Second Chances

The big reveal

Court day arrived faster than they wanted. Jack and Alanna were not looking forward to seeing Smith. The day before, they had been to a spa. They needed to be relaxed during court. If the jury saw any kind of anger or hostility in any of them, they could take Smith's side. Losing this case will ruin Jack's chances of becoming a Lieutenant.

That morning, Jack woke up earlier than Alanna. They were staying in Jack’s house, so they didn’t have a gym to work out. Alanna woke up listening to Jack huffing and puffing numbers on the floor. Alanna moves to the edge of the bed and finds Jack doing pushups on his underwear. Jack counted, “94,95,96,97,98,99…100.” Jack jumped up and smiled at Alanna, “sorry did I wake you?” Alanna looked at him and smiled, “I don’t mind waking up to these views.” Jack jumped into bed and grab Alanna. She tried to move away from his sweaty body, but he rubbed his sweat on her. Alanna laughs, trying to get out of bed. Jack grabbed her and lay his body over hers. He held her head and kissed her. Alanna grabbed him and rolled him under her. She sat on him and rubbed his chest. Jack sat up, pushed her back and slid her panties off. Then he lay back down, bringing her back up on top of him. Alanna sat on his warm erection. Jack softly traces her body under her silk gown. He makes it to her back and pulls her closer to him. Jack slides her gown off and kisses her neck. Alanna moves back to a sitting position on Jack. She holds onto his chest as she bounces on him. Alanna then arches her back and moans loudly. Jack sits up holding her back. He kisses her passionately and rolls over her. He takes over, rotating his hips fast. He held on to her shoulders to keep her from moving away. Alanna moan. She gets close to his ear and tells him, “I love you, Jack.” Jack moans and presses his body against hers. He kisses her neck and says, “Then marry me.” Alanna moaned quietly in his ear, “Okay!” Jack grunted and held her tighter as he filled her up.

Jack couldn’t believe what he heard; he was afraid that Alanna would get carried away in a moment of passion. He lifts his upper body and looks at Alanna. Her face and chest were red. Alanna caresses his face and smiles. Jack hesitated to talk. Then Alanna placed her hand on his face and said, “I need you, I want you, so let’s do it.” Jack's eyes teared up and he smiled. He then kisses Alanna desperately.

Alanna laughed. Jack lifted his torso again and asked, “Are you serious?” Alanna smiled, “I didn’t think I was going to feel this way ever again, so I said that I was never going to get married again, but you make me want to. I want to wake up next to you for the rest of my life.” Jack hugged her tight and whispered, “You just made me the happiest man alive.”

Jack and Alanna stay in bed kissing. They didn’t realize that it was getting late. Then an alarm sounded and Alanna jumped out of bed. She had set an alarm just in case they overslept. She rushes to the bathroom and Jack follows right behind her. Alanna put on a gray pantsuit with a button-up black shirt. She wears her hair up in a high bun and her black stilettos. Jack put on a black suit with a white shirt and a black and gray tie. Alanna looked at Jack and grabbed his jacket. She pulled him close and kissed him. Then she sighs, “You are so hot, I’m definitely marring your sexy ass.” Jack laughed loudly. He embarrassed and kissed her. Then they hear Mary calling them.

They rushed out of the room and met Mary in the living room. Mary was waiting for them in a black suit with a white shirt holding a leather briefcase. Mary looked at Jack and said, “It is nice to see you wearing dad’s tie.” Jack rubbed his tie and smiled. Alanna held his hand up and kissed it. Then Mary took a good look at the two of them. She smiled and said, “You guys look so good together.” Jack wrapped his arms around Alanna and asked, grinning, “Good enough to get married?” Mary opened her mouth wide and exclaimed, “What? Did she finally say yes?” Alanna wrapped her hands around Jack and nodded. Mary shouted, “Congratulations, we need to celebrate this after court.” And she stretched her arms, hugging both.

They arrive in court just on time. Smith was at the entrance smoking a cigarette. Jack wrapped his arm around Alanna, making her feel safe. When they pass by Smith he chuckles. Jack made a fist and took a deep breath. Alanna noticed that he was getting agitated, so she rubbed her hand on his chest. Jack grabbed her hand, looked at her eyes and then he took a deep breath. He calmed down and they walked inside the courtroom. They walked to the attorney's table. Jack pulled out a chair for his sister, he pulled a chair for Alanna and he sat between them.

Smith walked into the courtroom smiling, accompanied by Steven, an old friend of Jack. Jack looked at his sister and frowned, “Why is Steven representing Smith?” Mary shook her shoulders and replied, “I didn’t know Steve was still practicing law. I heard that he was involved in some shady business, and no one wanted to work with him anymore.”

Jack was surprised to hear that. He hasn’t seen him since his divorce. Steven sat and waved at Jack. Jack nods seriously. Alanna asked Jack, “Is that going to be a problem?” Jack rubbed her back and leaned close to her ear and said, “I hope not.”

The jury enters and stares at Jack and Alanna. Alanna recognizes a man from the jury. She informs Jack. Jack tells his sister and she quickly goes to take care of it. The man is sent away and replaced with another stranger. Then, after all the anticipation, the judge walks into the room. Everybody stands until the judge sits. The judge speaks, then the attorneys take turns presenting the case and Alanna looks at Jack. His broad shoulders, his defined strong jaw, his sky-blue eyes, his soft lips… Then she remembers that she is at court. She cannot wait for the day to be over and devour him. She began to think about what she had told him that morning. She was really going to marry him. She was amazed by her change of heart, but she found an amazing guy.

