AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Lead on.” He smiled, and I stood from the sofa, took him by the hand, and led him upstairs to my–our—bedroom.
CHAPTER 26
TOM
SIX MONTHS LATER
Lennox stood beside me, his face pale, his hand clammy and gripping mine tightly. This was the moment that he had been dreading since the trial started. It had taken five months for the High Court to finally begin seeing their case against Natasha and Trevor Gibson. Now, just three weeks later, it was time for Lennox to take the stand and tell them what happened that fateful night in Glasgow.
“I feel like I’m going to be sick,” he half whispered to me in the busy street as we approached the door to the high court building. I squeezed his hand and looked at him with a grim smile as the press that had gathered outside for his arrival started calling his name and shouting out all manner of insane questions.
‘Was it true that you’d known her since she was a teenager?’
‘Did you have an affair with her?’
‘Is she a scorned lover?’
‘Did she rape you?’
‘Were you involved in a threesome with her ex-husband?’
They just wouldn’t let up in their calls, and Lennox pulled me along to the doorway faster. This was an eye opener for me. I knew that being in the public eye had its pitfalls, but to see the press bombarding Lennox like that outside a court where he was the victim was just insane to me. That was a side of the fame for those I protected that I didn’t usually get to see. Diplomats and rich businessmen didn’t normally attract that kind of attention.
Once safely inside Lennox glanced over at me. “They’re something else, aren’t they?” he said with a small shake of his head.
“That’s insanity,” I replied incredulously.
Lennox sighed. “It’s always something with the UK press unfortunately.” He peered around him. “Where the hell is it that we’re meant to be going?” he asked, changing the subject back to the reason we were there.
Glancing around myself I saw one of the advocates handling his case standing further along the corridor. They nodded to acknowledge us as we approached. “Mr Love, Mr Thatcher. Thank you for being here.” They greeted us as they shook both of our hands in turn. “Mr Thatcher, since you have given your evidence before Mr Love, you are welcome to make your way to the public gallery. My clerk here will be able to show you where you’re going.”
Acknowledging him with a nod, I turned to Lennox. “You are going to be amazing today. Just keep calm, remember to breathe, and remember that even when I’m not beside you, I’m still in the room, and I’m right here with you,” I said, touching his chest over his heart.
“Thank you.” He smiled grimly, before turning to the advocate and being led into the court. One of the clerks that was with them showed me to the public gallery where I would be able to watch as Lennox gave his evidence.
CHAPTER 27
LENNOX
I didn’t think that I would have been able to face any of the trial without having Tom by my side every step of the way. The press coverage of it had been very much on the side of how a big strong man could have fought off a poor little woman.
The more that came out, the more the press tried to push it to me being the one in the wrong. My sexuality was called into question. It was assumed that I led her on when I was drunk. It was assumed that it was some kind of weird love triangle with me and her ex-husband, some even suggested that we were a thruple. It had been an almighty shit show from start to finish, and Christ knew what they were going to say once the evidence I was about to give was reported on. Hopefully they would just lose interest.
Now, standing in the dock in the High Court in Glasgow, I really wasn’t sure how much they would be forgetting this story. I gave my affirmation that I promised to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Advocate McAdams then took over and started to ask me about what happened.
“Were you aware of Mrs Gibson before your encounter on the night in question?” he asked.
I glanced at Tom in the gallery, took a deep breath and began to tell them my story.
“I was.”
“And can you tell me in which capacity you were aware of her?”
“I first met Mrs Gibson when she was a teenager as part of a prize the boy band I was in had offered to her.” My hands started to shake as I spoke.
“That was the prize of a date with yourself and the other members of your band, was it not?”
“It was.”
