Emily's PoV:

My phone rang loudly at midnight, startling me up from sleep. "Argh...I tried so hard to sleep. Who is this asshole?" Cursing the caller, I shuffled in the bed to reach for my mobile.

"Hello, who is this?" I grunted in a sleepy gruff tone.

"Miss Greene sorry for the disturbance, we are calling from the police station" said the person on the other side.

Police station? Was I yelling at a cop right then?

The cop must've called regarding the case of Mr Tyler. I sat upright on the bed and cleared my voice, "What's the matter sir?"

"We've been trying to reach you the entire day Ms Greene. You must've been busy with the funeral. Mr Tyler is charged with homicide and assault. There will be a court hearing tomorrow morning at ten. The four of you involved in the incident should be at the court half an hour before the hearing. The public prosecutor will be meeting you at the court" The officer cut the call abruptly once he was done delivering the information leaving no room for any questions.

I typed the message and immediately forwarded it to Chris, Nick and Richard, or else I would forget everything by morning.

There was a knock at the door of my room. I wondered what was up with people disturbing my slumber at midnight. Getting up from the bed was a Herculean task. I leaned on the bed and raised myself gradually.

By the time I was up, the person on the other side became impatient and knocked several times. "Coming" I screamed and made long steps to unlock the door before the maniac on the other side could break it down.

I opened the door to find Nick. He was in his pajamas wearing the same icily cold look. It was indeed a pleasant surprise to watch him standing at my doorstep at midnight, "Hey Nick, come inside." I scanned the room to check for any inner garments lying around on the floor before inviting him.

Nick refused to enter. "Chris asked me to give this to you" he said, handing me an ice pack. I was a tad dejected. I thought Nick came to my room out of his own concern, "Oh... Thanks. Did you know why he asked you to give this to me?" I checked whether he knew I was injured.

"It's none of my business," Nick replied bluntly, "He also asked you to go to the hospital tomorrow morning."

I was totally infuriated. Grinding my teeth, I tried to control my temper, "We have to attend the court hearing tomorrow morning at ten. Say Chris I don't have time to go to the hospital. When certain people don't care whether I live or die, why should I be bothered?"

I was about to shut the door when Nick held my hand. Though he was acting a jerk that one touch played Judas to change my mind. I wanted to hug him and cry, saying I was in too much pain. I wanted him to stay with me that night and hold me in his arms till I could sleep.

But all I did was shake off his hand, "Good night Nick. I will see you in the morning." I said and locked the door.

Walking back to my bed, I paused for an instant to calculate the situation in my head.

Chris knew I was injured for a long time. Till then he didn't prescribe me any medicine or treatment. Why did he have to send me an ice pack, that too at midnight?

Was Nick lying?

Something was definitely fishy.

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The next morning was nerve wrecking than the funeral. We were supposed to be providing witness against the perpetrator at court. I couldn't imagine Nick's reaction when he directly faced his father at the witness stand.

I would've gone insane if not for my mother. She helped me into my black button down shirt and donned my hair in French braid. She gently massaged my shoulder that relieved me of the stress.

"Mom, should I not go to the court? Could you tell them I'm not feeling well or something?" I asked for mom's counsel in deep consternation.

"Sweetie, I know both of my children could be anything, but never a coward. You are going to help someone have a better life. Moreover you have a nice guy by your side" Mom tried cheering me up.

"Err...nice guy? Who is that?" I asked curiously.

Mom looked surprised, "You don't know? Stella's son, Nick! He's such a nice guy!"

"Whoa...what? Nick? You mean Nick Tyler who is staying at the guest house? Mom he could be anything but a nice guy" I retorted bitterly.

"Really? The way he pleaded your dad yesterday made me think otherwise"

Mom's words held me astonished for a moment, "What? He pleaded dad? When? How? Why?"

Mom smiled, "My curious cat seems to have a lot of questions about the nice guy. Well, he came to our home at midnight and asked to see you for a moment. You know how your dad would react. He didn't allow the poor guy inside and treated him a bit harsh.

I thought he would go away. But he almost begged your dad to let him see you. He said you were hurt and would leave after giving you the ice pack. Which woman in the world would not be melted by such devotion? So I convinced your dad to let him in for a moment."

My eyes brimmed with tears, not out of misery but pride."My little Nick is grown up." I was celebrating inside. I was right. Nick wasn't a monster like his dad. He was entirely different.

