Our Own House | Closed.

“No,” Artemis stated. “You haven’t even bothered seeing her this entire time.” The entire time Zack had been getting everything ready legally against Artemis he hadn’t even tried once to see Celeste. “Our daughter is not property you can claim.”

“I was advised not to by my lawyer,” Zack said. He walked away from her, grabbing Veronica’s hand. He didn’t want to start an argument here.

Fae rolled her eyes and shook her head, taking Artemis’s hand in hers. “Come on, let’s go to the bathroom,” she said. “We’ll be right back.”

Artemis followed Fae into the bathroom, tears beginning to stream down her face the moment they got inside. “I miss him so much,” she sobbed. “I feel empty without him.”

Fae frowned, grabbing some paper towels and gently dabbing the tears from Artemis’s cheeks. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbled. “I wish I could change things for you.”

“I’m still mated to him,” Artemis sobbed. “The longer I’m away from him the more my heart breaks.”

Fae wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly. “We’re gonna break this cult,” she said. “We’re gonna get rid of it, no matter what it takes. And you’ll get Zack back and you can have a normal family, and everything will be okay.”

“I hope you’re right,” Artemis sniffled.

“I hope so too,” Fae murmured. “You deserve to be happy, and it’s not fair.” She wet a paper towel and and gently dabbed around Artemis’s eyes, to clean up her makeup. “Come on. Let’s show them just how strong you are.”

Artemis took a deep breath and gave Fae a big hug before she walked out of the bathroom towards the court room.

Fae followed her, walking over to Matt and taking his hand. “She’s gotta win this,” she said. “It’s gotta work.”

“I really hope you’re right,” Matt mumbled.

Fae walked into the courtroom with Matt, sitting in the front row beside Artemis’s parents. She glanced over as Zack's family entered the room, hating how powerful they were.

Artemis’ sat down until the judge walked into the court room. She stood up when the bailiff told everyone to and after everyone sat back down the hearing began. The brunette’s body was rigid and tense the entire time. She felt like she was being put on trial for being a horrible mother when she knew she wasn’t one.

Zack was confident that he would win this case. His family had a lot of power, and he was hoping that would make the judge rule in his favor. He glanced over at Artemis, noticing how tense she was. She had to realize she didn’t have a chance, right? He let out a small breath he didn’t know he’d been holding as his lawyer began to present his case, trying to remain confident.

Fae bit her lip anxiously, squeezing Matt’s hand. Her stomach was in knots and she didn’t know if it was from being anxious or what. She’d been feeling a little sick to her stomach lately, but she hadn’t thought much of it. She’d assumed it was from all the stress. She made a face as it finally all bubbled up to the surface, letting go of Matt’s hand and standing up. She rushed out of the courtroom and ran to the bathroom, dropping to her knees in front of a toilet and throwing up into it.

Artemis glanced over at Zack, silently questioning why he was doing all of this. She never would have thought he could be so cruel to anyone even if he hated them. It was why she felt like she deserved the abuse she had been receiving from Johnny. She felt worthless and empty without Zack.

Matt’s body tensed when Fae left the courtroom. The werewolf panicked for a few moments, unsure of what to do before he finally got and quietly left the court room. He followed Fae’s scent and knocked on the main door of the woman’s bathroom. “Fae are you okay,” he called out.

After Zack plead his case, it was time for Artemis’s side of the story. He glanced over at her, curious how she planned to counteract him.

Fae wadded some toilet paper and wiped her mouth, flushing the toilet before standing up. When she heard Matt’s voice, she nodded. “I’m fine,” she called, walking to the sink and washing her hands. She walked out of the bathroom. “I’m okay. I just have a bit of a stomachache.”

Artemis’ lawyers argued her case fairly well, stating Zack had left while the brunette was still pregnant and that he had only seen Celeste once for a few short moment. Even though he had promised Artemis he wouldn’t the lawyer even mentioned Zack choking her when she went to let him know she had the twins. The brunette’s body tensed and tears began to form in her eyes, her hands trembling because she was scared of what would happen to her now.

“Are you sure,” Matt asked. He was worried about Fae. She had been napping a lot when she wasn’t helping Artemis and he was starting to think she was sick or pregnant.

Zack looked over at Artemis, wanting to argue with the lawyer, but his own was already on it, countering everything he said perfectly, like he’d trained for this moment for years. He was admittedly amazing at what he did.

“Yeah,” Fae murmured. “I’ll be okay.” She smiled. “Come on, we need to be there when Artemis testifies.” She grabbed his hand, wanting to focus on Artemis and not her own issues. She didn’t know why, but she’d been putting all her effort into helping the other girl lately. Maybe it was to avoid her own life.

Artemis’ lawyer countered with more good points, each one would have made it hard for the judge to decide if he wasn’t already bought by the cult. The brunette’s body tensed more when Zack’s lawyer called her onto the stand. She knew it would happen and her lawyer had prepared her the he could for it.

Matt nodded, leading Fae back into the court room just as Artemis was called up. He sat down with the blonde, hoping he wouldn’t lose his temper with Zack or Zack’s lawyer.

Zack’s lawyer stepped up. “So, Miss Hunter, is it true that you gave birth to twins?” he asked.

Fae frowned, knowing the whole twin situation was bound to be brought up at some point. She wished she could get up there and tell the lawyer off, that it was none of his business.