Too Late for Regret novel Chapter 113

What Could She Possibly Do?

Chapter 113

Joyce’s POV

I stood and walked up to be sworn in, with my heart racing. This was it. I had accepted what was to come. I was fine with it, as long as Sasha got the greater amount of time. Now that I know she had those jury tampering charges against her, I knew that anything else would just be the cherry on top.

I hadn’t realized how it felt to be sitting up here. So close to the judge who was watching me. along with all the people in the gallery. I hadn’t realized how many people were actually here. There were even more cameras in here now. All were waiting to see what was about to happen. I had already spoken to William about it. He was going to phrase the question in a way that would allow me to say my piece at the end of my questioning. I had spent my lunch grabbing a quick bite, a last meal if you will.

“Mrs. Cook, at lunch, you requested to speak to the judge, and both Attorney Blake and me to discuss something. Can you tell us what that was about?” her attorney asked.

“I had some evidence of my own. Evidence I wanted to share. After watching the video earlier, I realized just how poorly I had treated Ana. I saw firsthand how I had been led into ambushing her at her company in order to cause a disturbance. I allowed Sasha to get me where she wanted me to be. I just wanted to get my son’s designs back for him. I was the reason he lost them, I was trying to right a wrong,” I replied.

“So you believed what Sasha told you about those first drafts, too? You believed Ana had taken them when she left the company?” he asked.

“I did. I never realized that Roger’s success was because of her. He always let us believe that he had been the cause of his quick rise. It wasn’t until after she quit that I understood the depth of what I had done. I had encouraged him to bring Sasha back from Paris. I never wanted to welcome Ana into our family. I never liked her, so once Roger mentioned reconnecting with Sasha, I thought I could kill two birds with one stone. Roger could get the wife he wanted, and I was proud to accept. He would also get a talented designer out of the deal. It was good for everyone, except Ana.” I replied.

“Why didn’t you want to accept Ana?” he asked the million–dollar question.

“She was polite, but it was clear that she had airs about herself. There was never one specific thing she did; she just seemed pretentious to me. A know–it–all who was able to sit and discuss business with my husband so easily. I didn’t like that either. It was clear she liked

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Roger. Roger is the spitting image of Scott. He was very impressed by her and told Roger he had chosen well. That comment made me like her even less. It certainly didn’t encourage me to accept her. There were other things, but mainly I wanted better for my son. He had created a business all by himself; he deserved better than an overweight woman with an inflated ego. All she did was make a few designs and thought she deserved to marry my son. That’s what I believed at the time,” I admitted.

“So you based your opinion of Ana on your husband liking her for Roger, and her weight?” Rodney asked. I flinched as that comment made me look even worse.

“I may have been a little jealous. Scott and I had been married for a long time. Men’s eyes stray. It was frustrating to see them sitting at the table and discussing business so easily. They ignored the rest of the table, just talking between themselves like they had been friends forever. I wasn’t supposed to be ignored. She should have been kissing up to me to accept her. I was angry that Roger didn’t stop her. He watched them speaking together, listening to them go on and on. It was humiliating to be ignored in my own home. But I was wrong,” I

answered.

I had never thought about it before, but that was certainly where I started to not like her. How she dared to come into my home and flirt with my own husband right there in front of me? I’m not stupid. I recognized the fact that my husband thought the world of Ana. He didn’t try to hide it. That may have been the reason I treated her the way I did. I knew after that, I started to actively look for ways to embarrass her. I never missed an opportunity to belittle her, especially in front of Scott. I didn’t realize the emotion that was driving my anger.

I didn’t want to admit that I was jealous of her and her business acumen. She had a clear

understanding of what it took to run a business. Scott had never been as impressed with our own children. Not until Roger’s company was listed. Roger never mentioned that his success

had been on her shoulders. Now that we know she’s a Caldwell and the owner of Fashion

Forward, I can see how she stands out more than most.

I wish I’d given her a chance. I wished I had spoken to Scott that night and explained how their interaction made me feel. I can see him sitting next to Roger in the gallery. He’s upset by my words. He’s finally understanding why I reacted so badly to her after all this time. I allowed my jealously to permeate every inch of me, until I was filled with nothing but rage towards Ana. I let my anger out in the worst possible way, all because I thought I could get away with it. Because Ana was a nobody, and she wouldn’t be able to retaliate. Sasha may have encouraged me to keep at it, but I was the one who started this. Now I’m going to finish it.

“So, you regret what you did now? Why?” he asked.

“I never watched any of the videos that we made. I felt like Ana deserved everything we did to

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her. I admit, I initially went too far because I thought she was alone. I had the upper hand, and I wanted to hurt her. Seeing us there and hearing the horrible things we said. She had warned us, and we laughed it off. We thought she was weak, so we kept attacking. My husband was right. I was determined to rise higher in our society. I wanted my children to marry well and help us advance further. I wanted our name to be respected more than it was. I wanted that, more than anything, and it ended up costing me everything,” I answered.

I felt tears roll down my face. I knew the idiom “Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.” I learned the hard way that in this particular case, it was indeed a warning. Crying won’t fix things, but I was sorry for what I’ve done.

“So seeing those videos this morning reminded you that you had videos of your own?” he

asked.

My eyes darted to Sasha. She was just now realizing what I was about to do. I didn’t smile. I had no joy in doing this. I was cutting my own throat, too, by releasing them. I saw the judge’s face in chambers. She even asked me if I was willing to admit them into evidence. I assured her that I did. I needed to be with Regina. It’s my fault that she’s in jail. I needed to be with her to help protect her. Perhaps Ana would be more understanding after she heard the audio. It honestly didn’t matter if she did or not. According to William, we will both be spending at least the next year in jail. But it’s better than us having to go to prison.

Sasha was writing in her notebook. Probably telling William to stop me, but he had no intention of doing that. The audio was ready to go. Ana’s Attorney was just working her up so she would lose it again. I felt no guilt at doing this to her. Sasha knew everything. She told numerous lies. I fell for it all because I wanted to believe it was true. Sasha pushed us to end up here. I don’t know what she was thinking. Now I know that she fully intended to run off and leave me holding the bag.

“They did. I remembered that I had them right before recess for lunch. I’m kicking myself because I could have had a great deal more. But I’d fooled myself into thinking that I was doing this for my son, instead of trying to hurt Ana. I honestly believed Sasha when she said that the initial design was hers and Ana had taken them from her. Sasha knew this entire time that she was lying. She kept inciting Regina and me to pursue Ana. That with enough. pressure, Ana would have to give them back. I believed her. I believed that getting the designs back would help Roger forgive me for what I had done. I didn’t know Sasha was like she was until it was too late. She would wind us up, and then call up a film crew. The first time, when she was arrested, I was the one who called. I wanted to shame her. But all the other times, that was Sasha,” I admitted.

“I would like to go over your evidence with you if you don’t mind. We sent the audio clips off to be verified, and they should be returning soon. But to save time, your honor, I would like to play exhibit L,” he requested.

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The video started with silence, but you soon heard footsteps approach. The courtroom filled with Sasha’s voice, “I’m so damn sick of that b***h. Why won’t she just hand over the designs? She could always make more later. Why does she have to fight us the entire time? I can’t believe she’s willing to take down Fashion Forward right along with her. If she thinks they will just let her go, she has another thing coming. She’s put them in a really bad spot. People are in a frenzy now. I’m going to ask if they’re willing to come with us and picket at Fashion Forward next time we go. There’s no way they will stand behind her once that happens. She’ll be fired, as she should be, and publicly shamed. It’s what she deserves.”

“I don’t want to go back there, Sasha. She isn’t bending, and you swore she would the first time we went. I have a really bad feeling about this. We’ve already gone several times. We made a mistake. She’s not alone, and she can come after us. Her parents might even come after us. What will we do if they take us to court?” I replied.

“She should have told us that she was a Caldwell. This would have even happened if we had known. However, we must continue to move forward with this. If we don’t, the public will figure out that we lied. Isn’t that even worse than pissing off the Caldwell’s? They won’t come after us. It’s beneath them. But if they do. I will just point out that she is bullying us. That she’s using her wealth against us. Stop worrying. We have the public on our side. What could she possibly do to us?” Sasha replied.

KatVonBeck

#Vote#

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