept her hands folded in her lap.
My lawyer wrote one line on her legal pad and underlined it twice.
I sat with my back straight and my hands flat on the table.
The judge came in, and everyone stood.
"This is a hearing on temporary orders," the judge said, an older woman with a tired, sharp face. "I've read the filings. Counsel for the petitioner, go ahead."
Derek's lawyer rose.
"Your Honor, my client is a devoted father who is terrified for his daughter," he said. "Last week his wife stormed a school assembly in front of three hundred families. We'd like the court to see what the other parents saw."
A screen came down behind the bench.
He pressed a key.
There I was, on a stage, in work flats, taking a microphone out of my husband's hand.
The sound was loud and harsh.
My voice said, "Derek, tell them who your family is."
Then the clip cut to black.
It had been trimmed to ten seconds.
It showed me grabbing, my face tight, my husband stepping back with his palms open.
It did not show his speech.
It did not show the woman beside him, or the boy.
It did not show my daughter standing alone in the aisle in a paper crown.
Somebody behind me whispered, "Oh, that poor man."
My lawyer stood.
"Your Honor, we have the full recording," she said. "From the side of the gym. Just under five minutes. I'd ask the court to watch it start to finish."
"Objection," Derek's lawyer said smoothly. "We have no idea who made it."
Keep reading free with an account. Start He Gave Our Family Speech With His Ex, So I Took the Mic from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 4 · All chapters · Chapter 6 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend