ELIZA

CHAPTER FORTY SIX: HEARING

They set a date for the next hearing, where the defendant will be questioned and a closing argument will be made. I was really afraid of the second hearing, perhaps even more than the first. I was afraid of what Cosmo would say or do.

My fears were right.

Today when our eyes met, I already knew what he wanted to say. He didn't want to stick to my version, I could see that he was determined to tell his story. He wanted to convey his point of view not only to the judge, the police or the public. He wanted to say it to me too. Explain why he kidnapped me and why he came back to the country.

I tried to show him that we should talk about it face-to-face. We didn't have to do it in the courtroom, with all the hype around, with the media, with people who will judge him critically, not knowing our relationship.

I thought it wasn't fair. He didn't have to debase himself to impress me, because I didn't expect pity or sympathy from anyone. I wanted it all to be over, or better yet, never to begin.

Either he didn't understand or didn't want to understand. His black eyes stared at me, I timidly looked at him as he began to speak.

"First of all, I wanted to confirm my turbulent relationship with Eliza," he said when the prosecutor asked who I was to him. Of course, he meant whether he considered me his girlfriend or just an acquaintance. "We never defined our relationship though, but Eliza is someone special to me, someone who got in the way of my life completely by accident, and that accident influenced my life."

He wasn't looking at anyone else but me.

I glanced down shamefully. I felt like he was professing his love for me, and I was flustered that everyone had to hear it.

"I'd like to hear your point of view on the kidnapping."

The prosecutor was ruthless. This expression wasn't received well by people gathered in the courtroom. A murmur ran through it.

"Kidnapping?" Cosmo smiled faintly. "You can interpret it that way, for me it was a salvation for her. Her beloved boyfriend, Tom, was in the hospital and had little chance of getting out alive. If you want to ask me if I regret snatching her from this hell, the answer is no. I don't regret it, it was the only way for her not to worry, to live a happy life. Maybe it was selfish, probably because it made me happy too."

I wouldn't say I was happy at the beginning of the trip, but luckily, the judge didn't know that.

"How did you leave the country?" asked the prosecutor, squinting his eyes with a scepticism.

"How? Simple, by car. We didn't teleport."

"Obviously, yes," I felt like the man wanted to snort but he stopped himself from doing so. "Were... both of you aware of leaving the country?" he asked the next question. He deliberately stopped at the word "both".

Cosmo didn't even look at him, still staring at me.

"Ask her. In my opinion, it doesn't matter. I wanted the best for her."

At last. His leg slipped up. The prosecutor smiled triumphantly.

"Are you saying that in your understanding, whether someone leaves the country voluntarily or is forced to do it, it doesn't matter?"

Oh, no, I thought, biting my bottom lip so hard that I think it started to bleed. The conversation went so wrong, and so fast...