Hollow Weekend

Chapter 4

POV: Melanie Hart

The world didn’t stop when someone I loved was accused of something unthinkable. It spun cruelly on, like nothing had changed, cars moved, emails buzzed, coffee brewed. But for me, everything had changed.

I stared out the window of the coffee shop, fingers wrapped around a porcelain mug that had gone cold. My reflection in the glass looked unfamiliar, tired eyes, pursed lips, a woman straining to hold it all together. Somewhere between confusion and desperation to save the man I loved, I had aged. Maybe it was the weight of betrayal... or fear.

A chime broke the silence, and in walked the woman that could help us, a long-time friend of mine, Naomi Clarke.

She was older, with sharp cheekbones and sharper eyes. Dressed in a black blazer over a muted turtleneck, she looked more like a fashion-forward professor than a public defence attorney. Still, the moment she saw me, her stride slowed. She walked like someone who’d seen things, ugly, complicated things and learned not to flinch.

“Melanie?” she asked, voice smooth, low, and careful.

I nodded. “Yes.”

She offered a hand, firm and warm. I gestured to the seat across from me.

“Thanks for meeting me,” I said.

“Jaden needs help, and fast.” Naomi set her leather satchel beside her, pulling out a tablet and notepad in one fluid motion. “I’ve read the arrest warrant and reviewed the initial complaint. The situation is... sensitive.”

I laughed bitterly. “That’s one word for it.”

She didn’t flinch. “How much has Jaden told you?”

“Everything,” I said too quickly. “Well, everything he believes happened.”

Naomi’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And do you believe him?”

I looked down at my cold coffee. “I don’t know what to believe. I want to. But... you weren’t there. You didn’t see the look on his face when I visited him in that goddamn cell. Like he didn’t recognize me anymore.”

She didn’t press, but the silence between us pulsed with things unsaid.

“I don’t think he’s capable of that,” I added, my voice smaller now. “But I’ve known Jaden to have irrational tendencies, especially when under stress, I’ve always helped him deal with such situations but this time, I wasn’t around.”

Naomi clicked her pen once, then set it down. “That may be. But this case will not be decided by emotional testimony or past virtues. It will be decided by evidence. Facts. The truth, as it can be proven in court.”

My stomach tightened. “Naomi, this is going to trial and they have evidences”

Naomi leaned forward. “I heard the accuser’s attorney just filed a motion and they want the case made public.”

The words hung in the air like smoke, although I had heard it before.

“A public trial” I echoed, trying to process it.

“Yes,” Naomi said carefully. “Which means every detail, every word, and every picture will be open to the press. And trust me, once that happens, there’s no coming back.”

I pressed my palms to my forehead. “This will destroy him completely and everything he has built.”

Naomi didn’t contradict me. She simply said, “We need to act fast...”

“But Jaden was very clear in what he told me. He claims it was consensual, no force, no coercion. The woman agreed to a one-night stand, and things spiralled from there.” I said, biting the inside of my cheek.

“He wrote the same in his statement. But then… why would she lie?”

Naomi tapped the folder. “That’s the question. I looked up some information about her, she’s not a big personality. The most she could want is money or compensation. If that was the case, it wouldn’t go this far… Mel, someone is behind this… someone pulling the strings”

My eyes flicked to the folder. “You think so?”

“I think it’s pretty obvious. The alleged victim has hired her own attorney – a high-profile one.”

I frowned. “That’s unusual, right? Isn’t the state supposed to handle it?”

“Usually. But this attorney, Brielle Madden, she’s not after a quiet settlement. She wants fireworks.”

The name made me blink. Brielle Madden is an avid feminist, who specialises in cases like this, and she has never lost one.

“Jesus” I screamed in a short breath.

Naomi nodded grimly. “And she’s petitioning for the hearing to be public.”

Naomi closed the folder gently. “This means cameras. Journalists. Social media vultures, a media circus that turns this into more than a trial, it becomes a spectacle.”

I went silent for a moment, trying to keep my composure. I tugged off my sunglasses and finally met Naomi’s eyes. “He’ll never survive that. His company, his reputation, it’s already falling apart.” I reiterated.

“I analysed the clips circulating on the internet. It’s really hard to tell, but who knows what else they have prepared?” Naomi muttered with a puzzled look.

I heaved a deep sigh, I was getting weary and horrified. “But it was just s*x. Just one night, he could’ve just waited for me to return.”

“Sometimes,” Naomi said, leaning in, “that’s all it takes to destroy someone.”

The silence returned, heavier now, like the weight of a verdict hanging overhead. Naomi could feel me cracking, beneath the designer polish, beneath the loyalty and the public image, I was drowning.

“I want to see him again,” Melanie whispered. “But they say he’s being moved”

“Yes, I could arrange for you to meet him though” Naomi said. “But Melanie…”

I looked up.

“Start preparing yourself. This could get very ugly and might not get better.”

I nodded slowly, almost dazed, without words to say.

Naomi stood, adjusting her coat. “I’ll be in touch.”

Just as she was about to walk away, her phone buzzed. A new message from the prosecutor’s office.

She read it, frowned, and then turned back to me. “Looks like your day just got worse.”

“What now?”

Naomi’s eyes were sharp. “Brielle Madden, the attorney just filed an emergency motion. They want the first court appearance in two days… and they want it televised.”

My mouth parted, but no sound came.

Naomi grabbed her satchel but before leaving she spoke softly. “Welcome to a legal war.”