The Colonel Gave My Wedding to His Sick Sister novel · Chapter 5 of 24
Chapter 5: Thirty Feet Away
The county paper ran my face on Monday morning above the words "Bride Accused of Attacking Ailing Sister."
Gran read it aloud at the table in a flat voice and then fed it to the woodstove.
"They'll hear you at the hearing," she said. "Wear the blue dress."
The courthouse had one courtroom, and by nine it was full.
I knew half the faces from the post school and the other half from the church lawn.
My mother and father sat in the front row on the petitioner's side, in black.
Livia sat between them in a wheelchair with a blanket over her knees and a small oxygen tube at her nose.
She had not needed a wheelchair on Saturday.
Ansel stood at the rail in dress blues, with his hand on the chair handle behind her.
I sat on the other side with a young Army lawyer from legal assistance, and Kirk sat in the row behind me in uniform.
He had not been asked to come, and nobody asked him to leave.
The magistrate was a gray man with half-glasses and a tired mouth.
He read the order out loud, slowly.
"Petitioner alleges that on Saturday at approximately two in the afternoon, the respondent struck her in the chest during a ceremony and caused a cardiac event."
Livia lowered her eyes.
Mom wiped her face with a folded handkerchief.
"Respondent," the magistrate said. "Do you contest this?"
"Yes, Your Honor."
"On what basis?"
My lawyer rose.
"We have a witness, Your Honor, and a video."
A woman stood up in the third row of the gallery.
She was a post spouse with a baby carrier on her chest, and I had never spoken to her in my life.
Keep reading free with an account. Start The Colonel Gave My Wedding to His Sick Sister 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