Alanna’s thoughts were interrupted by the judge calling her name. Alanna was asked to testify, then Jack was called. When Jack sat on the witness stand, he saw a familiar face in the crowd. His ex-wife Susan was there. Jack wondered why she was at his trial. Susan was staring straight at him, smiling. Jack had been calm and confident all day, but seeing Susan shook him up. He struggled to hold his composure. He struggles to answer questions and seems distracted. After his testimony, the judge called for a break.

Jack walked back to his sister and Alanna rubbed his face. He knew that Susan's presence was not a good thing. Mary looked at Jack’s face confused. “What happened up there?” she asked. Jack sat down quietly. Alanna became worried. She rubs his shoulder and gently moves his head towards her. She then asked, “What is going on, my love?” Jack grabbed Alanna’s hand and explained, “Susan is here.” Mary stood up abruptly. She turned around and looked around to see if she could find Susan. Mary looked back at Jack and asked, “Why is she here?” Jack shook his shoulders. Mary grabbed her brother's face and demanded an answer. Jack replied, “I don’t know but it can’t be good.” Alanna kisses Jack's forehead and tells him, “It will be fine.” Jack stands and holds Alanna tight between his arms. He kisses her and whispers into her ear, “You don’t know her. She will do anything to hurt me.” Alanna had never seen Jack so worried. She wonders if Susan really was that bad.

After the break, the court was back in session. Everybody sat after the judge like before, but this time Alanna didn't waste time lusting after Jack. She hung on every word that was said. She paid attention to the jury’s faces as evidence was presented. Then, to their surprise, the rookie that accompanied Smith that night didn’t show up to testify and the judge dismissed the video that he took as evidence. Things were not looking good for Jack and Alanna. Mary tried to keep their spirits up but then the judge called Susan to the stand.

Jack leaned forward. He made a fist and lightly banged the table. Alanna immediately grabbed his hand and pulled it under the table. She held his arm with both of her hands and caressed it. Jack looked at her and took a deep breath. Alanna said "I love you" without a sound and Jack relaxed.

This was the first time Alanna had seen Susan. She walked slowly and confidently. She is slender, almost as tall as Jack, blond with green eyes. She was wearing a simple floral dress. Her hair is straight short to her shoulders. She turned to Alanna and smiled. Alanna knew that smile. She didn’t have to know her to see that she was up to hurt her.

Growing up, Alanna never had girlfriends. Somehow, girls always hated her and, as a woman, she deals with the same harsh treatment from other women her age. For years, women have been going after her to hurt her. She held on to Jack’s hand tighter, preparing for what was coming. Jack felt Alanna’s grip getting tighter and he placed his other hand over Alanna’s hands. Jack turned to look at Alanna and she looked straight at his eyes. He blew her a kiss and smiled. Alanna got lost in his smile. She failed to hear what was happening until she heard the most devastating thing she had heard in her life.

Alanna let go of Jack's hands. Her arms drop like bricks. Her eyes filled with tears and her forehead puckers. Mary turns to Jack and squeezes his arm. Jack frowns and turns to Susan, who looks back at Jack satisfied. Alanna turned away from Jack. She kept her composure until the end of the trial. With everything lost, Mary asked for a settlement and Smith accepted.

The court was dismissed. Alanna took her things and walked away without saying a word to Jack. Jack tries to stop her by grabbing her arm, but Alanna pulls away. Most people were making their way out of the courtroom, but Susan stays in her seat watching Alanna and Jack. Alanna was not giving her the benefit of seeing her cry, so she bottled up all her feelings and walked away seriously. Susan looked at her and laughed. Jack saw Susan laughing. He ran to her and got close to her face. He made a fist and shouted at her, “How can you be so evil.” Susan grim, saying, “Oh, calm down dear husband.”

Mary called Jack. She didn’t want her brother to lose his mind again. She knew how furious he was. Jack realized what he was doing and left the room running. He catches up with Alanna and begs her to stop walking away. Alanna stopped but didn’t turn around. Tears ran down his face as he shouted, “Please, my love, don’t leave me. I can fix this. I really thought we were divorced. I would never have lied to you. She tricked me. I was a mess after she cheated on me, and she took advantage of that. I’m sorry. Please come back, let's talk about this.” Alanna hugged her bag and walked away slowly. Her heart tried to break out of her chest and her heavy breathing made her feel if she was going to faint, but she didn’t give Susan the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She kept walking away.

Jack turned around and saw Steven talking to Susan. Jack loosened up his tie and took his jacket off as he ran towards them. Steven noticed Jack coming a little bit too late. Jack punched him in the face so hard that his jaw came out of place. Mary saw what was happening and ran to Jack screaming, “Nooooo Jack.” She ran to stop him but two officers got to him first. They tackle him and try to hold him down. It took two more officers to hold Jack down.

Mary cried when she saw her brother on the floor being handcuffed and Susan smiled. Jack's face was scraped on the floor. He bled on his father’s tie. Mary cried and asked him to calm down, but Jack grunted, trying to break free.

Alanna saw patrol cars and an ambulance driving by, but she couldn’t even look back. She was afraid of running back into Jack’s arms. The arms of a married man. Maybe he was telling the truth and didn’t know that he was still married, but she loved him too much to think clearly about him. She didn’t want to risk falling for a liar. She called a car service and went straight home.