Mom kissed me on the cheek and wished me luck. Dad was skeptical about the court hearing, still he asked me to take care and sent me off with the guys.

Nick was dressed in a blue jeans, creme coloured shirt and a beige jacket. The creme colour highlighted the blue of his eyes. He offered me a hand and even helped me up the jeep. I was glad to look at him trying to change.

We arrived at the district court half an hour before the hearing. The prosecutor approached us and instructed what should be done once we were called at the witness stand.

Nick constantly fidgeted with his fingers when we were inside the court. He was apparently agitated to witness against his own father. I held his hand with an assuring touch. Surprisingly he held my hand back.

Mr Tyler was brought inside the courtroom by the cops. He was in the same dress as the day of the heist with a ruffled hair and shabby grey beard on his jaw. He looked at Nick and gave a sly smile with an air of victory floating around him.

The judge began the session, "Mr Tyler, do you accept the charge of homicide and assault pressed against you?"

"Yes, your honour" said Mr Tyler.

The judge noted the point and continued, "Are there any intentions behind your act?"

"Yes, your honour. My ex-wife betrayed me. She lied to me that my dearest son was dead. That's why I killed her."

Nick lost his temper, "Dearest son? My foot!" He yelled. The judge banged the hammer on the table, "Order. Young man, if you want to tell something, come up to the witness stand."

Nick walked up to the witness stand and took a seat before the mike, "Your honour. I'm Nick Tyler, son of this wretched man over here. This man doesn't have the right to call me his son. All he did was making my childhood a nightmare. He assaulted me and did all the cruel things a father shouldn't do to his son.

My mom should've reported him to the police and sent him to jail. But she graciously saved me from him by lying I was dead and sent him to an asylum. That was the only mistake my mom ever did. She was killed because of that one mistake."

I felt proud of Nick for speaking up for his mother. Next I was called in as a witness. I greeted the judge and took a seat at the witness stand with difficulty.

"Miss Greene are you sick?" asked the judge.

"I'm fine your honour. Actually I was even more fine before Mr Tyler over here kicked at my ribs." I made a statement of assault.

"They broke into my house that night, your honour" interrupted Mr Tyler.

"Mr Tyler you can speak when you are given a chance" reproached the judge.

I confessed, "True your honour. We broke into his house that night. But we had no chance. He was hiding Mrs Browne in a secret chamber behind the closet so we couldn't risk her life by calling the police. We didn't attack anyone your honour. But Mr Tyler over here attacked his son Nick and his friend Richard Evans using a crowbar and kicked me on the ribs when I was about to save Mrs Browne."

The weapon used for attack and the drug injections were provided as a proof with the forensic report.

Mr Tyler interrupted again, "I killed my wife deliberately your honour. You know why? He was the reason" Mr Tyler pointed at Nick, "I wanted him to experience the same pain I went through for twelve years. Now he is all alone just like me. Give me a death sentence your honour. I will die happily."

I interjected, "Sorry Mr Tyler. You're so wrong. Nick is not alone anymore. He will never be alone until I breathe."

"Then I'm going to stop that breath" Mr Tyler pounced from the witness stand and reached for my neck. Gratefully the cops constrained him before he could attack and Nick ran up to protect me.

The judge banged the hammer fiercely "The session will be continued after lunch." He declared. All of us dispersed out the courtroom.

Nick held me by the shoulders, "Em are you alright?"

I was about reply when a blinding pain tugged at the bottom of my chest. I closed my eyes tight unable to bear the pain. My whole body engulfed in searing agony. My knees buckled and I was falling to the ground, but Nick lifted me in his arms and ran out the courtroom, "Make way, make way" he screamed.

Slowly my vision blurred and I was loosing consciousness. "Emily stay with me. Open your eyes. Stay with me." Nick hollered from the bottom of his throat.

Suddenly my cheeks became wet. I was sure I wasn't crying. I strained my eyes to see what was happening.

I couldn't believe my eyesight.

Am I getting delusional already?

If not, why Nick Tyler is crying?

I was completely satisfied before I passed out.

Nick Tyler wasn't dead on the inside after all.

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A/N: Hola, dear readers. Hope you liked this chapter. Our hero is breaking barriers to start a new life with Emily. Let's support him till the end.

Thank you for reading ❤️

Happy reading:-)