Strange Bedfellows
~ ch. 17, concluded ~
Dara took a deep breath and
stepped into the study. She adopted
her most confident persona, the one she slipped into when dealing with a
precarious case or a difficult client. “I
apologize if you were kept waiting, Your Honor.”
With a slight nod, Judge Cho
accepted the attorney’s apology. “Where
is your sponsor?” He looked
pointedly at the empty doorway behind Dara. “I requested that all parties return to the
study.”
“I am certain that my
husband will be here at any moment.”
A stillness fell across the
room with the concussive force of a grenade. “Your husband?”
“Yes.
My husband. Stefan
Cassadine.”
Aristide Cassadine sprang to
his feet. “Your Honor!” he
interjected. “Surely this-”
The judge silenced Aristide
with an abrupt wave of his hand. His
gaze locked with Dara’s and for untold minutes he simply sat and stared.
Finally, Judge Cho spoke.
“Less than three hours have passed since I ruled against your
eligibility as a candidate for the position of Cassadine Trustee.
In that time you have apparently discovered not only an overwhelming
affection for your sponsor, but an abiding desire to spend the remainder of your
life with him as his bride.” The
judge raised a skeptical brow. “Is
that what I am expected to believe?”
“With all due respect, Your
Honor, my commitment to Stefan was made long before this hearing.
Or your ruling,” Dara said with complete honesty.
She flashed back to that fateful day when she had agreed to the terms of
Stefan’s very unusual offer. “Your
decision only served to make me evaluate what was important in my life.”
“And that would be?”
“The promises I made to
Stefan, the ones he made to me, and the promises we both made to Nikolas.”
