Husband With Benefits

"Am I?" Gabe’s voice was cold and cutting. "Or are you the one twisting the truth, driven by jealousy and a desire to ruin Miss Autumn’s life?"

Bianca’s eyes blazed with fury. "No, that’s not true!"

"Then explain this", Gabe demanded, "Explain why you went to such lengths to malign Autumn’s character and spreading rumors. You even tried to humiliate her at work and passed on information about her to unsavoury people. Wasn’t it because you couldn’t stand the thought of her being close to the man you love? Wasn’t it because you wanted to eliminate any perceived threat to your relationship?"

"I was only trying to protect..." Bianca crumbled. As her eyes met Gregory Savoy’s blazing angry ones, she knew that she’d lost badly. Gregory would not spare her... She tried hard to cover up," Even if I was lying about Pierce, I wasn’t lying about her character. She did try to seduce her step father.. She is an enchantress! Why don’t you look at yourself Gabriel Frost? How long did you know her before you married her! A man like you! She could trap you! What about the others? She..."

Gabe’s voice however, cut through her screaming, hitting with the finality of a nail," "Your Honor, it’s clear that Miss Bianca’s testimony is driven by personal animosity rather than any objective truth. I request that her statements be struck from the record as they are biased and unreliable."

"Your Honor, I must object. Mr. Frost is making baseless accusations against my witness based on the actions of others, trying to discredit her without substantial proof. Miss Bianca’s testimony is crucial to understanding the true character of Miss Autumn."

Gabe turned to face Bennett, his expression calm but steely. "Your Honor, Mr. Bennett can object all he wants, but the facts speak for themselves. Miss Bianca has admitted to personal bias and jealousy, which clearly taints her testimony."

Judge Holden looked between the two lawyers, her gaze stern. "Mr. Bennett, do you have any concrete evidence to counter Mr. Frost’s claims and support Miss Bianca’s accusations?"

Bennett hesitated, glancing at Bianca, whose face was now pale and stricken. "Your Honor, the testimonies of other community members corroborate Miss Bianca’s account. Their concerns about Miss Autumn’s behavior cannot be simply dismissed. Even if Miss bianca agreed to stand here and testify due to her own personal reasons, others in the community have long known about Autumn’s attempt to seduce Mr Savoy. When they first came to know, many believed this to be a misunderstanding and approached Mrs Savoy to clear up the matter. However, her silence told them everything..."

Gabe, however, gave a short laugh at that and interjected, "Your Honor, community gossip and hearsay do not equate to credible evidence, neither does someone’s silence. We need tangible proof, not rumors and biased opinions. No one knoes where the rumors appeared. Tell me, Mr Bennett, if this matter was between Mr Gregory Savoy, his wife and Autumn Savoy, then how did the others in the community learn of this? Do you have any witnesses who can stand here and claim that Autumn told them that she tried to seduce her stepfather?"

Bennett shifted uncomfortably. "Your Honor, while I concede that some of the testimonies are based on community perception, it is imperative that we consider the overall impression Miss Autumn has left on those around her."